This is our 1st winter in kansas....How cold is too cold for peeps?

[HippieChickyMama]

My peeps are not full grown....just 6 to 10 weeks old. How cold is too cold for chickens? Our new hen house is not insulated and it is much colder here than in California!!! What do I need to do to take care of my girls this winter? Please help. Our hen house is 8 by 8. I will have 15 girls and 2 roos. I have 27 total now, but 10 are meaties and will be in the freezer pretty soon. Thanks for all of your expertise and kindness in so freely sharing it on this forumn. We "new eggs" are grateful.
Peace~~

 

[Katy]

Since yours are pretty young yet I'd keep them where they've got access to a heat lamp for a few weeks yet, and then wean them off of it.

I live in Kansas too. I don't provide heat for my birds in the winter, unless they're young chicks in one of the brooders in the coop. The adults don't need it, as long as they have a draft free place to sleep and plenty of fresh unfrozen water and feed they'll be fine.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Too cold anywhere is some place your water can freeze.

Those little girls need some source of heat at least until next spring.

 

[emvickrey]

This is my first year having young birds during winter. I plan to keep them indoors until they get feathers. Then outside in the coop in a cage under a heat light. They may get crapmed a little but it's only for a little while. Our winters aren't long.

Keeping them inside is a real chore because I have to clean their container everyday or it stinks to high heavens in here.

I put them out today for the first time in a cage and they had no idea what to do. They huddled at one end most of the time. I brought them back in before it got too chilly.

 

[juliawitt]

My girls are 9 weeks old. I have a red light hooked to a "doohickie" that allows it to come on whenever the coop gets below 45 degrees. Bought it at the farmstore for 10.00 dollars. Have a warmer for water. Last night was the first night I used it. The light never came on so I checked the weather, and it didn't get below 50 last night so, I guess it worked.

 

[Mahonri]

Good times here in Phoenix!!

 

[patandchickens]

Chickens (well chosen for the climate, and well managed)deal fine with freezing temperatures once they are all grown up.

Yours are not yet, so I would give them a bulb in a corner (if you can knock together a plywood hover to put it under, that will let you run less wattage and thus less fire hazard) for a little while yet. Like if temps are going to be in the twenties or upper teens at night, personally I'd have heat available til they were 12-16 wks old at least.

But once they are really firmly full-grown, like 20 wks+, they should be FINE without a lamp for most or probably all of the winter, assuming your coop is managed for good dry air (well ventilated without being drafty, and no leaky waterers or window leaks; a droppings board cleaned every morning helps too, tho is not essential in most cases)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[HippieChickyMama]

Thank you all for your responses. I will keep the red lamp in the coop until my girls are full grown. Look forward to getting eggs!