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

[Mrs MIA]

Well, -27F is the point at which unattended birds die or suffer.

Came home from a weekend away, and the temps dipped the night I left. We had a barn full of hay, and I didn't think I had to remind anyone to add hay for them to snuggle into. Lost a lot of my breeder roos, and more are being thawed out in the garage. Wattles looked like red chestnuts, and feet were LITERALLY frozen solid. I was devastated... heartbroken, hurt, bawling my eyes out late at night as I filled the houses with hay. The next morning I went out (again at 20 below) and transferred the roos back to the layer coop after inspection. I hooked up a heat lamp to a ThermoCube, so it stays right around the freezing mark. After 3 days, they're starting to look a little better, but I know I'm going to lose combs, and I'll be surprised if I don't lose any toes. There are two Dorkings in the garage... minimal swelling after thawing their feet, which is surprising, but they're not out of the woods. Adding warm water to grains for feeding is ok for pigs, but the chickens thought it was a foot bath and stood in it until their feet froze.

I know they can withstand the cold temps, but the lesson learned (other than keeping tabs on my helpers) is that they can only withstand those temps if given the right conditions to stay warm. I hadn't had any troubles til then. It's been a huge blow, and set my Dorking breeding project back two years.

 

[toofarout]

Darn, I knew something was up and was hoping it wasn't like that. I am so very sorry Mrs.AKBirdBrain.

The prolonged cold this winter is hard. My heart goes out to you and your chickens.

 

[GhostRider65]

WWWWWWW thats awful I feel terrible for you,
we are at -10, 25 below tonight is our expected forecast and we might actually hit 1 degree tomorrow, but with a 25 MPH W NW wind, chills should stay around 25 below all day...... So I will blanket the horses for the time being and..... I think I'm gonna plug in my heat lights, my barn is open on the south side for the horses to run in as a shed its a 12x16 stall actually and right behind it is my coop it does have an almost full wall between them it's open about 18 inches at the top for ventilation...., so it isn't much warmer inside than out just out of the wind........ I hate this stuff, we usually get it around this time of year but mostly only lasts a week or 2 how on earth you all survive in it for months is beyond me..... I think Alaska is beautiful and I would love to see many things there, but I can guarantee it will be July..........Wisconsin winters are bad enough for me......Kim.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Most likely yes, you have a venting issue. HOWEVER, your bedding may be damp as well, which does not necessarily reflect a venting issue. My coop is pretty wide open, but when it is -10 to -20, everything freezes (and HOLY CRAP is chicken poop hard at -10!!!). As it warms, things get wet first, then if warm enough, evaporates. If not, it just stays wet and/or freezes again. I mix in new bedding and DE to dry things up. Sooooooooooo, if your bedding is dry, or new, and you still have frost on the inside of the windows, that would indicate there is not enough ventilation to keep the moisture from respiration/evaporation down.

One thing for sure, you simply can not have to much ventilation. And don't fall for the drafty coop garbage either. These birds were designed to live in trees and bushes, a freaking hollow log is an improvement over natural surroundings. You can see on my page a window in the back of my coop, and the screened opening in the sliding door. Window out, shutters open, -10*.

Good rule of thumb, when in doubt, ventilate - ventilate - ventilate. Fresh air cures almost anything, and prevents almost everything else.

Just my opinion though...

Thank you! yes i have noticed that my hay is really damp, like... REALLY damp. Today I replaced the hay with pine shavings (a TON of pine shavings) because the hay was super damp and were due for some snow and a low of 18* and i felt it would be bad for the florr dwellers to have to sleep in wetness during freezing nights. I am hoping the pine shavings will stay dryer. If not i am at a total loss. I do plan on adding a large vent on the back wall, or i can open a window and cover it with hardware cloth but it would seem like a waste if it wasnt a ventilation issue...

 

[jeepguy982001]

I love this thread since i'm new. I had one chicken in my coup and the thermometer said it had got to 10 and it was fine. It's funny how people in warmer areas tend to add heat if it gets below 40. Anyway i moved my young chicks out 9wk and i do heat the coup only to about 35 i didn't want them to go into shock since they was inside 70 degrees to outside 20 degrees but even there doin fine. I know i'm rambling and inexperienced to chickens but it amazes me what people in different areas do to keep their flock comfortable.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Darn, I knew something was up and was hoping it wasn't like that. I am so very sorry Mrs.AKBirdBrain.

