Serama Coop and Midwest Winter

[kschaef65]

I have a small flock of Serama's. I have not had them outdoors in the chicken coop during the Midwest winter. I live in Central Illinois where the weather can get quite frigid. During January and February we have some days where the temperature outdoors is 15° or below and especially with windchill.

I read that Seramas do not do well when the temperature falls below 40°. Do I need to do something to keep their chicken shed above 20°. Keeping it at 40° would not be realistic it would take quite a lot of heating.

Last year I kept the 2 Serama's that I had at the time in the garage in a rabbit hutch type of enclosure. The garage temperature never really falls below about 20 or 30° even on the coldest days when the windchill outdoors is below zero. They seem to do fine in that environment.

I may also be able to add some insulation to the outdoor chicken coop. It is a pretty solid shed with three glass windows. But the windows are single pane so there is a lack of insulation.

Thanks in advance for your comments and advice.

Kevin

 

[AlienChick]

As a general rule, I move my Seramas into the garden shed if temps dip down to the 20's or 30's.
I do have one Serama rooster that does not seem to mind staying outside with the rest of the flock, so he stays outside in the coop and does very well.
The others huddle together trying to keep warm, so I move them inside.
If you've got your garage or shed, go ahead and move them on those really cold nights.
Can't hurt.