No heat in the coop and dead bird

[Soon2BChixMom]

@nightowl223 Where I am located, the winter winds come from the south and west, so I guess it does happen in the US. I did not know this, until I researched it. I didn't research the why though. Probably some weird vortex.

 

[bobbi-j]

I have owned a few. They are remarkably tough and I rarely have to bring them in. I did bring my current Buff Silkie cock in last week, but that was because he slept under the roosts for some reason and got his wing glued to his back with frozen poop.

Poor guy! Thanks for clearing that up about your Silkies.

 

[BantyChooks]

Poor guy! Thanks for clearing that up about your Silkies.

I would, however, hazard a guess that they're more sensitive to drafts, based off feather structure and bird behaviour. My current male goes to great lengths to stay out of the wind.

Yes, he looked pretty miserable. Thank goodness it had been cold enough that it froze before it had a chance to get smashed into the feathers. It slid right off when I warmed him up.

 

[Altfrizzle]

Ventilation is a factor, but we need to know where the roosts are in relation to the vents. Yes you need airflow, but roosts need to be positioned away from that airflow. A high vent and a low vent aren't going to help if your birds are sitting right in between getting air blown on them.

Not at all. All vents are over the roost and over the chickens heads.

I have wire mesh down 18” all along one long side of the coop, and along the short sides it angles (salt box) to a couple of inches.

One short side is covered with plastic, because last winter snow would blow in that corner.

It’s open at the top of the long side, and at the bottom of the other short side (still over chickens... top side of mesh uncovered and bottom side of mesh uncovered, sloping roof), with a lip over and sloping up so air moves through but precipitation can’t get in. The rest of the wire mesh is covered by plastic.

Also, since these are silkies, not standard size birds, wouldn’t ventilation size be relevant to chicken size?

 

[PirateGirl]

I'm going to go against the norm in this thread and say it is not just a ventilation issue. Yes, some frostbite on a comb may be due to humidity build up in the coop, but I'm not convinced that's enough to kill a bird.

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm going to go against the norm in this thread and say it is not just a ventilation issue. Yes, some frostbite on a comb may be due to humidity build up in the coop, but I'm not convinced that's enough to kill a bird.

Agree... I have a friend with living proof in her coop... she has near zero ventilation. All windows are covered. It's quite warm and even the Leghorns aren't really frostbit. Goes backwards to convention, sure, but it works for her.

This is NOT a recommendation, just an observation.

 

[Ashley McDaniel]

I have some frostbite going on (especially the large-combed birds). It may be that I need more ventilation, but this has been a really severe stretch! Thursday night -30, Friday -27, Saturday -24.9, Sunday -31.9, with highs never above 5. We have never had this kind of sub-zero stretch before. I'm kind of surprised the birds are still alive.

this is exactly what im going through. Seeing more frost bite each morning as this polar freeze continues. I'm getting worried. Some birds seem OK, others are just shivering and shaking constantly. This sucks. Hopefully they make it until Monday when it warms up a little. Good luck to you.

 

[Ashley McDaniel]

I'm going to go against the norm in this thread and say it is not just a ventilation issue. Yes, some frostbite on a comb may be due to humidity build up in the coop, but I'm not convinced that's enough to kill a bird.

Would you agree that after a few weeks of being exposed to below zero temps, with or without what we all consider to be adequate ventilation, that it could take a toll on a chicken and cause it's death?

 

[junebuggena]

Would you agree that after a few weeks of being exposed to below zero temps, with or without what we all consider to be adequate ventilation, that it could take a toll on a chicken and cause it's death?

If they are provided with adequate calorie intake and fresh water daily, a healthy chicken should be just fine. They are remarkably adaptable and hardy creatures.

 

[happyfrenchman]

I think it is a good point being made about ventilation versus moisture. If the temperature is low enough, you probably are better off to close off alot of the ventilation in order to get the temperature up a bit. It doesn't have to be a lot. They will not die from frostbitten combs but they will die if their core temperature decreases with no way to replenish. Also I did not read the entire 7 pages of thread, but did anyone mention a light bulb. Heat lamps are great absent the fire hazard, but sometimes just a couple of mounted light bulbs will make the difference in the closed coop, with the warm chicken bodies. Exposure to prolonged lethal temperatures will definitely kill your birds. It is better to be a little stuffy, than freeze. If you were in an igloo in these temperatures, how much would you value ventilation, versus warmth?