True Serama low temperature for the Midwest

[Autumn Leaves]

I hatched out some Serama chicks finally as it took me forever to find them without shipping! They came from a flock in Columbus, Ohio. I live in Cincinnati.

I keep reading that Serama need heat when it is lower than 40F. I don't heat my coop in the winter and it can get a bit nasty here. Last winter we hit -10F. That is the lowest my girls have seen. Our cold is also a humid cold (which sucks).

I have a mixed flock of large and bantam fowl in a 8X10 walk in coop. Ventilation in winter from ridge vent, open eves and two large windows in the peak of the coop. No insulation on walls or roof. Food and water are outside the coop in the run. Run walls are side of house and solid fence on the windy side, open on the rest.

The family I got the chicks from said they did not heat the birds last winter. Columbus is quite a bit north of Cincinnati, so I know they were colder than us. The parent birds seemed about the same size as my D'anver bantams, who have had no issue with the cold in the 3 years I have had them.

For you northern keepers - are Serama really that cold sensitive? How cold have your birds gone, and how humid are you in the winter?

I don't want to put my Serama in danger, but I also don't want to baby them this winter. The options I have are insulate the coop roof and walls (which I want to do eventually anyway) and/or bring them into my attached unheated garage that is always above freezing for the coldest days. I want to leave them out if possible.

Thanks!

 

[LilJoe]

@Zinjifrah @BabyBoss


....
my seramas dont range.. they have their own pens and come 'in' when it's cold (not on the house).

 

[Zinjifrah]

I've only had my Seramas for a short while - however, I've also read that they can be cold sensitive. I've also read where people said that they were surprisingly cold hardy. I can tell you that my three-week-old chicks are doing fine during the day out in the run, when we got an odd cold snap down to the lower 50's the other day... however, for winter I do plan on putting a radiant oil space-heater out in the coop, so that anyone who gets cold can roost near it if they want. My silkied Serama pullet, in particular, I'll want to keep an eye on. Last night she was happily snuggled up against one of my EE pullets, when I did the after-dark check. It was hilarious, because Ash, the EE, is so much bigger than Wren, the Serama, that she looked like she'd acquired a chick. Winters here get down around -20 F, with very humidity most of the time.

I'll be putting the heater up on some bricks, with a wire cage over it to prevent direct contact. The only fire danger from them is if they're somehow tipped over on their end... which, let me tell you, takes some work... and buried in flammable material. I don't anticipate that my chickens will be able to manage that. Some have a kill switch that activates if that happens, with others the kill-switch only works if it's tipped over on its side.

 

[Zinjifrah]

Adding on - it's just under 50 F. and pouring rain with wind right now. All four of my older Seramas - nine and a half weeks old - are out having a fine time playing in the rain, even my silkied girl isn't fluffed up at all. My younger three, four weeks old tomorrow, are cussing me out from the brooder because they aren't out in the flight cage they've been spending all day in out in the run. The only reason they aren't out is because I don't want to get rained all over, and it doesn't have a way for them to get inside the coop if they did want to. I don't imagine a drop to 40 F. would bother them much. They have a nice, sheltered coop to go into, and they want nothing to do with it. They aren't even under the sheltered part of the run, where it's fairly dry other than the occasional blown flurry - they're out in the rain playing in puddles like little kids, grabbing pieces of bark or dirt and racing around just to get everyone else to chase them. That's not nearly as cold as it can get, and will get, certainly. It's just an observation!

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Mine live indoors but my friends have them outside. They are not as cool hardy as many other breeds and require shelter from moisture, wind and ice. Heat is a very good idea in winter weather.

 

[Autumn Leaves]

Thanks everyone. I'll keep a close watch on them this winter and see how it goes. I'll set up a garage house for them just in case.