Too cold?

[AChickenNamedBlue]

I'd put them up top...and not expect any serious difference.


I would not.
Re-acclimating them would be a PITB.


NO!
Leave them alone. That's pretty mild FB shown.

What do you mean not expect a difference? Meaning it’ll still frost?

 

[aart]

What do you mean not expect a difference? Meaning it’ll still frost?

Adding a couple more small vents won't make a huge difference.
Yes, it might.

That shed will need some major modification in the future.
Think you're in MA(add it to your profile).

 

[Luv Ducks]

Thanks! I made a profile quick and clearly never updated it! The shaved pine is in a big old clear bag.

We are located in MA!

All of my pine shavings from our local Tractor Supply store or Rural King are perfectly dry. I loaded my flock up yesterday as it was -8 F when I woke up this morning. They are still huddled down together in different areas of the pens and I will wait until 10 above F at 2pm to go out so that my water spigot outside will work. I don't want them to come out any sooner although they could if they wanted to as they are not enclosed in any of the areas of protection from the elements.

 

[AChickenNamedBlue]

Adding a couple more small vents won't make a huge difference.
Yes, it might.

That shed will need some major modification in the future.
Think you're in MA(add it to your profile).

What can you suggest in the meantime until we can make appropriate mods/what do you see beneficial for mods? I thought I saved my location! ma is correct

 

[jreardon1918]

What can you suggest in the meantime until we can make appropriate mods/what do you see beneficial for mods? I thought I saved my location! ma is correct

Is the coop enclosed in a secure run? If so, you could leave the door open. That I think helps with my small coop. I leave the two windows and the pop door open 24x7x365. But again, the secure run keeps the bad guys out.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Is the coop enclosed in a secure run? If so, you could leave the door open. That I think helps with my small coop. I leave the two windows and the pop door open 24x7x365. But again, the secure run keeps the bad guys out.

I totally agree as none of my shelters have an enclosed door for plenty of ventilation as ducks need that.

 

[aart]

I thought I saved my location! ma is correct

Try again, remember to scroll down and hit save.
Instructions on my post #9.

What can you suggest in the meantime until we can make appropriate mods/what do you see beneficial for mods?

Seeing pics of your coop and run would help immensely here.

But this is a good idea.....

Is the coop enclosed in a secure run? If so, you could leave the door open.

 

[AChickenNamedBlue]

Try again, remember to scroll down and hit save.
Instructions on my post #9.


Seeing pics of your coop and run would help immensely here.

But this is a good idea.....

Try again, remember to scroll down and hit save.
Instructions on my post #9.


Seeing pics of your coop and run would help immensely here.

But this is a good idea.....

Not sure why but photos aren’t uploading. Anyways- we cut some long vents up the top and cut out a doggie door and put some curtains for the draft to stay out. Woke up to no frost! Not as chilly last night but still a win!

 

[Dianemarie]

I'd put them up top...and not expect any serious difference.


I would not.
Re-acclimating them would be a PITB.


NO!
Leave them alone. That's pretty mild FB shown.

This advise isn’t using newer recommendations for chicken keeping.


Mild frostbite is still frost bite.
Frost bite can be avoided if you keep the coop above freeze and reduce the moisture levels in your coop.

They have studied and shown that is idea of Re- acclimating isn’t doing anything for symptoms of cold stress in chickens.

Chickens bodies show cold stress at 55*-60* F and the signs of being cold do not correlate with the bodies response to cold. I would look up how cold stress effect a chickens body and see if you are ok with that. They have found that exposure to 60F during egg cycle causes egg yolks to have a toxin. Reading these studies as convinced me to make sure my chickens aren’t in constant stress.
modernpoultry.media/cold-temperatures-can-have-severe-

 

[FrostRanger]

This advise isn’t using newer recommendations for chicken keeping.


Mild frostbite is still frost bite.
Frost bite can be avoided if you keep the coop above freeze and reduce the moisture levels in your coop.

They have studied and shown that is idea of Re- acclimating isn’t doing anything for symptoms of cold stress in chickens.

Chickens bodies show cold stress at 55*-60* F and the signs of being cold do not correlate with the bodies response to cold. I would look up how cold stress effect a chickens body and see if you are ok with that. They have found that exposure to 60F during egg cycle causes egg yolks to have a toxin. Reading these studies as convinced me to make sure my chickens aren’t in constant stress.
modernpoultry.media/cold-temperatures-can-have-severe-

Very few chickens are going to be stressed at 60F. Mainly just very young chicks, and birds that are severely ill or injured. I didn't see anything about cold making eggs toxic but even if there was some truth to that, it's almost certainly in a quantity that wouldn't be of any concern. I eat eggs from my birds in winter and have suffered no ill effects, and I don't know of anyone who got sick or died from eating eggs from birds kept in cold weather. I let my birds tell me if they're cold and even on the coldest nights they were spread out on the roost as usual without a single care. Keeping coops dry is very important though as excess humidity is a major contributor to frostbite. Unless one gets truly gnarly winters or have birds that are more susceptible to cold for some reason, the risks of heating a coop outweigh the benefits for most people