How cold is too cold?

[dorklandresident]

How cold is too cold for a chicken? Next week it is supposed to get into the teens where I live.

 

[Pullet Press]

How many birds do you have?

 

[Pullet Press]

At one point in my area it got down to wind chills in the early negatives. I had (at that point) 15 hens all in the same coop that did alright (however, one with a larger comb had a small amount of frostbite on her comb), but if you have a garage, consider (enclosing them in something else) putting them in there with a heat lamp (one far enough out of reach for them). I hope your birds stay warm.

 

[cackleberryandco]

I have 7 birds and the wind chills have been well into the negatives lately (was -19°F the other day). We have clear plastic shower curtains wrapped around their run to block out the wind and with the exception of a little bit of frostbite on the comb of my big girl everyone seems fine and comfortable. Chickens fare better in the cold than the heat so as long as you have cold hardy chickens I would hardly worry.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Obviously not a "typical" scenario or set up, but: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-cold-is-too-cold-check-this-out.1345546/ - Temp hit below -50C (-58F) and the chickens survived in an unheated coop.

 

[dorklandresident]

How many birds do you have?

3, in an eglu go. Dog house sized hen house

 

[gimmie birdies]

For the last couple weeks it was cold here, 6 or so during the day, and -10 or so at night. It has warmed up, but my blue copper maran has frost bite on her comb tips. They did have a 250 heat lamp chained to the ceiling. but it still got cold. The blue copper maran is young and stopped laying, hopefully she will start again soon.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here's a good article for you: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

As a general rule, chickens that are kept in a dry, well-ventilated, draft-free coop and that had the chance to acclimate to the falling temperatures can cope at least down to 0F.

 

[jreardon1918]

How cold is too cold for a chicken? Next week it is supposed to get into the teens where I live.

Hey neighbor, on game day we can hear the crowd and see the flyovers of Gillette Stadium. Your chicks should do fine. Here is a picture of one of our colder days from a few years ago. That picture is in an article we did on winter prep.

Preparing the girls for winter

The snow we got this week didn't get into the run. The girls have finally started going out in the snow in the side uncovered run.

 

[jBabychickn]

3, in an eglu go. Dog house sized hen house

I have an Eglu and use their blanketed cover along with a small chicken heating pad when it’s in the negatives. I have a thermometer/hydrometer inside and it keeps it in the 20-30’s inside. I’ll attach a snapshot from my Coop cam…
(The pad I use is a K&H pad found on Amazon)