Super cold weather!

[Michael Propst]

Mine survived fine last winter with 14 straight days in the negative numbers. However I winterize my run by wrapping it in 7 mil plastic to keep the wind out. With this mine dont hang out in the actual coop at all during the day even in the negatives. I did have a few with very large combs suffer a little frostbite but they healed right up in the spring.

 

[jreardon1918]

It was cold last night. I blew one thing. After the dnow we got rain. I assumed it would clear the roof and ridge vent. It did not. The humidity got a bit high in the coop last night. If the sun does not melt the roof ice, I will clear it today.

 

[Beer can]

-6f here with -20+ wind chill. My naked necks were outside in the snow waiting for me to feed them. I would've stayed inside if it wasn't for the birds.
They are more cold hardy then me

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

It finally got to .5 above zero here. At 5:30 am it was -2 outside but 12 - 15 in the coop. They seem fine, I change out their water ever hour or so and they seem OK. The heavy plastic sheets on the run work really well at blocking the wind. And there should be some warming from the not too clouded sun. I amped up the protein in their breakfast treat bowl and I have two eggs so far. Love my RIR's!

 

[WindingRoad]

What do you guys do when the weather goes in the single-negative didgets? I bring mine in my garage! Right now it’s around 3 degrees, feels like -20 with windchill! I felt so bad for the girls I had to bring the into the garage for the time being. Once the windchill goes down, I will put them back outside.View attachment 1647611

I have a prefab hen house. BOOO HIIISSSS. I warped the lower part "run" with a clear tarp and now I have about 3-4 feet of banking. aka SNOW. We got about 14-16' here in West Central Maine. It have been below 0F for about as long as I can remember since Nov. I may be a little off there. LOL. I don't believe it's been above 32F at night for a long time. My coop is small for 4 birds and not insulated except for the nice pine shavings not he floor. As a rule I've gotten 4 eggs most days since my 2 SLW started laying about 3-4 weeks ago. I have 8 eggs in a carton right now. A few days ago I had 13 eggs and I hard boiled 6 for egg salad, BEAT salad ( egg boiled, avacado, bacon bits and tomato with mayo yummy) My birds cover their feet with their feathers when they sleep and probably tuck their heads under a wing. I've not seen that with mine but someone had a cam and posted pics of her's doing that. That down coat they wear serves them well. Not frostbite I check every morning. It was 5F this morning. With wind chill -11F They are fine. Active, lively, squawking for food, singing the egg song. MY BO must have just laid the morning around 0730 egg was pretty warm. They can tolerate more that you think, Keep the wind off them Keep them dry . Ventilate.

 

[Soleil_A]

Im just worried because my coop is just a cheap small one, and I only have 2 chickens. I did wrap shower curtains around the run, and i also have a heat lamp in the coop. It’s planning on going back up into the single digits so I’ll bring them back to the coop. It’s around -20 with windchill!!!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Im just worried because my coop is just a cheap small one, and I only have 2 chickens. I did wrap shower curtains around the run, and i also have a heat lamp in the coop. It’s planning on going back up into the single digits so I’ll bring them back to the coop. It’s around -20 with windchill!!!

The heat lamp on them is not a good idea. Chickens come with their own down filled coats. Don't fuss about the coop, if it stands up to the weather and keeps your wee ones dry and draft free then it is fine. If you wrapped their run with plastic and it is hanging on and blocking the wind, then they will be fine. Good luck.

 

[jreardon1918]

If you have the run clear plastic wrapped then a little sun will heat things up. Our run is up to 10f. Eventhough the real temp is still 1 degree f.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

Mine have two chick heat lamps in our coop.

Depending on your setup - this could be a fire hazard, do you have cameras or some way to keep an eye on the heat lamps?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

If you have the run clear plastic wrapped then a little sun will heat things up. Our run is up to 10f. Eventhough the real temp is still 1 degree f.

Not sure what the temp in the run is, but when I changed out the water an hour ago the water I put out at 8 am was not frozen yet. I checked their food and they did eat, but I mixed a little corn in with their regular feed then tossed them a few meal worms. Th high here today is predicted to be 4 F. No real warm up until tomorrow. How about them Patriots!