Is it too cold for my chickens?

[krista74]

We are expecting it to drop to 7 degrees celcius overnight (45F), and it is quite windy.

I have two broody hens together in a wire cage out in the yard - Buster Camp!

The cage has tin sheeting over the entire roof.

The back of the cage is tarped, as is half of each side of the cage. So all up, essentially half of the cage (the back end) is protected from the wind, and the roof should protect at least 90% of the rest of the cage from any rain - not that we are expecting any tonight.

The hens are approximately 16 months old. One is a Buff Orpington, the other a Rhode Island Red. They have a 'roost' (a natural tree branch) situated about a foot off the ground to perch on.

My question: Is it too cold for them to be out in this cage? I can put them in the main coop, but they are disturbing everyone with their cluckiness, and I would have to cover up all of the nest boxes, and get up super early to give the early layer's access to the nests again.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Krista

 

[krista74]

To complicate matters further .... One of the hens has laid an egg, so I don't think she is truly broody after all - YAY!

But when I went to take her back to the main flock, I found one of my other hens is wheezing!

Wheezy and the remaining broody hen are now together in Buster Camp. They are both RIR's.

Obviously I have to keep Wheezy separated from the flock now, so she may as well have Broody as company.

I have given them antibiotics in their water to treat Wheezy - hopefully there will be no ill-effects with Broody drinking it too?

I have reinforced the cage further, so now:-

* The roof is fully covered
* The side the wind comes from is fully covered
* The end of the cage is fully covered
* The other side is covered, except for an 8 inch strip along the length of the cage at the top
* The front of the cage is open, but the wind does not come from that direction.


Does this sound ok? The two of them should snuggle up to roost I guess..... I'm paranoid they'll freeze to death but they are not all fluffed up like they are cold. Inside the cage it feels ok - no obvious cold draft.

- Krista