It's 13 degrees outside...And I am worried

[analyticalblonde]

I do not have electricity for my coop or run...

I have put out straw and hay in the run...

I have fine pine shavings in their coop...

I go out each day and toss each to keep it fluffed and not matted...

But tonight, it has dropped to 13 degrees...I have brought out warm to hot oatmeal each dusk for them to have as energy overnight...

Each day, I bring them some sort of greens to eat as well as Grubblies...

But this is the worst frigid cold...I look every day to see if there is frostbite...none yet so far...but some of my girls are lifting their legs to tuck under their bodies...who could blame them!

I am stressed because the temps are just brutal and I do have a thermal dog dish to keep their water from freezing which I change EVERY day (I have an extension cord running 50 feet to the run to power the bowl) and have completely wrapped the run as best as I could but it is not solid and the winter winds and snow can still get in...but MY GOSH it is colder than a Husky would like it!

I have 2 of each...Ameraucanas, Barred Rocks, New Jerseys Reds, Lavender, and Buffs...each I chose because all are cold & hot tolerant but jeesh....how can I make them through double to single-digit cold...I have already had to do miracles with triple digits this past summer!

What am I do to do...I am afraid of everything...I have tried to think of everything I could and I will go out tomorrow and I am afraid to find one of my girls frozen with frostbite or dead...

Is there anything I can do?

By the way, the temp just dropped to 12 degrees...HELP!

 

[CindyinSD]

It’s already been below zero several nights here. I’ve come out in the mornings to find water buckets literally frozen into solid blocks of ice. My chickens are fine. The ones with single combs (as opposed to rose or pea combs) sometimes have a bit of frostbite. If it troubles them, they don’t show it. They were in a metal shed, uninsulated, deep bedding, ventilated at the gable ends for all of last super-cold winter and up until a month ago. Now they’re in a double-wall unheated greenhouse (maybe slightly warmer) but the coldest weather so far was in the metal shed and they’ve been fine. Yours will be fine, too.

 

[CindyinSD]

I forgot to say... ventilation is the most important thing. Humidity will promote frostbite, so make sure there’s plenty of ventilation that will NOT direct drafts across their sleeping area.

 

[kcan2]

I'm little help as to advice BUT wanted to sympathize...I was equally tormented in Northern MI (this is my first winter with chickens) and ended up moving our entire coop to garage until spring for peace of mind. We had a leak I just couldn't find and was concerned about humidity after everything I read. If your coop is nice and dry you are already one step ahead of me!
I am very interested to hear the input you will get because I know how unsettling it is to be nice and warm inside but unable to relax because of how cold and nasty it is outside...

 

[analyticalblonde]

It’s already been below zero several nights here. I’ve come out in the mornings to find water buckets literally frozen into solid blocks of ice. My chickens are fine. The ones with single combs (as opposed to rose or pea combs) sometimes have a bit of frostbite. If it troubles them, they don’t show it. They were in a metal shed, uninsulated, deep bedding, ventilated at the gable ends for all of the last super-cold winter and up until a month ago. Now they’re in a double-wall unheated greenhouse (maybe slightly warmer) but the coldest weather so far was in the metal shed and they’ve been fine. Yours will be fine, too.

This is wonderful news for me...I have only had my girls since the end of March and have gone through the most brutal summer and now this brutal winter...I tried to prepare myself before getting my girls by reading everything I could for two years before I pulled the trigger and got them. I am so stressed with the weather and temperatures...they are my girls and the stress I see them under makes me feel helpless. I just want to make sure they can get through this...

 

[analyticalblonde]

I'm little help as to advice BUT wanted to sympathize...I was equally tormented in Northern MI (this is my first winter with chickens) and ended up moving our entire coop to garage until spring for peace of mind. We had a leak I just couldn't find and was concerned about humidity after everything I read. If your coop is nice and dry you are already one step ahead of me!
I am very interested to hear the input you will get because I know how unsettling it is to be nice and warm inside but unable to relax because of how cold and nasty it is outside...

Yes...I have leaks as well in the run...where my run is located happens to be on a downward slope and when the snow melts, to the east and north side, it gets wet. That's why I am going in every day to toss the hay/straw so it doesn't get saturated/wet. For the most part, it is dry but I would want it to be better which will be addressed in the spring. For now, I can't do much of anything. I want nothing but warmth and dry at this point and don't have either but am trying to get both...it is 12 degrees right now and I can't sleep because I don't know how my girls can live through this cold!

 

[CindyinSD]

Heat is a lot harder on them than cold. I have at least heard this is true. We haven’t had much in the way of heat since I got my first chickens in September 2018. I would honestly be delighted to have a little more heat, but I grew up in central Florida so maybe I’m a little bit of a wimp with cold.

 

[analyticalblonde]

It’s already been below zero several nights here. I’ve come out in the mornings to find water buckets literally frozen into solid blocks of ice. My chickens are fine. The ones with single combs (as opposed to rose or pea combs) sometimes have a bit of frostbite. If it troubles them, they don’t show it. They were in a metal shed, uninsulated, deep bedding, ventilated at the gable ends for all of last super-cold winter and up until a month ago. Now they’re in a double-wall unheated greenhouse (maybe slightly warmer) but the coldest weather so far was in the metal shed and they’ve been fine. Yours will be fine, too.

Thank you for your post...I am a bit crazy about being a little crazy about my girls but your post will help me through the night until I go out tomorrow. I am worried though and until tomorrow, I won't know right? Every day I worry about them...kindof weird right?

 

[kcan2]

Isn't it amazing what these chickens put us through!

 

[analyticalblonde]

Isn't it amazing what these chickens put us through!

Crazy...yes! Absolutely...! I am a pacing, frantic piece of a human right now!