So Glad I Found Ya'll!

[Debbie Sue]

Hey Ya'll ! Thank you for letting me join ! I live on 25 acres. My husband and I "share spaces- he works on tractors, I have chickens ( and turkeys,,and peacocks). I have -ABOUT 30 hens, a variety of breeds. I have been very thankful for not having anything severe happen to any of them in the last 10 years. I ALWAYS look for information, opinions of other people on things to do to keep my flock healthy. They are free range. They go in each night on their own , ( well, with the help of my "shadow", Jack.) He is part heeler,border collie and australian shepherd). Ilive in Texas, so our winters are not very bad, but I DO wrap my main coop with plastic,leaving air space in each side for ventilation. My coop is aprox. 20 X 60. but I only wrap 20X20, the rest is fenced in. I do NOT use heat,even when we had sub zero temps. As long as they are out of drafts. How does anyone else keep them protected from the elements?

 

[Jenbirdee]

Howdy welcome to BYC. Well if you had subzero Fahrenheit temperature and nobody got frostbite then you’re doing it right.

 

[BoundlessLove]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens, Debbie Sue!
We do not use any form of heat for our chickens.

 

[Debbie Sue]

Howdy welcome to BYC. Well if you had subzero Fahrenheit temperature and nobody got frostbite then you’re doing it right.

have never lost ANY from frostbite. They roost on 2X4's (flatways) so they sit on their feet,and their roosts are away from any drafts.

 

[Debbie Sue]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens, Debbie Sue!
We do not use any form of heat for our chickens.

My thoughts- if I use heat- and the electric suddenly goes off, they cannot acclimate therefore, freezing. our winters are usually mild, but we DO have a few days that go below freezing.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome, we are glad you found us too.

You are definitely attentive to the well-being of your flock. Having kept flocks in multiple locations with weather much more severe than what your climate is, I can tell you we have never used any heat sources in our coops, in fact most have been without any electricity at all so it would have been quite difficult to provide heat. Chickens are actually very well suited for cold, much more than they are for heat. Provided a well-ventilated but draft free area in which to use their natural insulation they can comgoryably weather temperatures well beyond what most people think would be comfortable

 

[Knobby]

Welcome to the BYC...we are also glad that you found us and joined this forum. I have a flock of about 50 chickens and 7 ducks...and I have a few that have suffered frostbites this winter, but all have made it through the season thus far. Will try and address some of the issues that allowed for the frostbites, to begin with, this spring/summer.

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC, Debbie Sue!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, Debbie Sue, and welcome to BYC!

I like your name. I'm Debbie Lynn.

We raise and breed silkies in Wisconsin, where we just got past a three-week cold spell of subzero temps as low as -40 (without wind chill). We've always heated their coops to 40F. I also put chicks out earlier than most, since they have grow-out pens with hutches (like doghouses) that have a Cozy Coop radiant heater inside.

The temperature variance isn't a concern, as they handle 60-degree swings on many days, in both summer and other seasons.

We're glad you're here!