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

[SkyWarrior]

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Where do you live? Just curious.

 

[SkyWarrior]

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Howdy neighbor!

I think you have to judge by looking at your chickens. Mine have been fine in this weather. My barn is uninsulated, so I have to keep an eye on them. The water has sure been a pain in the butt, though.

 

[Mrs MIA]

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And that's ok... extremely young, injured or special needs chickens may need heat. But I stand by my "no heat" policy for normal, healthy, adult birds with all their feathers.

Once a bird has been frostbitten, just like humans they are more sensitive to the cold. By all means heat!

I had a little silver sebright hen that we "rescued" from a foreclosure... -25F in February, and none of the birds had heat or any place to get off the ice.

Their food and water bowls were frozen solid, and the nest boxes were full of frozen poopies and eggs. It was HORRIBLE. We got her home and in the coop before we realized that all but one of her toes were black.

She lost all but one toe, but did fine after they healed. Without the proper housing and a place to get off the ice and out of the elements, yeah, they're going to get frostbite and possibly die. I'm not a stranger to frostbite, but my girls have a cozy coop and plenty of bedding and roosts to get up off the ground. I may even add heat when it gets colder... -20 to -40F. But not until THEY show me that they're cold.

For (I think) the fifth time, I will say that this thread was started in response to a post on FB by someone in Florida who already had two 250w heat lamps on their fully feathered healthy adult birds. That's like putting a Malamute with his winter coat in a sauna...

I'm not saying you can't add heat... everyone's conditions are different. But I can tell you that a normal, full-sized fully feathered heathy bird is just fine, even all by itself, at 30F and below.

 

[jdellosso]

Thanks to everyone for the useful information. Out here in California it's been pretty warm with 60-70 degree days, 50 at night. But last night, it dipped to 20 degrees, and yes, I scrambled to find my old red light bulb setup from when my two cochins were tiny. I hooked it up in their coop and checked on them after they went to bed...looks like it kept them up for most of the night. They ran around a bit this morning, then settled in for a long nap! Do they add feathers as the weather gets colder? This year's molt was negligible. It's good to know these girls can handle the cold, think I'll let them go au naturale from now on.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Yes... adding heat prematurely can keep them from growing in their "winter coat".

They will get denser coats as the temps decrease.

My Orpingtons look like the Michelin Man...

 

[Montana-Hens]

Everyone has to do what they believe is best. But I think that this thread has given some great reliable info to people who are questioning if they must heat. When I first started I looked to the folks in Alaska for guidance on cold weather. It has not let me down.

I am a no heat person. I think not allowing our animals to harden off with winter weather is a diservice to the animal. I have my chickens to live closer to the earth and using energy seems sort of counter to that reasoning.

Yesterday it was -22 F here in Montana and my ladies live just fine in their non-heated, no extra light, semi-insulated, ventilated coop. I do use a heat doggie bowl for my personal convenience. I pick my breeds for cold weather. They have access to the ourdoors every day. They are more pets than livestock, all of them having names and a friendly flock.

Thanks to all the folks from Alaska for sharing their experiences with poultry and some of the longest, coldest stretches in temperatures.

 

[Mrs MIA]

You're welcome!

I had picked up a big bag of fruits/veggies from the food bank... I put it all out there fore the birds. They're feasting too. The house smells lovely right now, herbs, spices, and mega-yumminess.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

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Like your way of thinking!!

 

[HorizonSon]

I've had the coop door open since late morning; like this (old pic):

I just closed it up and they were ticked! It only got up to 44degs, was already starting to drop fast and they are less than three weeks old!... How 'bout them apples?

 

[woodmort]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

For (I think) the fifth time, I will say that this thread was started in response to a post on FB by someone in Florida who already had two 250w heat lamps on their fully feathered healthy adult birds. That's like putting a Malamute with his winter coat in a sauna...

I'm not saying you can't add heat... everyone's conditions are different. But I can tell you that a normal, full-sized fully feathered heathy bird is just fine, even all by itself, at 30F and below.

Yeah, she, or someone like her, posted on here telling everyone they should use heat once the coop got below 32. Also there was a woman in town who had a husky-mix that, once the temperatures got below about 40, used to put a coat on it. Poor dog was panting. (It was also, surprise, surprise, obese.)

As a further note: I once had an EE hen go wild and live all winter by herself when the temperatures got to 20 below--she roosted in a tree. She did fine, unfortunately she was run over on the road after surviving cold and predators on her own for almost 18 months. I suspect if one has a winter hardy breed of chicken and it "freezes" to death there may be other factors at work beside temperature.​