Is this to cold , please look at PICTURE

[gottalovemychickens]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30153355&l=262a2cf483&id=1278270958

is that to cold for chickens , we hit that last year here in denver and the time that is PM not AM haha that night we hit -1 with a windchill of -17* . What do i do then , just bring them in the basement ?

 

[Bizzybirdy]

>>What do i do then , just bring them in the basement ?<<

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

Yup, unless you have a heated coop...at least well insulated with a few brooder lamps over the roosts. I keep my chickens coop above freezing at night in the Winter. When I didn't years ago several lost toes and wattles to frostbite. Don't want that to happen ever again.

 

[claud]

It got well below zero here last winter.
I don't heat my coop. The roo only had a tiny bit of frostbite on his comb. I think it depends on humidity and proper ventilation of your coop too.

 

[gottalovemychickens]

well this was here in Colorado , and according to the weather man we are about to have even a wrose winter

 

[Uppity Peon]

My grandmother used an upside-down terra cotta pot with a 25 watt bulb inside. It made a nice small heater, just enough to keep things from freezing.

 

[KattyKillFish]

i live here in alaska where it commonly gets as cold as 14f :|

i've never had a problem with it, and i don't think i've ever had any problems with frostbite until 20-30 below zero. only by biggest roo got some frostbite on his comb, and i dubbed it and never had the problem again. if it does get that cold in winter where you are, you might want to give them a slightly wider perch so that their belly feathers cover their toes and keep them from freezing. but then again, i've only ever had the more cold-hardy breeds.

when it gets that cold, you should give them some extra heat, at least a light bulb put low in the coop, but not so low that they can rub up against it and get burned. a heat lamp, even, but that should be set higher up to prevent fires.


but yeah, it's been much colder than that here and i haven't had too many problems. they lay right through the winter with no problems at all

i even got a heated water bowl, because at those temps you gotta worry about water freezing.


another thing about when it gets colder, the birds will need more energy that normal to keep themselves warm. lots of leftovers, some scratch every day will keep them nice and happy

 

[gottalovemychickens]

alright thanks much !!!

Right now they are roosting on 2x4x8 with the 4in side facing up ! so that should be good right ?

 

[PortageGirl]

Yep, I spent 7 years in Aurora, and know exactly where Elizabeth is, it's windy and dry and when the wind kicks across the plains, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Most of the time chickens will go out in the weather, depending on the breeds you have, they can manage some pretty cold weather but it's best if there's some kind of wind break where you're at knowing what the wind can be like there... some stacked up bales of hay, a big rolled bale, some kind of solid or semi-solid privacy fence etc near where the hens come out of the coop will keep them happier. (and keep them from getting blown into Kansas)

Give them 2x4s placed flat side up to roost on in the coop, they will settle down on them and cover their feet with their feathers for warmth at night, keeping their bare toes toasty even in sub zero weather. //edit I see you already have that, but this is good to stress for other readers, so I'll leave it. Skinny roosts mean their toes stick down too much in cold climates!

Water is very important even in the winter at that elevation! You know how fast WE get dehydrated? Their little masses dehydrate faster and they can't keep warm if they're dehydrated. There's lots of other tips here for winter issues... Winter-Wise Chickenry

 

[Birdgirl]

Quote:
you can do that with those black bowls like from a tractor supply store, put the waterer on top of that and it will keep the water from freezing, I also dont heat my coop, and it has no lights at night either. I was told they will adjust...

 

[gottalovemychickens]

Yay you know where Elizabeth is LOL

Yeah the National Weather Service or NOAA is not talking to good about Elizabeth right now for this up coming winter . People are preparing right now , 2 month ahead of time LOL >...... So thats why im sorta getting scared about my lovly chickens .......

...... Worst case ill throw all of them in the basement and let them run free down there if anything does get that cold or if the snow does stack up that fast ya know