How long can chickens stay in freezing weather?

[Knobby]

We just received our first snowfall last night, and it's still coming down. Anyways, since you don't currently have a coop for your flock, atleast provide some sort of area where they can shelter themselves away from the elements. Using pallets is a good first approach...I would place a tarp over it to somehow prevent drafts from the winds. I place woodchips on the ground to provide them areas to walk on and keep there feet off the snow...but again, I have a covered area.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thanks, everybody. I took them out this morning. They seem to be fine.

What about eggs? I know they can freeze.

According to your temps, it's well above freezing during the day, so they wouldn't freeze. If, for some reason, it dips to freezing during the day, you'll just have to check for eggs more often on those days. If any freeze, they may crack, and those I'd thaw and cook up to feed back to the chickens. If any freeze and don't crack, they're still good and edible eggs.

 

[MKetter]

We just received our first snowfall last night, and it's still coming down. Anyways, since you don't currently have a coop for your flock, atleast provide some sort of area where they can shelter themselves away from the elements. Using pallets is a good first approach...I would place a tarp over it to somehow prevent drafts from the winds. I place woodchips on the ground to provide them areas to walk on and keep there feet off the snow...but again, I have a covered area.

It’s not bad out right now except for the temperature. There’s no wind. I’m grateful for that. The run has a tarp over it. These chickpeas belong to my brother. His coop is almost finished, so they’ll be moving fairly soon.

 

[Knobby]

It’s not bad out right now except for the temperature. There’s no wind. I’m grateful for that. The run has a tarp over it. These chickpeas belong to my brother. His coop is almost finished, so they’ll be moving fairly soon.

They should be ok, but I wouldn't hesitate on building them a safe area to get to to get away from the elements and/or predators.

 

[Mrs. K]

I don’t worry about my chickens until it is colder than NEGATIVE 35, below zero. They have lived just fine at that.

At 20 degrees you do have to make sure there is water available as it will freeze up.

In my run, I have numerous wind shelters. A chicken out of the wind is a warm chicken.

Mrsvk

 

[FrostRanger]

It's not until you get temps significantly below zero that you have to start worrying, the 20s is nothing for most healthy adult birds. Do make sure the new coop has adequate ventilation though (at least 1sqft per bird) or too much moisture can build up and give them frostbite, high humidity is far more dangerous than the cold itself in those temps

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Our run is wide open, nothing but the wood framing and hardware cloth, with a tarp on top. The Nestera coop sits on a platform inside and has open roosts next to it.

With the weather forecast, we wrapped an 8x20' clear heavy-duty plastic tarp around the outside of the "coop end" of the run. It's still open on the inside, but the wind is blocked.

As has become their habit, the two younger pullets slept in the Nestera, but the older three slept on the open roosts and were apparently happy. (That changed when I opened the run door and they encountered the snow. )

Yesterday, viewing their flockmate helplessly trapped inside (wide-open door just out of picture):

Today, the older ones wondering when I’d get that dreadful white stuff off the ground:

They’re all outside running around in the 30° at the moment.

 

[KRack]

If you had standard size chickens, would you bring them back in at any time while it’s below freezing temperatures? They don’t have a coop to go back in on their own.

My chickens are out in the snow and even sleeping in a tree in negative temperatures. They have a big coop available, but they prefer to be wild chickens. Sometimes if there’s a lot of ice they’ll go in the coop, but rain, snow, freezing temperatures, even harsh winds…they’re in that dang tree snoozing away.

 

[2 Acres]

Chickens normally go out shortly after sunrise, around 7 a.m. As you can see with the attached image, the temperature will be below freezing for a couple hours and in the 30s until noon. I’ve seen that chickens tolerate cold better than heat but this? Can the chickens go out with 20° temperatures? If so, should they come back in after a certain amount of time? They don’t have a coop. I would have to bring them into the garage.


View attachment 4249095

Been wondering this myself since the wind chills this morning had the temps in the teens.

 

[2 Acres]

Been wondering this myself since the wind chills this morning had the temps in the teens.

The coop was 38 degrees.