How cold is TOO cold?

[Wildsky]

As the subject line states....
How cold is TOO cold for a chicken?

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Our girls say -15F is too cold. at that temp they dont like going outside so they stay inside and we keep their door closed up tight.
I would make acouple of suggestions if your really worried.
1. use square roosts like a 2x4 so they can roost by sitting on the 4" side this way they completely sit on their feet and dont have any toes exposed to the cold.
2. get your windo to close tight, we close ours than put insulation against it then staple up burlap to hold it in place.
Keep the drafts out of our coop and they will thank you for it.

 

[Wildsky]

Thanks AK

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

How about taping up clear plastic?
Our coup is dark so we provide lights, 1 red thats on 24/7 to give heat so the water doesnt freeze and 1 white thats on a timmer to stay around 12-14 hours of light a day.

 

[Wildsky]

I'll try that

 

[speckledhen]

Remember that they still need a minimum of ventilation no matter how cold it is to exhaust the moisture from their poop and respiration, too. You should not seal up every single crack where air can get through.

 

[First-time-raising]

I would just make sure its not much lower then 32° ( Freezing) So there Combs and Wattles don't freeze. If its 18° outside it shouldn't be 18° inside. I keep a remote thermometer in my coop that I can read from inside my house. But ya if its below 32° you should be getting something in there for heat.

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

The fence post your using,for the roost, are they metal? If they are you may want to get wood or cover them. They'll get much colder than wood.

 

[Wildsky]

They're wooden posts for the roost.

 

[Wildsky]

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