Lonely Gal

[3KillerBs]

So I don't need the tarp?! A concerned loved one keeps telling me it's too cold and she needs tarps and all kinds of things. This is not a person who has ever raised chickens. I have straw in the nest box and pine shavings in the coop.

Thank you for the compliment!

Chickens aren't bothered by cold until it's down below 0F or even lower. They're wearing built-in down parkas. We just have to give them a place where they can get out of the wind.

They are bothered by stale, stuffy air. Like all birds they have delicate respiratory systems and need abundant fresh air.

 

[kburruano]

I find this fascinating. This is basically what I've found online and from a few friends I know that also have chickens. Oddly, the vet told me they are susceptible to the cold and shouldn't free range in the winter but stay in their coop. Anything under 40 is dangerous.

 

[3KillerBs]

Anything under 40 is dangerous.

 

[3KillerBs]

My chickens thought that a 40F rain was perfect foraging weather last year. They looked soaked, but were actually dry and toasty under the surface.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wet-hens.1442537/

I believe that chickens know how to be chickens better than we know how to be chickens so I try to give them choices and let them decide how wet they want to be, how much wind they'll put up with, and so on.