How do I keep my chickens warm?

[3KillerBs]

It barely broke 40 here today with a cold rain falling.

My chickens decided that it was a good day to dig deep holes in the bedding of their run.

As long as they have a dry place to be IF THEY WANT TO BE THERE and plenty of ventilation a fully-feathered, adult chicken can tolerate remarkably cold temperatures due to their natural down jackets.

 

[Aapomp831]

Chickens keep themselves warm. Don’t worry, people raise chickens in Alaska with no heat. They will be fine - they got along just fine before human beings started building them coops. As the others have stated, a dry bird is a happy bird. No need to fuss.

 

[David61]

The only Chicken that needs a heat lamp is at KFC and is regular , crispy or spicy .

 

[rosemarythyme]

47 degrees... chickens have survived in an unheated coop at below -50F. Your chickens are in zero danger of freezing.

 

[wamtazlady]

A dry chicken is a warm chicken. This means plenty of ventilation to get the moisture they make when they poop and breathe out of the coop while not allowing breezes to blow on the birds. My 6' by 8' coop was built for 12 chickens and has 10 square feet of vents that are never closed.

Here in NW Montana it is not unusual for the temperatures in winter to get down into the -20s F. When it is that cold the birds are still spending all day outside in their run. The run has a roof and has clear vinyl shower curtains on 3 sides to keep breezes off the birds. They are perfectly happy in their down coats.

Think about those little sparrows during the winter. They are flitting around looking for food and doing bird type things. When night comes they find somewhere out of the wind to roost. Those little birds always look like they are busy doing their thing and do not look miserable.