Think it's too cold for your chickens? Think again...

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

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I got an email from someone asking for advice just the other day... it was 8°F and he asked when he should add heat. I told him I hadn't added any heat yet.

The next day he emails me and asks why his chickens are shaking their heads... come to find out from a mutual friend that he has had heat in his coop all along, and has now been warned TWICE not to keep them so warm. It's raining now, so it's 36°F and 100% humidity... all the poop/water in the coop has thawed now and created moisture. I honestly don't know what it is, and if he should be worried. But none of mine are doing any such thing.

I think it's a lot like us with colds... it's not the cold temps causing us to become less resistant to colds, it's the going back and forth between warm and cold that does it. Just a theory.

Yeah...it's been VERY dry cold (due to all of the wind)...it's supposed to "warm up" to the 20s here by Thursday...we're leaving tomorrow for Portland and I'm debating on whether or not to leave them locked in or open the runs before I leave...my MIL will be caring for them and she's not known for her thoroughness or accuracy at keeping things under control or ALIVE.

So I'm leaning towards leaving them locked in except for the ducks/geese...​

 

[shelleyd2008]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Hollywood, your chickens should be fine.

Twisted Serpent, I would not put Millies in the snow. Their feathered feet get too wet/cold, and you wind up with frostbite on their feet. Covered run, or don't let them out at all. My Millie pair has a 4x4' pen, inside on shavings, and never go outside except in the summer.
t4dbirds, if it were me, I would give them the choice of being able to go outside. I leave the pop door open all the time, only dropping the towel over it to block drafts if it starts dropping in temps or gets windy. They still have the option of going outside, though.
NickyPick, if they have a coop to go into to get out of the elements, they should do just fine with those temperature drops.

Their down "coats" do a good job of keeping them warm. If it drops like that and gets super windy, then perhaps coop them up until the wind stops, but you shouldn't have to worry about the temps.
Eleanor Kay, since they're all bantams, you might want to give them heat if they start acting like they're miserable... i.e. huddled in a corner all fluffed up and not moving. Again, if they have a size-appropriate coop where they can get out of the elements, they should be fine.

Most all my birds are bantams. While I'm sure it doesn't get as cold here as it does where Hollywood is, i don't do anything special for my bantams and they get along fine. Though some of my birds have moved into the babies' coop of their own free will, I guess that's because not only does it have 4 walls (the barn is 3-sided), but there are lots of warm bodies to snuggle with

 

[shelleyd2008]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

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That's what I was missing, a HELMET! LOL

That's to protect your head when you slip on the ice.

We save 1 gallon milk jugs to haul water... 2 gallons to the bunnies 2-3 times a day, 2 gallons to the chickens in the layer coop 2-3 times a day, 1 gallon to the grow out pen, 1 gallon each to the two duck pens twice a day, and 18-20 water bottles get swapped out twice a day in the breeder coop. We have a utility sink in the garage that hubby built (he got tired of chicken poopies in the bathtub, I guess

) and he switch the hose that feeds it to the hot water.

Now we take warm water out to the animals.

Do you not use water bottles for your bunnies? That's the biggest problem i have with mine, their water bottles freeze up. And the quails' water bottles. I have to take something out with an 'open' top (bucket) so I can float the bottles in them to thaw.

 

[Frza]

this is our first winter with chickens. It is supposed to get down to 17 degrees here tonight (Portland, OR). our coop is not insullated and has minimal drafts. It is a smaller henhouse, and they roost up high, I hope that will keep them warm at night.

Your post really helped ease some of my worry, thank you!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Frza, I'm just over in Forest Grove. Four chickens, and like you I have a small raised coop, no insulation. This thread has calmed me down. I think they'll be okay. Mine could be in the coop today if they wanted, but they've been out in the run all day.

 

[Mrs MIA]

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That's to protect your head when you slip on the ice.

We save 1 gallon milk jugs to haul water... 2 gallons to the bunnies 2-3 times a day, 2 gallons to the chickens in the layer coop 2-3 times a day, 1 gallon to the grow out pen, 1 gallon each to the two duck pens twice a day, and 18-20 water bottles get swapped out twice a day in the breeder coop. We have a utility sink in the garage that hubby built (he got tired of chicken poopies in the bathtub, I guess

) and he switch the hose that feeds it to the hot water.

Now we take warm water out to the animals.

Do you not use water bottles for your bunnies? That's the biggest problem i have with mine, their water bottles freeze up. And the quails' water bottles. I have to take something out with an 'open' top (bucket) so I can float the bottles in them to thaw.

No... we have 30 cages. That would be a full time job in itself! LOL! We use the small metal bowls, and when they freeze up we can bang them against a brick or board to knock the ice out and refill with warm water. If there's only a little bit of ice in the bottom, the warm water thaws it out.

I have one room in the breeder coop (fully insulated) that has a 60w bulb in it to give some babies some heat. Keeps the coop above freezing, and I use the soda bottle waterer cups in there.

 

[Mrs MIA]

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I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you see them out and about the next morning.

 

[mkearsley]

Great advice thanks!! We get horendous winds here in southern idaho. I've got the birds in a coop that's got a wooden section about 5' tall, 4' long & 4' wide, with one side being a door, a small door cut in the front & a vent on the back. The front leads out to a caged in area about 5' tall, 4' wide, & 5-6' long. Right now, I've got a heavy-duty tarp over the top, one long side is up against the fence, the caged short side & the other long side have straw & leafy tree branch bundles up against the cage & tarp. The bottom is ground, but I've tossed straw in the caged area & about 3" of straw in the covered section for sleeping. The food & water are both in the caged section. So, my question is: do I need all the branch bundles to keep the cage as wind-free as possible? The windchill today was somewhere around 1-5 degrees F, although the air temp was up in the mid- to lower-20s. We've got snow on the ground now. Today, I locked them in the coop & cage. What is the coldest weather I should let them out in? This is the first winter I've had birds, I'm a little worried about them getting sick because of the wind & cold.

 

[Mrs MIA]

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They shouldn't get sick, and they should be given free choice on going out or staying in (unless they get wet and refuse to go inside... then I'd boot their fuzzy butts into the coop and leave them there.) They are not as affected by the windchill, but they need a place to get out of the elements. You know how nice it feels to step around a corner and get out of a cold, wet wind... that's what they need with their coop. It doesn't have to be heated, just relatively draft free. There is no magic temperature at which you should put them in or let them out... it's totally subjective to the birds themselves and what they're comfortable with. The pop door on our coop was left open (though with a towel stapled at the top hanging down to keep the drafts down) at -5F. All the birds were outside waiting for breakfast and fresh water every morning.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Ms AK, I read your last post and imagined how my silly birds would react if I stapled a towel over their pop-up door. They would probably freak out and lay their eggs in the run rather than go in the coop

Totally chicken chickens.