How do I keep my chickens warm?

[Chicken_Girl07]

It is 47 degrees outside where I live and since I don't have a way to keep my chickens warm at night they sleep inside my house in a large generator box with a heating pad. I would really like to find a more efficient way to keep them from freezing to death.

 

[sourland]

Keep their coop dry and draft free and they can handle temperatures far colder than that. Most folks do not provide supplemental heat.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Please put them back in the coop. They wear down coats year round and are capable of keeping themselves warm.

 

[DouglasB]

How old are your birds?

 

[Chicken_Girl07]

about 18-19 weeks

 

[britinpa]

It is 24 degrees outside where I live with a foot of snow on the ground. My coop is not insulated, but I keep it dry and clean. I'm not sure they're keen on the snow, but they've survived mid 20's in the coop at night.

 

[MissMonty]

As long as your coop is dry and clean and wind proof they won't have an issue staying warm.

 

[Chicken_Girl07]

Oh good to know. I thought that I would have to buy an extension to put in a heat lamp and heating pad

 

[DouglasB]

For 17-18 week old birds, fully feathered, im surprised they aren't out sun bathing at 47 degrees. Their normal temperature is 106-107 degrees, they have a down coat on, and they fluff their feathers it insulates them more.

about 18-19 weeks

They will be fine in the coop provided it is dry, draft free, and properly ventilated, even at considerbly lower temps.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

it was 42 out, a fine mist was in the air, and we had north winds at 10mph. My birds were out free ranging. Yes, they looked like they were having a "bad hair day", but while I was bundling up to keep the moisture off, they were going about their day as if it was the most pleasant thing in the world (actually, they free ranged longer than they would have had the day been its typical warmth - it gets hot down here!

What a chicken considers "cold", and what we consider "cold" are radically different ranges.

/edit for reference, on the typical near 50 degree day, I would be out working in shorts, a t-shirt, and plastic shoes, wondering if I could ditch the T-shirt. Today I wore jeans, a sweater, and seriously considered socks and boots.