panicking - Winter Storm Coming!

[slawluv]

You don’t need to heat your chickens. Protection from wind and moisture is all you need to worry about. They will need food and water though, so you might work on a way to incorporate that. They make electric water bowls that don’t tip over. If it’s going to get cold here (Colorado), 15 degrees or lower, I will feed the girls a warm dinner at bedtime. This warms them up and has their bodies creating heat during digestion. I use a base of quinoa with and assortment of veggies, greens and dried bugs. If temps are below zero, I will do the same in the morning. We have had temps as low as -9 here with no issues. We had one who was missed during evening head count and spent the night outside alone at 9 degrees. She was fine, hungry and thirsty, but fine. Chickens are incredibly resilient creatures! You will see that given a clean, dry place to sleep and lots of clean water, they will thrive with very little work! Good luck

 

[Bobohunter1776]

For temperatures they should be fine. Chickens are tough as heck. How tall is your run.

 

[Clucktown]

I am sure your chickens would appreciate some extra heat. We have been using the Cozy Coop heater for years. Depending on the size of your coop, you may need more that one. We live in SC, and I plug it in when temps drop into the 30's at night. My Sebrights and Polish hate the cold and will stand on one leg when temps drop into the 40's. Our Brahma, Cochin, and Silkie are a much tougher and do not seem to mind the cold as much.

 

[Petite Chateau Poulet]

HI All. I have read and understood that it is bad to supplement heat in the coop for my 4 hens (born in March) but the temps are supposed to drop to 13 degrees day after tomorrow. One of my girls still has pinfeathers coming in on her neck. I don't have the option to bring them inside because of my dogs. They have a strong sturdy coop with ventilation and lots of bedding which I scoop daily (every last bit of poo) and a run that is only covered with tarps. Should I scramble to find a heat source for them? I can't put their food or water into the coop because mine always knock over things and I don't want it to get wet in there. Help! Any last ditch ideas to protect my girls? Wednesday night it will snow into Thursday afteroon - totals 12 inches and the temps down to 13 with wind gusts 15-20mph

I know your concern. I am new to chicken keeping, and have lost sleep worrying about keeping them warm. Our temps in the Pacific Northwest rarely go below 30°, and we may get snow about once a year, which is usually just a few inches. We do have roaring winds, so I have attached small sheets of plywood around the coop to provide a wind block. My girls seem just fine, and I have been reassured by other chicken owners in our area that supplemental heat is absolutely unnecessary, even if it gets down to 20°.
I do have a bit of a concern right now since my Olive Egger and my Buff Orpington seem to be losing feathers, and I think they are too young for their first molt. I have worried that they may be a bit too warm at night. I have also covered the coop with tarps.
New worry every day for a first time chicken owner.

 

[SmotherHen]

Okay thanks - so as long as they can get out and eat a bit and drink a bit here and there it is okay to leave the food and water out in the run?

They don't need access to food and water at night. Make sure they have plenty to eat and a full crop before sleeping as that will help them to stay warm at night. And food anywhere in a coop or run could attract predators.
I think you may be overly concerned about picking out every bit of poop. I pick out obvious poop in bedding and nesting boxes and add or change out hay/wood chips as needed. What's on the floor of the inside coop run is not as critical. I've started using the deep litter method for winter in this area. They also have an outside exercise yard so they get fresh air and exercise for about 4 hours each day.