How cold is too cold?

[saysfaa]

Wow! So no need to close the coop windows if they are not in the same line as the roost bar, correct?

Maybe. I'm going to close my east end windows to minimize snow in the coop. But it will still have plenty of ventilation via the 4'x7' open south side.

 

[KristinJ8307]

But how would you know if they are uncomfortably cold? I have 3 pullets in a coop made from repurposed pallets but every place there was a gap has a plank we put in, its about 13ft x 3.5ft and we have lots of small square "windows" for ventilation ( 2" x 2"). Their roost bar is in the middle of the space. We are in central FL so we didnt have fall weather, we went from solid 80s and 90s to low 50s this week. I worry about my chickie girls!! I was thinking of putting a heat lamp in there but it sounds like that might be a little overkill?

 

[3KillerBs]

But how would you know if they are uncomfortably cold? I have 3 pullets in a coop made from repurposed pallets but every place there was a gap has a plank we put in, its about 13ft x 3.5ft and we have lots of small square "windows" for ventilation ( 2" x 2"). Their roost bar is in the middle of the space. We are in central FL so we didnt have fall weather, we went from solid 80s and 90s to low 50s this week. I worry about my chickie girls!! I was thinking of putting a heat lamp in there but it sounds like that might be a little overkill?

Welcome to BYC.

If your birds aren't baby chicks that haven't feathered out yet they aren't cold at those temperatures. In fact, they're a LOT more comfortable at 50F than at 90F -- they're wearing down parkas.

Here in NC I had my chicks off heat at 4 weeks old with temperatures in the low 50's in mid-October.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I find my Buff Orpingtons handle the cold much better than the heat. We get single digits, on occasion, and they're comfortable. I have an exhaust fan, up high, that never gets turned off. In fact, my chickens don't even huddle, on the roost, until it's in the teens. My coop is a shed style, with no insulation, and a descent amount of ventilation.

If it's consistently below freezing, the nest room gets a cozy coop heater, but that's only to keep the eggs from freezing.

This is typical. Chickens are far more cold hearty than heat hearty. Breed selection is important, of course, but in sustained sub freezing temps where the birds are protected from drafts and in a well ventilated structure, the primary need for heat is to keep the water from freezing, not the chickens from freezing.

and if its really damned sustained cold, a heated coop helps keep the eggs from breaking (if they are laying).

 

[rosemarythyme]

But how would you know if they are uncomfortably cold? I have 3 pullets in a coop made from repurposed pallets but every place there was a gap has a plank we put in, its about 13ft x 3.5ft and we have lots of small square "windows" for ventilation ( 2" x 2"). Their roost bar is in the middle of the space. We are in central FL so we didnt have fall weather, we went from solid 80s and 90s to low 50s this week. I worry about my chickie girls!! I was thinking of putting a heat lamp in there but it sounds like that might be a little overkill?

No, it's massive overkill. Chickens can easily survive freezing temperatures but can die in as low as high 90sF. I raise 2 day old chicks outdoors with colder temperatures than yours.

Also risk of a fire makes it not worth it at all.

Actually sounds like you could use more ventilation. "Gaps" of no determinable size are either a rodent infestation waiting to happen, or if too small for that, then they're too small to provide ventilation too. Think sq ft, not sq inches.

 

[McChooky]

So I am just tossing a bunch of random ideas around in my head. If a chicken is dry and drafts stay above their head, how cold is too cold as long as there is a roof and wind is blocked from blowing on them? I think part of the reason people don’t want to put ventilation in is they think it will keep their birds warmer. So with no heater and no insulation with just solid wood walls, how cold? (For cold-hardy breeds of course).
Thanks!

Insulated buildings resist changes to outside temperatures more than un-insulated buildings.They will not have the temperature swings like an un-insulated building(the temperature frequently changes outside) But IF the temperature remains the same outside eventually both buildings temperatures will be about the same (as long as there are no winds) Add 15 mph winds to the outside temperature and the insulated building temperature will be warmer much longer.

 

[McChooky]

But how would you know if they are uncomfortably cold? I have 3 pullets in a coop made from repurposed pallets but every place there was a gap has a plank we put in, its about 13ft x 3.5ft and we have lots of small square "windows" for ventilation ( 2" x 2"). Their roost bar is in the middle of the space. We are in central FL so we didnt have fall weather, we went from solid 80s and 90s to low 50s this week. I worry about my chickie girls!! I was thinking of putting a heat lamp in there but it sounds like that might be a little overkill?

Just like plants chickens have to be "hardened off" but they gradually adjust. When you allow your chickens to get used to the cold it doesn't bother them. Add heat and they get used to that too. If they don't have heat during equipment failure or power failures they suffer. Baby them now and you'll baby them till spring.