need hand-holding re: cold temps

[prairiepearls]

@Uzuri -- Here's a pic of them on the roost right after they moved in last June.

ddawn -- I'll go read that right now.

 

[JosieChick]

Hi Kansas girls! I love that coop! What kind of plastic is that?? I want some for my run. I was thinking about a tarp but it is going to be so dark, I want them to have the sun. My girls have been doing great even with the cold weather we have been having. I think having the 2 by 4 for them to hunker down on helps a lot. I moved here from southern Maine a few years ago so I grew up around chickens that lived in freezing cold and feet of snow for several months each year so Kansas is pretty mild for me! They are tough critters, my girls are still laying up a storm even with the chilly night air.

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

I know it seems cold to you, but trust me, they're fine! Just make sure you have a draft-free, but well ventilated coop that prevents condensation build up and those girls will be as happy as can be!

one of my abominable snow chickens....

 

[prairiepearls]

@JosieChick - have you checked out the Consolidated Kansas thread in the "Where Am I? Where Are You!" forum? We're trying to start up a regular Wichita-area meet-up group. We'll be at the McDonald's at Kellogg & Dugan (near the west-side WalMart & the airport turnoff) at 1:00 pm Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). We're hoping the shoppers will be shopped out by then and ready for a break. Hope to see you!

@Neeley - I love that the chicken's out in the snow, but the person with the camera is far enough away to presumably be out of it! ;-)

@Joann - I think I'll try the blanket-hover idea! Thanks!

 

[Katy]

They'll be fine. These kinds of temps are easier on them than the 100+ temps with high humidity that we have all summer. I've got 5 week old chicks that are running around outside and they're fine. They've still got a little bit of heat lamp, but I'm weaning them off of that.

 

[hallerlake]

We got down to around twenty here in Seattle. I discovered this morning that one of the girls hadn't gone inside the coop last night. She seems to be okay. I'm not going to worry about them inside the coop any more now that I know they can survive outside in the wind and snow.

 

[Uzuri]

Yeah, actually, seeing the inside of that -- they'll be fine without anything extra. But you can do the blanket-hover if you like, or any other sort of drop-ceiling creation. Heck, when I had a rooster, he slept in a cardboard box turned on its side when we were having 15-degree highs.

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

Quote:

oh, most certainly! I said that your chickens would be fine, I didn't say I would be!

 

[prairiepearls]

Quote:
Do you mean just a cardboard box outside? I can see I'm going to have to get a LOT braver! LOL!

Thanks to everyone for the words of reassurance. I may be back the next time the temp falls.

I am soooo grateful to BYC peeps for all the hand-holding! Having chickens for the first time is like being a new mom for the first time, I swear!

 

[austradork]

I know I'm in the minority here. I'm in Seattle and we're having a cold early winter. (It's going to get down to 15 degrees tonight!) I installed a flat panel coop heater a few days ago and yesterday -- when it was ridiculously cold -- the girls pretty much stayed in the coop all day (they usually free-range). This tells me that (1) chickens DO get cold, and (2) they prefer NOT to be cold. If you are asking if chickens can SURVIVE the cold, yes, they definitely can. If you're asking if they can make it through the winter without being miserable - I'm not convinced they can.

Sometimes I think people convince themselves that chickens don't get cold because "chickens have feathers" or because "chickens are cold-hearty" just 'cause it's more convenient and less expensive to believe that then it is to get out there and do something about it. That's my two cents.