Keeping heat

[cassandrapettersson]

I only have 3 chickens, and in my country it gets to -22 degrees fahrenheit
My mother is pretty worried about this right now, she thinks that we need more chickens so they can keep eachother warm, she thinks it'd be to cold for them otherwise
(Or this might just be an excuse to get more chickens, what do I know)

Our chicken coop has concrete floor making it pretty cold,
but it's insolated quite well and we're currently adding ventilation and we use the deep litter method

Would getting more chickens help us and them?

 

[bobbi-j]

How big is your current coop? Getting more chickens could make things worse. Chickens need to be dry more than they need to be kept warm. They keep warm in the winter by growing more fluff and feathers. This traps the heat close to their bodies. Adding ventilation to their coop is good. It will help get the moisture from respirations and waste out of the coop. More chickens will just add to that. If your coop is small like those little prefabs, I don’t think you could get enough ventilation to keep it dry in there.

 

[Folly's place]

More chickens? What a good idea!
There needs to be enough space inside for them to be comfortable and uncrowded, and ventilation is also really important. And -22F isn't awful, if the coop is ventilated over their heads and the wind is blocked. Also having breeds who handle cold better matters.
Mary

 

[cassandrapettersson]

How big is your current coop? Getting more chickens could make things worse. Chickens need to be dry more than they need to be kept warm. They keep warm in the winter by growing more fluff and feathers. This traps the heat close to their bodies. Adding ventilation to their coop is good. It will help get the moisture from respirations and waste out of the coop. More chickens will just add to that. If your coop is small like those little prefabs, I don’t think you could get enough ventilation to keep it dry in there.

I had 40 hens before this in the same coop, I think i'll manage with a few more
Winters have always been fine when they were 40 chickens, though now they're so few that I'm worried that the coop may be to big to be able to get warmth just with 3
I don't know the size exactly, but it was still pretty roomy with 40

 

[cassandrapettersson]

More chickens? What a good idea!
There needs to be enough space inside for them to be comfortable and uncrowded, and ventilation is also really important. And -22F isn't awful, if the coop is ventilated over their heads and the wind is blocked. Also having breeds who handle cold better matters.
Mary

I have a black copper maran, a mixed brahma and creme legbar or something like that... I don't know breed names
There's enough room, I'd say there's to much room, I had 40 chickens in the coop before but now they're only 3, and I'm afraid that the bigger it is the harder it might be to hold warmth

 

[Ridgerunner]

Read this.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Those are similar temperatures to my state in the winter. They'll be fine if you keep them dry, out of drafts and give them a bit of extra shavings just to increase the cold buffer.