Its gets 3 degrees fahrenheit tonight. Will my chickens be okay?

[Chickies11]

Alright thanks! Every night, I feed them scratch or corn pretty soon before they go in at night because I read that digesting it while they are roosting keeps them warmer! Its actually 14 degrees outside right now and 18 degrees in the coop, so everything seems fine!

 

[aart]

Better they eat their regular feed before sleeping,
any digestion will create heat and better to have full nutrition.

Insulation of coop is moot with adequate ventilation, which is most important.

 

[Acre4Me]

I’m sure they were fine last night!

feed: when it gets really cold at night (in the low teens or lower), we often put a feed container in their coop right in front of the window (which is almost floor level bc it’s an elevated coop), so they can eat as soon as they wake up. They need to eat more in cold weather. However, they normally do not have feed in thecoop. They do always have water in the coop.

insulation: rarely necessary -you have to be in some tough winter conditions to justify the need. But, keeping the roost area draft free is important. You don’t say your general location, so we don’t know your conditions.

Heat: some find it helpful, most avoid using heat. For us, we doubly secured a heat lamp and connected it to a thermostat so that it won’t turn on until the roost level temp is 15F or lower. Since the chickens heat up the coop a bit anyway, the outside temps have to be pretty low for it to turn on. When it was -17F at night snd still below zero during the day one winter, the heat lamp was on, but coop temp hovered around zero. This only took the edge off the overall coop temps and was not going to acclimate the birds to warm temps. Of course, a few birds could stay under the heat lamp, but we never found any of them huddled under the heat lamp. Birds wear down coats!

in the event one of your flock looks unwell/unable to tolerate the cold temps during a cold snap, you can bring them into a warmer place for 2-4 hours (could just be your garage). Let them warm up and feed them too. Give them warm mash (feed+water), and let them perk up. Often, this helps them readjust and they deal with the cold better once they are put back into the coop.

 

[Chickies11]

I live in Massachusetts, in the greater Boston area

 

[Stephanie8806]

Thank you, this makes sense. I know chickens need some ventilation so they don't get frostbite. Like you said, a concern for putting in some kind of heat is that my chickens will become reliant on it and I won't be able to use it if I lose power. I just don't know if 3 degrees is too cold.

Nah, they will be fine. They’ve spent all winter acclimating so even though 3 degrees is pretty cold, it’s probably only another 10-15 degrees colder than a normal night(if your days are around 20 degrees).

You don’t really even need an insulated coop. Just as long as there are no drafts. Airflow is important, but windchill is a real thing. In these colder months, I block up the vents that are in line with the roost. But the ventilation is still excellent.

Our coop walls are just plywood, no insulation, and our chickens have been fine, like yours. They also do a good job of snuggling with each other to stay warm at night. Some of my girls even bury their head under sisters wings to warm up combs.

Before a cold night like this, try to give them a little carb snack just before bed... corn, scratch, oatmeal, barley, etc... their bodies work a bit harder to digest the whole grains over night, and it actually increases their body temp. Good little hack, and they’ll love the treat!

 

[Chickies11]

Nah, they will be fine. They’ve spent all winter acclimating so even though 3 degrees is pretty cold, it’s probably only another 10-15 degrees colder than a normal night(if your days are around 20 degrees).

You don’t really even need an insulated coop. Just as long as there are no drafts. Airflow is important, but windchill is a real thing. In these colder months, I block up the vents that are in line with the roost. But the ventilation is still excellent.

Our coop walls are just plywood, no insulation, and our chickens have been fine, like yours. They also do a good job of snuggling with each other to stay warm at night. Some of my girls even bury their head under sisters wings to warm up combs.

Before a cold night like this, try to give them a little carb snack just before bed... corn, scratch, oatmeal, barley, etc... their bodies work a bit harder to digest the whole grains over night, and it actually increases their body temp. Good little hack, and they’ll love the treat!

Thank you! I have been giving them little snacks like you said. My chickens were just fine, like you all said!

 

[aart]

Better they go to bed with a crop full of regular feed.
Any digestion will create 'heat', why dilute nutrition.

Some savachick electrolytes/vitamins really helps against cold stress.
I mix up a bit and soak the solution up in rolled oats to avoid wattle dippage.
Small batch ratios here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hot-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Sally PB]

I think I'll be doing that next week when they're forecasting lows of 5 to 9 above at night. Thanks for the info.