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

[bruceha2000]

I broke down and got the heat lamp, we have had a few nasty cold snaps (about -36 F average right now) and my four ladies ended up with frost bite! I picked one up and a timer the same day of the discovery. I was however wondering about cheap insulation ideas. I thought a sturdy house with a vent plus sturdy chickens would make for any easy winter! Boy was i wrong!

If it was getting down to -36F I would consider a little supplemental at night. That is down right cold even if you ARE wearing your custom made down suit. But, I don't think I would go any higher than maybe -10F if it was that controllable. You don't want their bodies thinking 40F is "normal".

And, yes my understanding is frostbite isn't related to cold it is related to WET and cold. So more ventilation to get the moist air out would be a good thing.

Hard to say about the insulation since I don't know how your coop is constructed. I can tell you my girls LOVE to peck at both foil and not foil faced foam board. If you put up anything other than hay bales around the outside, be careful they don't decide it is food.

.... but if it's down into the 30's at night when I finish the coop, will they be ok? Or is that going to be too much of a shock? In other words, am I stuck with birds in the house all winter? (Please no!) Do I need to give this particular batch a heat lamp this winter? Is there something I can do to acclimate them, like ... I dunno, take them outside in the day, inside at night then after a while leave them outside? Ugh! Wish they could have been outside early enough to just grow used to the colder days!

I would think that once they're feathered out, that a 30 degree difference shouldn't hurt them too much--we have such swings on a daily basis sometimes since we live at over 5,000 feet and frequently see 30+ mph winds. Regardless, if they're in a coop out of the wind, rain, etc it should be a bit warmer or at least more comfortable than the outside. If you are concerned, you could put a heat lamp out there, and reduce wattage over the course of a few days/weeks until they are acclimatized--similar to reducing the temperatures in the brooder.

I agree. At 8 weeks they should be pretty well feathered and since your house is at 60, they aren't going from the tropics into winter. I got a reptile remote sensing thermostat with an outlet in it for the girls in their brooder. Figured that was easier than dealing with "is the lamp too high, is it too low" etc. When they went to the coop at ~4 weeks, I put a LARGE cardboard box on end in the coop with the open top facing into a corner and put the lamp and thermostat sensor on a timer in there. Probably wasn't necessary but it was getting down to about 50 at night (mid July) and it had been 75 in their bathtub brooder. I left it there for a couple of days then took it out as they didn't seem to need it.

I would put them out in the coop and see how they respond. If they all huddle in a pig pile, you might want to add a little heat for a few days. My guess is they will be fine, especially if you do some "day trips" when it is colder than in the house. Mine all hunkered next to each other on the roost at night for weeks even though the temps were in the 70s. I think it was more of a "comfort" thing for little kids with no momma to help them feel safe.

Bruce

 

[CoopChick719]

Well we are at 20 degrees F, my Black Australorps are having a ball being let out in the barn. I had to move everyone around to give my layers more space and be able to let the BA's out. Out of 15 layers I am getting 10-15 eggs a day with only heat lamps on their waters plus only 100w light above for 4 pens. I have sent eggs to Alaska before and they made it in 2 day's. If anyone wants some BA's I would be glad to ship you some eggs. I am not starting my bators until Febuary do to the cold we get. I have 2 brooders that will take a combined 20 chicks but I have no place to keep them until they are all feathered out. I this thread is so fun to read and see many peoples thoughts and ideas.

Hi Triplell,

Will you have eggs closer to Spring? Would love to have some BA's. I don't have an incubator but was looking forward to one my hens going broody. I have 2 Sizzles & 3 Cochins. I figure I have a pretty good chance. One of the Sizzles hatched a clutch last spring with her previous owner, who said she was a good mama. Please let me know how much the eggs would be if you will have some.

Thank you!
CoopChick719

 

[countrygirl74]

I didn't get to read this whole thread, sorry, but I have a question. It is currently mostly going down into the 40's F right now, but we'll have a dip into the 30's F this week (tomorrow night) and as winter hasn't even started, we will go into the high 20's F this winter. Here is my problem. I have nine 8 week old bantams living in the house right now because I haven't quite finished the coop yet. The house is cool, around 60 degrees, but if it's down into the 30's at night when I finish the coop, will they be ok? Or is that going to be too much of a shock? In other words, am I stuck with birds in the house all winter? (Please no!) Do I need to give this particular batch a heat lamp this winter? Is there something I can do to acclimate them, like ... I dunno, take them outside in the day, inside at night then after a while leave them outside? Ugh! Wish they could have been outside early enough to just grow used to the colder days!

I can just tell you my experience this year with raising babies for the first time in the fall/winter... (I probably won't do it again because they have all had to stay inside for sooo long - especially the ducks - which, by the way are still living in my bathtub at night.

