Is 35 degrees too cold for chickens?

[adeechickluv]

My coop has plywood walls on all four sides and small vents at the top. My four chickens (Orpington, Australorp, RIR, and Polish) are all about 8 months old. Recently it's been about 45-65 degrees during the day, and about 35-45 degrees at night. Do we need any extra heat? I still have a heat lamp left over from when they were chicks ... do we need to use that or not, because I don't want to waste any extra electricity ... ?
I live in the Portland area in Oregon.

 

[Wolfwoman]

No.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=421122

 

[Kittymomma]

No.

My coop is uninsulated and unheated and they were fine last winter when the lows were in the single digets for a week. Many people live in much colder climates then we do and don't heat their coops. The critical thing for chooks in the winter is to have a dry, draft free but still well ventilated coop. They actually handle the cold much better then they do the heat. I am going to run an extension cord out to the coop this winter so I can use a heated waterer though--it's a pain to pack it out there 3-4 times a day and it is very important that they have that available.

 

[shopchicks]

They will be totally fine. I wouldn't worry about them at all in the Portland climate, as long as they have a place that is dry and free of drafts. Mine will be facing 0 F nighttime and 20F daytime temps later this week and if I'm feeling really generous I might put a lightbulb up near their roost, but probably won't do that. They'll huddle up together and be just fine.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I'm in Forest Grove, so we are just a tiny bit colder than you are in Portland. My coop is uninsulated. Because the coop is small, I do a lot to make sure the space stays dry, by cleaning the poop board daily, scooping the big wet clumps and adding fresh shavings and sprinklings of DE as needed. As long as there is not a lot of humidity, we should be just fine with no added heat.

 

[Lbrad7]

They will be fine at that temp and even quite a bit colder. The only time I have lost birds to cold is when it got down around 0 and had highs in the teens for a few days. Then I only lost one roo.

 

[annie3001]

answer: depends do your chickens have feathers?
really tho, its cold but not too cold they cant venture out for some much needed fresh air. i have already started using our heat lamp, and its not even snowing yet.

do you have hardy chickens? when i bought all of ours, i really wanted to be sure i had some hardy chickens for my living climate location etc.

 

[teach1rusl]

Since they're mature, they should do just fine. As was mentioned, make sure there's lots of bedding available, no drafts, and they will do great at those temps. If you have a run, you might tarp the prevailing wind side(s) to help keep cold winds at bay, and/or consider a windblock (maybe strawbales?) in front of the pop door to avert cold winds from blowing in that way during the day...shut it at night.
This winter I'm using a thermocube that will turn my lamp on if it drops below 20* F, because it will make me feel better. But most say most chickens will do fine down to 0 degrees if there aren't drafts.

 

[LynneP]

In your climate? Oh they should be fine...

Adding that having a place to keep dry or an open pop door is always an asset, I understand you get lots of rain...

 

[pips&peeps]

Heck no, they're fine.