Unusual below 0 temps coming our way...

[Camelot Farms]

Taking any and all suggestions to prevent frozen chickens.

Normally our nighttime temps here do not get below 30. Looking at a run of temps barely out of the teens during the day, nights will be below 0.

Beyond bringing them all into the house (which DH is not looking excited about

), what other precautions can I take?

Gah!

 

[Kansaseq]

Brooder/heat lamp in coop.

 

[Camelot Farms]

Quote:
Ooops. I forget people arent mind readers...

... and not everyone has seen my chicken set up

I have individual breeding pens and DH assures me that if I hook up that many (10) heat lamps that I will have roast chicken for all of the firefighters who come to the barn fire.

I do have one heat lamp in my Serama pen cause they are so tiny.

 

[BBK]

check out my post...( i can't do links sorry) but it's about putting hot rocks in my coop (search HOT ROCKS)...there RocketDAD had some great info about using almost boiling water in bottles that should help you out...I was thinking of using detergent bottles, they're thicker than milk jugs...
good luck...
melinda

 

[fiberart57]

I use boiling water in a Clorox bottle for a 4'x6'x4.5' house, bury it in the shavings and it's still warm in the morning at 12 degrees at night. And the inside of the house is warmer than the outside. You might also cut down some of the ventilation temporarily to keep the heat in. Don't close up the houses, but just to keep the heat in. I cut my ventilation by 60% and it seems to work. But I live in the high deserts of Colorado, with humidity around 15% so that works.

Good luck. It's been miserably cold this winter. As my friend said, "The cold has gotten into the bones of the houses." No sun for five days and highs of 25 are chilling.

Mary

 

[Camelot Farms]

I just sent the kids to the store for gallons of generic bleach. Will pour out bleach and have hot water bottles by dark

Maybe if I put them next to the waterers, they wont freeze for a change...lol.

 

[hinkjc]

Camelot, can you merge some of your birds together so they can help keep each other warm? There is heat in numbers.

 

[Wildsky]

If they are out of the wind, they should be fine! We go down below 0 often enough and my girls are all ok.... only thing is making sure they have water to drink.

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:
I agree with this. As long as they're out of the wind, they'll do fine as long as they have a few to cuddle up with. I just put a heat lamp over the water bucket to keep it from freezing.

 

[Wildsky]

My water heater broke, so I don't even have that, I kick out ice and re-fill water dishes in the morning - lunch time and dinner time, they have access to the horses heated bucket and tank during the day.
So far its worked out for us....