Is it too cold? Do I need to bring them in?

[JodyJo]

mine have already been to 5* here in Colorado...just keep the drafts off and they will do great...
Mine were out in the freezing wind the other day...VERY cold, close to 0* and they were loving it!

 

[trooper]

e Inside your coop you want to have it well vented but no draft.This way the moisture can get out of the coop.On your roosts you want a wide enough board so that when they roost at night they can squat down on their feet entirely and keep them warm.I use a 2x4.I let my chickens out all of the time.If it rains,snows,wind blowing,whatever the weather is I open the poop door.If they don't want to go out they won't.This way they aren't bored inside picking on each other.This also helps to keep the coop clean.

 

[featherz]

We are way colder here also, down to -26 last year. And I have white leghorns - not exactly cold hardy birds. All were fine. I had eight week olds outside last winter in single digits. They were fine also.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm further up the hill from you, so we get snow every winter. The adult hens were fine, though they didn't want to go walking around in it. They finally braved it to get under the coop where there wasn't any snow.

There were day old chicks in here, with a heat lamp of course:

 

[Azriel]

I always have to laugh when I see people from Calf. or Az asking if their chickens will be OK when it gets way down to 30.

In winter thats a heat wave here. Last winter it got down to -37 for almost a week straight, my chickens were in a big 36x80 metal pole barn, they slept in the rafters at night and played in the straw and dirt during the day, and not a one froze anything. Your chicken really will be OK when it gets all the way down to 30.

 

[eggdd]

Quote:

 

[cmom]

I don't heat my coops. Here is some of my brother's chickens. They roost in his barn.

 

[Nuggets]

Anyone have any good tips for keeping the coop ventilated while also preserving heat and keeping out the elements? I am up in Maine and it has gotten cold so we have been closed up and the air is gettin a bit thin in there.
I keep the girls in a garage "one that has no motorized stuff in it" that has a room at the end of one bay sectioned off - there is a window to the outside world in their room and a chicken door thru an outside wall of that same room to a covered run area. I close off the outside run door at night to keep the elements/critters out JIC.

I also clean the coop room every sat/sun but it still has a strong smell. Maybe I need to put in a solar powered vent to vent that room? but then I will lose heat, with it being 10 outside the room seems to stay at about 40 - I use a 250w heat lamp "permanently mounted hanging fixture" that comes on with a timer from 8pm - 4am. The heat lamp sits about 3-4 feet above their roosting area "cut tree branches to perfect size in two rows with included branch/ladder" they love it and sit right under the light all night huddled together.

They are healthy and happy but I just worry about the ventilation.

Any ideas/suggestions are always appreciated.

2 Plymouth Rocks
2 Aracuanas
2 Buff O's
2 Golden Wyndolettes
7 cats
1 senagal parrot
1 3 y/o monster
2 17 y/o rabbid musicians
1 significant smother

 

[elmo]

Quote:
The only thing to watch out for is to make sure they don't get soaked through. Wet feathers can't insulate the way dry feathers can. If they have a dry and draft free place to roost, they'll be fine.

We have tiny part Serama bantams (several of them don't even weigh a full pound), and they came through a full week of below freezing temperatures just fine. I provided a tad of supplemental heat at night, just to be sure, but during the the day they were all out in the run acting like they usually do, even though the temps were only in the 20's.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Do you use a poop board/tray and clean out the droppings every morning? That can help keep down the odor.