It's already 32 deg in henhouse, chickens in danger?

[Barry Natchitoches]

It's already 32 degrees in the henhouse, the temps will dip another 10 degrees outside before morning, and dawn is 9 hours away.


Are my chickens in danger of freezing?

 

[dragonlair]

It gets well below 0 up here and I haven't had any problems with my hens. When I had roo's one would occasionally get frost bite on his comb, but that's it. The drafts is what kills, so if your coop is draft free, and they have full crops, I would think they would be fine.

 

[artsyrobin]

here is a good thread on the cold and chickens

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=281933

about halfway down is a good explanation on what to be careful of - basically they can handle cold pretty well as long as there aren't drafts

 

[Kittymomma]

Ditto. As long as your coop is ventilated, but not drafty they'll be fine. We had some really cold (for us in the PNW) weather last month and I was worried about mine, but they were all fine. We didn't get above 24 F here for 6 days and weren't above freezing for nearly 10. The lows ranged from 5-25 F and my coop is not heated or insulated. The birds were great, but I sure got tired of hauling fresh water 3x a day. I gave mine some extra scratch at bedtime so they went to sleep with really full crops, and made them warm oatmeal stew in the morning for treats.

 

[Katy]

My chickens haven't seen 32 degrees for many days, nor will they for many more....they'd think it was a heat wave if it was 32 in the coops.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

The birds will be good if you know they are NOT wet or very dirty.

They can regulate their body temps with their feathers. Think about those little bitty birds in the wild that endure these temps.

If you are experiencing really windy conditions, it would be worth your time to get your coop as free from drafts as possible , but have it well vented.

 

[cluckychick]

Quote:
I would think it was a heat wave

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I would think it was a heat wave

I would too!

We actually got a hair above 20 today and the sun was out....it was great!!

 

[hensonly]

Yep, I concur - two out of the last three weeks we didn't get out of the lower teens for daytime highs, plus windchill, and nights were lots colder. And my chickens are not only uninsulated and unheated but also only 3 sided. the run is the fourth side of their coop, I put tarps up around the run at night to block wind, and some still have half their backs bare from molting/darn roos! and they all were fine. I also make sure they have full crops at bed time, mostly black oil sunflower seeds and oatmeal, and I refresh their water whenever it freezes, and they are good. In fact, I'm still getting a few eggs every day. We're due for a heat wave later today/tomorrow - it's supposed to get all the way up to 25!!Yay!!

(During one of our 10 degree days, I recieved a Christmas present of a kite, and since it was good and windy, I went out and flew it for about half an hour. Never had a kite before, couldn't wait to try it, so I did. What a blast! The hens watched and I know they thought I was crazy. the kite is a tie-die colored octopus!)