The prolonged cold this winter is hard. My heart goes out to you and your chickens.

Thank you... I wish I hadn't left, but I figured they were in good hands. Won't do that again any time soon. Except for a little snow this coming Sunday, the weather forecast says "unseasonably cold" until NEXT Saturday. Usually happens in January that we dip this low, but more than a couple of days at a time is brutal. We're all crying "UNCLE!!"

 

[off-grid hen]

Hi everyone, I just have a quick question about frostbitten wattles. I don't have heat in my coop, and I have a Woods style coop like JackE's. I bought some rose comb leghorns, but their wattles are long enough to dip into the water when they drink, and they have frostbite on the tips of them. That's not a humidity issue, is it? If there's not much I can do about it, I won't worry about it. This happened about 2 weeks ago, and everyone's fine and still laying.

The humidity has been TERRIBLE this year. The temperature swings have gone 40 degrees in 12 hours several times. It gets foggy and rainy/snowy, then the temperature plunges to 0F or below. As soon as the clouds lift and the air cools and gets drier, I race outside, open all the windows in my coop to get the humid air out and the humidity down, then shut the side and transom windows back up before roosting time. The front is always open. There's only so much I can do when the outside humidity is 85-90%. *sigh*

 

[Mrs MIA]

Hi everyone, I just have a quick question about frostbitten wattles. I don't have heat in my coop, and I have a Woods style coop like JackE's. I bought some rose comb leghorns, but their wattles are long enough to dip into the water when they drink, and they have frostbite on the tips of them. That's not a humidity issue, is it? If there's not much I can do about it, I won't worry about it. This happened about 2 weeks ago, and everyone's fine and still laying.

The humidity has been TERRIBLE this year. The temperature swings have gone 40 degrees in 12 hours several times. It gets foggy and rainy/snowy, then the temperature plunges to 0F or below. As soon as the clouds lift and the air cools and gets drier, I race outside, open all the windows in my coop to get the humid air out and the humidity down, then shut the side and transom windows back up before roosting time. The front is always open. There's only so much I can do when the outside humidity is 85-90%. *sigh*

Other than changing their watering system to something that doesn't dip their wattles (nipples/cups) there's really nothing you can do. That's not horrible... when they swell up like chestnuts, that's when it gets to be painful for the birds.

 

[off-grid hen]

I just read about your birds. I'm so sorry.

I know my birds wattles aren't bad, just wondering if I could prevent it. Nipple waterers must require heat tape or something to stay thawed, which I can't do. Each watt I use translates directly into gasoline for the generator in the winter when furnace is running and we have fewer daylight hours to charge the batteries. I currently use 1 gallon heated dog bowl that uses 25 watts. I guess I'll just have to choose breeds with smaller wattles. I've already placed my spring chick order and I can't change it now. We'll see how the black copper marans, Easter Eggers, barnevelders, welsummers, and red stars do. My rock's combs have been fine. Nobody has foot problems, thank goodness.

Good luck with the rest of your flock- I hope they heal ok. :-/

 

[toofarout]

I just read about your birds. I'm so sorry.

I know my birds wattles aren't bad, just wondering if I could prevent it. Nipple waterers must require heat tape or something to stay thawed, which I can't do. Each watt I use translates directly into gasoline for the generator in the winter when furnace is running and we have fewer daylight hours to charge the batteries. I currently use 1 gallon heated dog bowl that uses 25 watts. I guess I'll just have to choose breeds with smaller wattles. I've already placed my spring chick order and I can't change it now. We'll see how the black copper marans, Easter Eggers, barnevelders, welsummers, and red stars do. My rock's combs have been fine. Nobody has foot problems, thank goodness.
Good luck with the rest of your flock- I hope they heal ok. :-/

The Chanteclers have almost no comb and wattles, you might want to investigate that breed. I have Chanteclers (and Buff Orpingtons), there are no worries/issues with the Chantecler combs and wattles and it gets very cold here.