Preparing for a prolonged cold snap

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Hi all,

I'm not a novice at chicken keeping, but these are going to be the worst prolonged cold temps we've seen in Maryland in a long time. We'll be seeing single digit overnights and daytime highs in the teens for the next 10+ days. Most of my birds should be just fine, but the duration of this cold makes me nervous for a few of my more sensitive birds.

My coops are ventilated and draft-free. My waterers are heated and kept in the runs. My runs have areas that are covered and wind protected. We plan to add more wind protection and thicken up bedding.

I have 2 general questions with regards to my more sensitive birds-
1. Is there any benefit to bringing a bird indoors overnight and returning them to their flock during the day when the daytime temps are still so low?
2. If I do need to bring birds in out of the cold, would it be better to put them in the garage (not heated but warmer than outside) or in the 68 degree house?

Specifically, I'm concerned bout these birds:

Flip Cup is a 3 y/o Black Copper Marans rooster with a tiny spot of frostbite on his comb from a few weeks ago. We added more ventilation to his coop and I'm cleaning poop daily to keep humidity down. The frostbite has not noticably progressed. Flip's flock is on pine shavings. Would it be better to beef up thickness of the pine shavings or should I add straw even though the straw is harder to clean/hangs on to moisture more?

Blossom and Boston are young Sicilian Buttercups experiencing their first winter. They are already not loving the cold and coming off a hard molt. What signs should I look for that they're too cold? They are in my big flock of 20+ birds in a shed style coop. I run a space heater in this coop but it's not big enough for the area and only brings the temps up a few degrees.

Misty and Hazy are 18-month old Barnevelder hens in a 4'x4'x4' plywood coop. Last winter they lived in a larger flock (more body heat). Can two birds keep warm enough in this size coop? I will be adding straw to their coop for sure, but am concerned about the lack of body heat in their coop. They've seemed fine so far this winter.

I know people keep birds in colder climates and they do fine -- but I'm a worrier! Thanks for sharing your ideas and experiences.

 

[WthrLady]

Where I'm at, we regularly see brutal winter temperatures that have a high of 0F for a week at a stretch. (NOT the windchill, which was, well, you don't want to know.)
The birds handle it JUST fine as long as they are ventilated, draft free, have water access, room to move and hunt and scratch, have plenty of water and have a reason to move around. I take out cooked veg and apples and tomato peelings and garden scraps from the summer.
The ONLY time I have brought them in to the barn pen was when the temperatures were going to be -20F as a low for almost a week, -5 to 0F for the HIGH temperatures AND deep snow. I moved them for easier access and to make it easier on ME.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Where I'm at, we regularly see brutal winter temperatures that have a high of 0F for a week at a stretch. (NOT the windchill, which was, well, you don't want to know.)

Thank you for your response! We are on the side of a mountain and typically get wind so I generally anticipate the temps to be 10 degrees colder than forecasted but I think the wind is harder on me than the birds as they're smart enough to stay out of it and we give them lots of wind blocks.

The birds handle it JUST fine as long as they are ventilated, draft free, have water access, room to move and hunt and scratch, have plenty of water and have a reason to move around. I take out cooked veg and apples and tomato peelings and garden scraps from the summer.

Are the food scraps to help keep them entertained? Or is there another reason?

The ONLY time I have brought them in to the barn pen was when the temperatures were going to be -20F as a low for almost a week, -5 to 0F for the HIGH temperatures AND deep snow. I moved them for easier access and to make it easier on ME.

If we get weather like that, I'm going to have 50+ chickens running around my living room, lol.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If the birds are generally healthy and not too old/young (you said the Buttercups are young, but I assume fully feathered?) they should be fine in those temps as long as they have good options to shelter. Mine still opt to sleep next to open windows in single digits.

IF you see a bird is struggling (not eating or exploring, looks absolutely miserable) then garage is better than house. You want to minimize the temperature variance as much as possible to make the transition easier.

Don't have an answer for the bedding issue. A small spot of frostbite doesn't sound bad though, and the tissue will eventually die and slough off on its own.