More Ventilation Needed?

[aart]

My chickens will suffer from frostbite when it gets really cold, but I don't see any way to make it better for them without having a heated coop.

Exactly!

Here's some extreme examples, that healed up on their own.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/
Might ease your mind.

 

[gtaus]

Exactly!

Here's some extreme examples, that healed up on their own.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/
Might ease your mind.

Nice link and mirrors my experience. If the frostbite does not kill the chicken, then leave it alone and nature has a way of healing itself. If the frostbite kills the chicken, then I will not get that breed again for where I live and how I raise my chickens. Again, I have been very lucky in none of the frostbite on my chickens has resulted in serious injury.

 

[Tervuren]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I think I’ll be getting some dual thermometer/hygrometers off of Amazon. The weather is warming up from here, and it doesn’t look like it’ll get down to single digits again for the foreseeable future. Little bit of frostbite on Dora’s comb, but nothing has turned black. Might skip on Dorkings in the future. She’s a funny little chicken, but none of the other girls have gotten frostbite. And, yes I do have have a great dad!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I think I’ll be getting some dual thermometer/hygrometers off of Amazon. The weather is warming up from here, and it doesn’t look like it’ll get down to single digits again for the foreseeable future. Little bit of frostbite on Dora’s comb, but nothing has turned black. Might skip on Dorkings in the future. She’s a funny little chicken, but none of the other girls have gotten frostbite. And, yes I do have have a great dad!

Very few people seem to speak on the need for choosing chickens for one's climate, when new owners are looking for help. Its too bad really, and promotes bad experiences for the birds and their new owners. No one benefits from that ignorance, its definitely NOT bliss.

 

[Tervuren]

Very few people seem to speak on the need for choosing chickens for one's climate, when new owners are looking for help. Its too bad really, and promotes bad experiences for the birds and their new owners. No one benefits from that ignorance, its definitely NOT bliss.

I did do research, but unfortunately what I’m finding is that not everyones’ definition of cold and heat hardy is the same. Someone writing in New York is going to label breeds differently than someone in Southern California. The Dorking was described as cold hardy in the sources I read, and to be fair she seems fairly unbothered by the cold, aside from the minor frostbite. I rather suspect that she would do quite well in a typical western Washington/Oregon winters, where temps usually stay in the mid 30s… And of course I live in a place with extreme heat and cold, so it’s a bit of a tight rope act! lol So far my EE and Australorp seem to handle extreme temperatures the best. I won’t be getting new chickens until I’m down to two, and hopefully that will be several years off. I don’t mind assisting the girls who need it through temps they aren’t designed for, but hopefully I can avoid it in my next flock!