Opinions of cold climate chicken keepers needed

[WindingRoad]

You made some really good points. Very informative. This one, though I have heard before and take issue with it. When extreme temperatures are infrequent and heating is only used for those few times, this really doesn't matter.

Chickens in the wild don't usually didn't get extra heat and they seem to have evolved quite well.

 

[SarahLadd]

I find this all very interesting. Researching the junglefowl, the species of bird that our chickens descended from, are equatorial birds: They evolved in hot, humid, temperatures ranging between 70f and 90f year round with lots of rain. Southern Minnesota is not where you'd think these birds would thrive, but here we are. Research suggests chicken domestication occurred as early as 6000 BC, but even by 2000 BC, they were all being kept in south Asia, India, China, Indonesia, Egypt.... you know, warm places. I wonder how many generations it has taken to get to where we are today, to have birds that can survive so far from their origins. Line breeding is incredible!

I feel as though an aforementioned comment about the difference between our pets being comfortable and surviving is poignant. I don't want my birds to just "make it out alive" at the end of this. I want them to be comfortable. My collie is a descendant of the wolf- an animal known to travel some of the coldest climates on earth- would I keep her outside in this weather, just because she has fur and a dog house? Uh, no. Clearly that's cruel and insane. I want what's BEST for my birds, not what's "survivable". A crappy tiny coop and no heat is not what I would consider BEST. To that end, I'm staring down record low temperatures in my area this week, and genuinely fretting. They are my pets. I love them. I don't want them suffering.

My birds have a radiant heat panel on one side of their roost that they may choose to get close to. Every night I walk out into the snow with a flashlight and check on them to see what they're doing when they sleep. They take turns scooting around the radiant heat panel depending on what the temperatures are like. I marvel at them. They're truly sturdy animals. Today I am rigging up a heat lamp so that they may again make their own choices for what feels comfortable to them. The argument that they will kick the bucket if the power drops fails when you consider heating solutions that enables self-thermoregulation. I feel like this is the best possible choice.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

You're entirely right about only being able to type and not always change someone's mind! That's the hardest thing about giving advice. You know in your heart that it's good advice, but the other person has to make the final decision. Sometimes they take the advice and sometimes they don't. You just have to shrug your shoulders, say Oh well, and go on with life. But never stop helping people and giving advice. That's what we all come here for. And this also is not directed at you only. I've seen people get quite annoyed to angry here when they don't agree with what others say. A kind word goes a long way when someone is truly factually wrong. And I've seen those too, lol.
I'm not too concerned about power outage because the plate I bought doesn't really heat the whole coop, just provides a warm area if they need it, kinda like an upright MHP. From what I've read, the coop temp as a whole goes up only a few degrees. I'm willing to bet they'll still sleep on the roost and not huddle in front of it. There's never been a day yet that I haven't seen them sitting on the outside roost and scratching around on the ground. It's possible I'm doing this more for my peace of mind, lol. I'm pretty confident of the winter viability of chickens. I have a picture of my Mom up in the UP of Michigan holding her 7 pet bantams. I'm sure there was no heat for them in the 1920s.

Great response. You asked for advice and we came through. This is my first winter with my flock and I too was concerned. However, I'm am strongly opposed to using extension cords to power electrical heating devices in the coop. That's my opinion, however, you have the right to shelter and raise your chickens as you feel is best for yours. We all do that. I'm just a little farther south then @WindingRoad and this winter the cold came early and bitter for both of us. We've had our share of sub-zero temps and our chickens are doing well. The egg shells are nice and hard because my chickens get good nutrition. Extra protein and corn for their "evening" meal helps them deal with the cold. So do what you think is best for you and your birds. Just please be very careful with electricity in and around your coop. Good luck.

 

[SarahLadd]

Here's some interesting snaps for y'all: thermal images from inside my coop! I have several different methods of measuring things in the coop for temperatures and humidity. I find this stuff fascinating, I thought maybe you all may too.

 

[aart]

Here's some interesting snaps for y'all: thermal images from inside my coop! I have several different methods of measuring things in the coop for temperatures and humidity. I find this stuff fascinating, I thought maybe you all may too.

That is very cool!
Thinks Sp3-wing should be Sp3-butt?

 

[SarahLadd]

That is very cool!
Thinks Sp3-wing should be Sp3-butt?

Yes... lol. My husband did the labels, and I did point out that "wing" should be "butt", but apparently this did not get changed. Clearly it's her butt. Kind of crazy how cold her butt is! You'd think those fluffy pants would be doing something!

 

[Kris5902]

You have a thermal imaging camera and took pics of your coop!!! My mind is totally blown. That’s beyond cool. And super informative.

 

[aart]

Kind of crazy how cold her butt is! You'd think those fluffy pants would be doing something!

Well they are doing an excellent job of holding her body heat in.

You have a thermal imaging camera and took pics of your coop!!! My mind is totally blown. That’s beyond cool. And super informative.

IKR....major Jeally going on here.

 

[WindingRoad]

I find this all very interesting. Researching the junglefowl, the species of bird that our chickens descended from, are equatorial birds: They evolved in hot, humid, temperatures ranging between 70f and 90f year round with lots of rain. Southern Minnesota is not where you'd think these birds would thrive, but here we are. Research suggests chicken domestication occurred as early as 6000 BC, but even by 2000 BC, they were all being kept in south Asia, India, China, Indonesia, Egypt.... you know, warm places. I wonder how many generations it has taken to get to where we are today, to have birds that can survive so far from their origins. Line breeding is incredible!

I feel as though an aforementioned comment about the difference between our pets being comfortable and surviving is poignant. I don't want my birds to just "make it out alive" at the end of this. I want them to be comfortable. My collie is a descendant of the wolf- an animal known to travel some of the coldest climates on earth- would I keep her outside in this weather, just because she has fur and a dog house? Uh, no. Clearly that's cruel and insane. I want what's BEST for my birds, not what's "survivable". A crappy tiny coop and no heat is not what I would consider BEST. To that end, I'm staring down record low temperatures in my area this week, and genuinely fretting. They are my pets. I love them. I don't want them suffering.

My birds have a radiant heat panel on one side of their roost that they may choose to get close to. Every night I walk out into the snow with a flashlight and check on them to see what they're doing when they sleep. They take turns scooting around the radiant heat panel depending on what the temperatures are like. I marvel at them. They're truly sturdy animals. Today I am rigging up a heat lamp so that they may again make their own choices for what feels comfortable to them. The argument that they will kick the bucket if the power drops fails when you consider heating solutions that enables self-thermoregulation. I feel like this is the best possible choice.

Most of the animal kingdom and we are part of the animal kingdom came from much warmer areas. There are many areas in China that get cold and snow. If they birds have evolved to survive in this climate why not let them. Do you have wild birds around your area. Where to they go at night to get "warm"

 

[SarahLadd]

Most of the animal kingdom and we are part of the animal kingdom came from much warmer areas. There are many areas in China that get cold and snow. If they birds have evolved to survive in this climate why not let them. Do you have wild birds around your area. Where to they go at night to get "warm"

Wow... "most" is a real stretch. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.

Wild birds have options. We keep our birds in the conditions we subject them to. My chickens have nowhere to go. They have no choices, only the ones I provide for them.