Is it too cold for my girls?

[MeNKJ]

We have been getting in the low 30's at night and soon it will likely be upper 20's. Our coop is fairly small which we did to help retain heat but i worry that it is still not enough. I dont want to use an electrical heat source and i also want to avoid overheating them. Is this something i even need to be worried about or am i overthinking it? One of my girls has a large comb and waddles and i guess i am a bit worried about damage to them due to the cold.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Where are you from and what breed do you have? For most hardy breeds as long as the coop has ventilation to help with moisture the temps you mention will be no problem for them. This week we had temps at zero with -20 wind chills. They were fine all night and as soon as the sun was up they were out in the run like there was no problems at all.

 

[wamtazlady]

Birds will be cold if they are kept in a coop that is seal up. A coop needs lots of ventilation to remove the moisture chickens produce by breathing and pooping. Chickens don't need heat. They need dry to stay warm.

I wish we were only in the 30s and 20s, My girls love those temperatures. Today we're at -7. When I go out they'll be in their run scratching around for any goodies they might have missed yesterday.

 

[MeNKJ]

We are on the Central Coast of California. I have an Ancona and a Blue Delaware. The coop has good ventilation so I dont think moisture will be a problem. I have deep bedding in it, too. Thank you guys very much for the reassurance. This is our first winter with them and I wanted to make sure they would be ok with our setup. I have a friend who lives in Alaska.. her winter coop is AMAZING!!!

 

[flyin-lowe]

Just for some reassurance the air temp at my place is -1 this morning and I have no idea what the wind chill temps are. I still have 4 windows on the coop half open plus other ventilation in the eaves and the peak of the roof. No problems so far.