I have 12 total - 9 hens, 3 bantams. 3 of my hens got injured so they were stuck in isolation buckets in the house, which left me with 6 hens and the 3 bantams. They all turned 9 weeks old yesterday and have now been living outside for a week. Our house was getting to about 50-55 at night. A couple weeks before I put them out for the first time, I would let them out all day and bring them in after dark, giving them a chance to feel the nip of cold at night. I was a little concerned with having only 6 hens to keep the bantams warm, but someone convinced me they would be fine, so I finally tried it. I placed probably about 6 inches of straw in their coop and locked them all in overnight one night. The first night they were out, I have to admit that I went and checked on them around midnight. They were all huddled in a group but felt toasty warm under their little bodies. The bantams were underneath all the other hens. It was about 25 the first night they stayed out! Since then, it's dropped at night to 14 and some of our highs have been 30 with a 20 degree windchill. They will definitely spend more time in the house on those days but I didn't lose a single one!! They are all happy and healthy and when I go out around 7:30-8a.m. every morning, they are running around in their house, eager to get out and run and waiting for me to bring them some unfrozen water - even this morning when it was barely pushing 20 degrees. When I went to the feed store about a week ago and told the lady that my chicks were already outside with NO heat lamp, she about freaked out and couldn't believe I hadn't lost any. But I think they are more resilient than we give them credit for. However, if ALL you have is bantams, someone else might want to chime in on if you should wait a little longer or if 9 bantams would be plenty to keep each other warm. Like I said, my bantams bury themselves under the just slightly bigger hens at night but when morning comes and it's still freezing cold, they don't care - they run around just as much as the others. My opinion is that maybe 10 weeks would be sufficient for you to put all your bantams out in 30 degree nights. I would definitely start letting them have some outside time, maybe even leaving them out just a little after dark to feel the temp drop to 40. Expose them just a little longer every day and they should be ready in a couple weeks.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Very good idea, I think I will start that ASAP. I have an old swing set, and have been thinking of enclosing it with wire, then making it a run, and it would be really quick. That way my bantams can run around on these chilly days and get used to a little outdoorsiness! Thanks for the info and insight, bruceha2000 and countrygirl74.

Unfortunately I did break down with my Seramas. They were crying at night so much, I finally put the heat lamp back on them. They're spoiled, what can I say. I'm pretty sure I won't be putting those 4 outside this winter. They're really small, and the coop is quite big. In fact, I'm thinking of making them an indoor style coop to put in the patio, and then just put them in the swingset run during the day in the future...??

 

[Triplell]

Hi Triplell,

Will you have eggs closer to Spring? Would love to have some BA's. I don't have an incubator but was looking forward to one my hens going broody. I have 2 Sizzles & 3 Cochins. I figure I have a pretty good chance. One of the Sizzles hatched a clutch last spring with her previous owner, who said she was a good mama. Please let me know how much the eggs would be if you will have some. 

Thank you!
CoopChick719 

Hello CoopChick719,

Yes I will have eggs this spring. Let me know when you have a broody hen waiting. I am getting $35.00 with shipping right now. These are SQ/BQ out of Duane Urch lines. I have hatched out 35 of them out of 38 eggs in October and they look Great! I will be hatcing out some more in March. Let me know when you are ready.

Thank you Triplell

 

[CoopChick719]

Hello CoopChick719,
Yes I will have eggs this spring. Let me know when you have a broody hen waiting. I am getting $35.00 with shipping right now. These are SQ/BQ out of Duane Urch lines. I have hatched out 35 of them out of 38 eggs in October and they look Great! I will be hatcing out some more in March. Let me know when you are ready.
Thank you Triplell

Will do Triplell! How many eggs for $35? I'm a newbie. Can you tell me what SQ/BQ means? I'm assuming Duane Urch is a breeder? Thanks!!

 

[bruceha2000]

Will do Triplell! How many eggs for $35? I'm a newbie. Can you tell me what SQ/BQ means? I'm assuming Duane Urch is a breeder? Thanks!!

I don't know the answer to the first question but:
SQ is show quality
BQ is breeder quality

They would be similar except the SQ might be more "perfect" and the BQs would be nice birds with qualities you want to use to improve your breeding program.

And, based on context, yes, Duane Urch would be the breeder of the birds that Triplell's birds came from at some time in the past. Found some references that say he's been breeding for 50 years.

Bruce

 

[Triplell]

Will do Triplell! How many eggs for $35? I'm a newbie. Can you tell me what SQ/BQ means? I'm assuming Duane Urch is a breeder? Thanks!!

Hello, That is for one doz and shipping is included. SQ means Show Quality and BQ means Breeder Quality. Duane Urch is one of the top breeders. If you are interested in them I will put you down for a follow up PM and please let me know when you are ready.

Thanks Triplell

 

[Triplell]

I don't know the answer to the first question but:
SQ is show quality
BQ is breeder quality

They would be similar except the SQ might be more "perfect" and the BQs would be nice birds with qualities you want to use to improve your breeding program.

And, based on context, yes, Duane Urch would be the breeder of the birds that Triplell's birds came from at some time in the past. Found some references that say he's been breeding for 50 years.

Bruce

Thanks Bruce for getting back to the post as I have been down at the barn all day and half the night. Triplell

 

[cluck-cluck]

I have another silly question. We get blustery days here, and like today, it was blustery and chilly (low 50's high) and can get quite chilly at night to the low 40's, plus once in a while we get a storm, with rain, wind and it can be quite cold. Yet when building my coop, I kept reading they need lots of ventilation. Now I'm worried they get too much of a draft? The coop has open "windows" on 3 sides from 4' to 5' on the 5' high walls, the roosts are about 2 ' off the ground, and there are up to 1/4" max spaces where the doors are hinged, so air could blow through there. Do you think they'll get sick from the draft?



This is a picture of the coop while under construction. Do I need to worry? Sorry, I know you all say they can live in really cold weather, but I understand drafts are bad, then I understand lots of ventilation is required... now I'm second guessing...