My chicken is laying down in the cold - normal or concern?

[Percheron chick]

My first thought (well, after I finished panicking that she was ill...) was that she was trying to warm up her feet by laying down on them. Is this something they do? The only time I've really seen them lay down is if they're ill (which she doesn't seem to be) or injured (which she also doesn't seem to be), so now I'm kind of worried about her.

Thanks in advance.

Correct. Most likely just warming up her feet. You can throw down some straw or leaves for them to walk on.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Agree with the others, several of my chickens take to hunkering over their feet in colder weather, or pulling one up at a time to tuck them under their feathers while standing, to keep them warmed.

 

[WingsysRoost]

Correct. Most likely just warming up her feet. You can throw down some straw or leaves for them to walk on.

The inside of their run (and a good portion of the area around the run) is leaves for exactly that reason! I was expecting her to stand on them, not lay down in them, so that threw me off a little bit lol.

Thanks for the reassurance!

 

[WingsysRoost]

Agree with the others, several of my chickens take to hunkering over their feet in colder weather, or pulling one up at a time to tuck them under their feathers while standing, to keep them warmed.

I've definitely seen them standing on one foot as well. This definitely makes sense.

Thanks for the reassurance!

It was -6 C this morning and there's now some wind chill added as well. None of them really seemed impressed and most of them were still fluffed up on their roosts when I went to check them and replace their (frozen) water at 7:20 this morning.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not going to address that specific chicken, she has been well covered by others. They are all individuals and can be different. Have you ever noticed when you have a gathering of people in a room that some people may be cold, some warm, and some very comfortable? Chickens are the same way.

Cold doesn't seem to bother my chickens that much. I leave the pop door open and let them decide when they want to go out. I've seen mine choose to go out when it was colder than 0 F (-18 C). Growing up on the farm I saw them walking around at -10 F (-23 C). If a cold wind is blowing they will not be out. Mine do not like a cold wind.

Snow can be an issue. Some don't have a problem with snow, some don't like it, especially at first. Most of mine eventually get used to it.

I leave my pop door open and let them decide what to do. They know more about being chickens and when they are comfortable than I ever will. Not all of them do exactly the same thing either, though they do tend to do things as a flock.

 

[WingsysRoost]

I'm not going to address that specific chicken, she has been well covered by others. They are all individuals and can be different. Have you ever noticed when you have a gathering of people in a room that some people may be cold, some warm, and some very comfortable? Chickens are the same way.

Cold doesn't seem to bother my chickens that much. I leave the pop door open and let them decide when they want to go out. I've seen mine choose to go out when it was colder than 0 F (-18 C). Growing up on the farm I saw them walking around at -10 F (-23 C). If a cold wind is blowing they will not be out. Mine do not like a cold wind.

Snow can be an issue. Some don't have a problem with snow, some don't like it, especially at first. Most of mine eventually get used to it.

I leave my pop door open and let them decide what to do. They know more about being chickens and when they are comfortable than I ever will. Not all of them do exactly the same thing either, though they do tend to do things as a flock.

That definitely makes sense. They came down for a bit this morning and then went back up in the coop because it is quite cold and windy today, and then the one I was worried about was the only one to come back down and be walking around just fine in the cold, so I'm pretty sure I was overthinking it just a little bit since this is only my second winter with them.

Thank you for the reassurance!