this cold & humidity is killing us!

[Sir Birdaholic]

RIGHT ON,technodoll!

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
Lynne, you say vents down low are bad for humidity? Same weather here and my coops are at 80-85% humidity. I have not seen any posts on what the coop humidity should be. Any ideas? I have deep litter pine shavings in the coop and that doesn't seem to change anything. It is warm enough in the coops now, but my insulation failed (chickens destroyed it) and I now have to consider other options for the below freezing weather we will surely see in the next month or 2. I wondered if you remove the insulation in the coops during the summer? Wouldn't it get too hot it the summer if you don't remove it?

Insulation in the summer does the opposite of what it does in the winter...it keeps the heat out and the cool in! Insulation is great! I'm so glad somebody invented it!

We covered our insulation with a cheap kind of paneling stuff from home depot, else our chickens would have thought it was cotton candy.

 

[technodoll]

We covered our insulation with a cheap kind of paneling stuff from home depot, else our chickens would have thought it was cotton candy.

Yep same here, had to cover the styrofoam Thermax sheets with paneling cuz the girls were going MAD for the stuff - why do birds love to eat styrofoam??

 

[MissPrissy]

In the winter, with good high ventilation which allow moisture to escape you won't have to worry about frost bite or chickens getting too cold. Chickens do not need any extra sources of heat in the winter except maybe in extreme conditions below zero.

Properly fed and a well maintained coop and chickens can produce enough heat to keep themselves toasty and warm.

They do not feel the cold like we do and average 40 degree temps are comfortable to them - not chilly. They are very well insulated with winter plumage and down feathers that keep them from feeling the cold. Even in 10 - 20 degree weather and below proper feeding, a draft free, ventilated coop is all they need.

Once chickens are acclimated to electric sources of heat they are weakened physically and suffer stress trying to move from one temp to another.

 

[technodoll]

I will have to say that each situation needs to be monitored - right now I have 6 babies in the coop that need extra warmth, they are too small and not feathered enough to withstand the cold, and specially not the humidity from all the moisture outside.

I will also probably see a few chicks born mid-December that will need that heat lamp day and night to ward off the chills, even with mama bird around I don't want to risk it.

If the water is freezing in my coop, it's too cold for my flock... yes they are "animals" but it's my responsibility to keep them as comfortable as possible. I wouldn't let my dogs shiver and freeze and I myself hate the cold so... oh wow it's going to be a LONG winter

Also, the door to the coop is open all day as it is too small for the flock to be shut in 24/7.

On cold days it's only the pop door but they always have access to free-ranging when it's not pouring rain, their choice to stay inside or go outside, or go in the 2nd attached coop for a dust bath (which drafty and not insulated, but the dry dirt there is fantastic for bathing).

Yes this lowers the coop temp during the day but it lets in lots of fresh air and sunshine, which I think is pretty awesome

I just don't want to see my electricity bill!!

 

[Mahonri]

I'll be thinking of you when I have to turn the AC on in my coop next July.

We are supposed to get a drop or two of rain here today... but it's only supposed to get up to 68. Brrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[MissPrissy]

Ask yourself this - before electricity came to rural areas how did old farmers keep chickens warm?

 

[patandchickens]

Commercial chicken barns shoot for 50-55% humidity, for whomever asked. Basically if you just avoid real high humidities in the coop, like 80% and up, you will be in good shape.

Quote:
Before deciding that "above freezing" is what chickens require, and "below freezing" is equivalent to freezing and shivering, it would be an awfully good idea to FIND OUT what your chickens think about colder temps. Generally it turns out that they are perfectly happy, NOT shivering, NOT freezing, NOT miserable.

There is nothing magic about 32 F (0 C), you know -- it's just where water freezes, but chickens ARE NOT made of water (they contain water, but they are not just little puddles), and the freezing point of chicken body tissue is a lot colder than that, because they are continually generating their own internal heat and wear full-body down jackets.

If a polar bear owned *you* as a pet, would you want him turning on the a/c in your quarters everytime the temperature got above 6 C (the low 40s F) just because that's when HE starts to get uncomfortably hot?

Watch your chickens, FIND OUT how they act at different temps.


Pat

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
I've heard (read) several comments saying that. But MY chickens not only feel the cold, they don't like it. Yesterday was probably our coldest day so far, right around the 40 degree mark, and my chickens did NOT want to come out of the coop. They would come out when I was in the run, but ran back inside each time I left (and stayed in other than for very brief stints). Now, my little girls aren't 12 weeks yet. So maybe THAT has something to do with it???

On really cold nights, I do supplement w/a heat lamp. My dogs and cats are cozy in the house on cold nights, so why shouldn't my chickens get a break too? That's JMO. I'd agree more about "not feeling the cold" if they were out reveling in it rather than hanging out in the coop instead...

 

[chookchick]

Miss Prissy is back! Miss Prissy is back!

teach1rusl--I don't think you can draw conclusions from a few days of watching young chickens, about how they feel about cold. I know my hens don't like rain, and are not too fond of wind, but last year when the temps dropped to the teens, they were happy and running around the run in their fluffy winter coats. IF they have been hanging out in a heated coop, of course they are not going to be comfortable outside, because they are not acclimated. I work outside and go through the same process each change of seasons. When it starts to get cold, I don't want to work, but after a few days I am just fine working out in the cold. I think the worst thing we can do for our chickens is to not allow them to acclimate to colder temps.