New Englanders! Much ado about New England!

[alang]

First bitter cold weather this weekend as a chicken owner. Eighteen 8 month old hens in insulated coop with no heat light in Northern RI. Should I put them in crates indoors or leave them in their coop on Saturday night with the bitter cold? And do I let them out in their run in the snow during the day in single digits? Looking for advice from locals. We have had such a mild winter so far that I am worried this weekend will be too much of a shock!

 

[LexChix]

Add straw to their coop for warmth. If they are cold-hearty breeds they will be fine. My new hens got some frostbite on their combs last winter, and I put some Vaseline on the combs. They were fine by spring. My hens liked being outside in all weather, and they appreciated straw to step onto outside rather than stepping onto ice/snow. I'm in eastern Mass.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Add straw to their coop for warmth. If they are cold-hearty breeds they will be fine. My new hens got some frostbite on their combs last winter, and I put some Vaseline on the combs. They were fine by spring. My hens liked being outside in all weather, and they appreciated straw to step onto outside rather than stepping onto ice/snow. I'm in eastern Mass.

I have pine shavings in my coop and always add extra on really cold nights but may have to try straw. Maybe a combo. I'll have to get some.

Also agree about the ground because i wanted to put sand down cause it was sooo muddy and gross and it usually dried out but the past week its been gross. It dried out one or two days bit not really. Probably really detrimental to their health and I felt awful. So finally just yesterday when i was adding new shavings and spilling some, i caved and put shavings down on their whole entire run and they were soooo happy, scratching and pecking and digging around. Even the guy working on our bathroom commented how happy they were and how they came running out. I regret not doing it sooner. They would often stay indoors and i thought it was weather but i believe it was the mud. I just hope i haven't caused them any illness but all seem fine and seem much much much happier and healthier now. I didn't want to put shavings down cause i wanted sand and thought this would get muddy too but its pretty deep and ANYTHING is better than mud and poop combo before. So i definitely second and highly recommend covering the floor of the run with SOMETHING or wrapping it with tarps to stay dry.

Also picking the BOSS out of the shavings makes it more fun

 

[alang]

Any heat sources inside the coop?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Any heat sources inside the coop?

I don't have any in mine but its also pretty small. I know some people put heating lamps in but then you run the risk of fire or of them freezing if the power goes out. My parents wanted to put a heating pad in though and I've been adamantly saying now but I might agree this weekend just cause it's going to be so fridgid this weekend and horrible wind chill. Not sure they really need it though hah

 

[ShrekDawg]

Apparently it's supposed to be -5 and like -30 degree wind chill and our contractor even said it's too cold for chickens and they'll die tonight if we don't do something so now I'm really worried

Maybe we should move them to the garage or add heat?? They're always been fine but only teens or ome or two single nights and it warms up during the day so I'm really scared. Especially with the tiny terrible TSC coop :/

 

[TheMallons]

How did they fare?

 

[demikitten]

Southern NH, where my pets include my chickens, indoor cats, a dog, and a neighborhood bobcat :/

 

[ShrekDawg]

How did they fare?

Ended up chickening out (no pun intended ) and bringing them into the garage both nights lol now its warming up though

 

[alang]

Yeah, I caved and gave mine a heat light that kept the coop in single digits overnight and 20s during the day Sunday. They seemed annoyed with the light disruption in the coop and leapt out of the nesting boxes when I tried to keep them in Sunday so I think the cold bothered me much more than them. Not even any frostbite damage.