Starting to get cold in Seattle...

[pointyp]

Hello - I have a small coop, both sides of which have a 2ft long & 3 inch wide ventilation strip on each side & the front "door" is removed (always open) I am getting worried with the cold weather to come & the possibility of freezing temperatures in the next month or sooner. My 3 girls are all between 6-10 months old now. Should I hook up a light bulb in the coop, or will they be o.k.? Please people with small flocks in colder climates respond with your suggestions / comments!
Thanks!
Here's the best picture I have of the coop:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pointyp/3087739507/sizes/m/

 

[redoak]

My coop is unheated and we've had a low of 8 F so far. My chickens are fine with no signs of frost bite.

 

[ibpboo]

My temps only go low into the 30's. I do not have a light, and they aren't really even in a coop. They roost about 4 1/2 feet up on a shelf, with a solid roof, and two sides, and my chickens have always been ok.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Hi Pointyp! I live a bit south of you in Tacoma. My girls are 6-7 months old, similar to yours. They've been out in the coop since summer with no extra light or heat, no problems. DBF put a temp guage in there and the coldest it has gotten so far in the coop is in the mid 40s.

Our BSL just started laying, too!

We're relatively mild here in the PNW. If it gets really cold - as it can from time to time - we may put them in the garage overnight with some extra heat. But until then, they're fine in the coop. You're will be fine, too.

10:35p here right now & their coop is 48 degrees. I'm sure it's in the 30s outside. Amazing how much body heat the 4 girls produce (and one is a banty!).

 

[TurtleChick]

i'm practically jennspeeps' neighbor - i'm in tacoma, too!

i wouldn't worry so much about cold as wind/drafts - they can handle the cold as long as they're dry and draft-free. i couldn't really tell in your pic, but it looked like it's sort-of open down the sides near the front, too? i wouldn't fuss with a heat lamp, but i would just make sure that when it's windy and windy/rainy that no rain gets them/the coop wet and no air is actually blowing on them. above them is okay, to a certain extent. the vents on my coop are smaller than yours, but when it gets really gusty here, i have a (very sophisticated, i know) tarp that i wrap around one side of their house (the weather side - when the rain blows sideways, you know...). it doesn't look pretty, but it keeps their coop dry and keeps the wind out. so if you could do something like that, i'm sure it'd help. or rig up some way to slide plexiglass in for the winter and take it out for the summer. and like jenn said, worst case scenario, you could always bring them into a garage? (i'd bring mine in the house if i had to... that's what's nice about have a small little backyard flock!!!)

good luck!

 

[pointyp]

Thanks Jenspeeps & TurtleChick! I think I will try a tarp over it. I'm up on a hill and it gets pretty windy in our backyard. I'll get a thermometer too.

 

[coffeelady3]

Is that coop a Chin-n-Hutch? I saw one at Dells yesterday for $119! I thought that was pretty darned cheap!

 

[mksenoj]

We heat the coop here in NY as we are afraid of frost bite etc. I just read redoak and I'm starting to think I could save on electric bills. I have two heat lamps and a wind break outside on the run. Maybe I treat them well. My dog pens are heated also. My Wife feels sorry for the animals.

 

[silkiechicken]

I'm a bit north of seattle, but I don't heat... mine prefer to sleep in the outdoor part of their tractors... so don't worry!

 

[chookchick]

Cute Girls!
I have a similar small coop area with an open door, I stuck my hand in the other night and it was warm! Reminds me, I was going to put a thermometer near the vent where I could see it. I'm also going to put some thick clear plastic strips over the door area (about 3" wide strips) to cut down the breeze---read about this idea the other day while searching "door flaps" on BYC. I also put a nice thick layer of bedding down since they don't seem to be "into" sleeping on the roosts.