What is a good winter coop temp??

[ChickaD]

As you probably know, an additional way to help them raise their body temps in cold weather is to give them some scratch before bedtime. Digesting corn raises a chicken's temp.

 

[Mom 2em All]

what about serama? I have two in my coop. What temp can they safely live at? I know they are not winter-hardy, so it was my intentions to keep the coop at ?? temperature. I just don't know how well they tolerate what temps.

 

[digitS']

My personal notion on Winter temperatures is that chickens are fairly comfortable even when their environment is close to 32°F. There are a few factors to be considered here, however.

First, as has been noted, they require drinkable water. Also, eggs will freeze and break at some point.

Even tho' they have feather insulation, chickens originated in South and Southeast Asia. Some of the breeds have been selected for colder climes but they did not develop as a species in those parts of the world.

I had pigeons for a good number of years. They live wild in the coldest cities of North America. My birds' feed consumption would spike during the Winter months. I haven't noticed as much difference with chickens but pigeons can eat 3 times more food. How much do you want to spend on your birds at the feed store?

Heating costs money, so going beyond insulation and draft-free may not make much economic sense. It may be cheaper to just pump the extra calories into their feed bowl but I think we can only take that so far.

If we go with production guidelines, housing should be maintained as close to 70° as possible throughout the laying cycle. For the backyard flock, the Coop Ex experts say, temperatures above 55° are "desirable" to maintain egg production. 55° is a long way from freezing temperatures and below.

Steve

 

[Mrs MIA]

I keep just enough heat in the coop to keep the water and eggs from freezing. i.e. 35°F.
Last year I tried to keep the coop at 55-60°F, and wound up with hellacious electric bills in Jan/Feb when the temps outside stayed around -30°F.

I won't do that again. Chicks will get supplemental heat, and any waterers that may freeze will either have heat-cable or a small lamp focused on them, but that's it. If the birds can acclimatize slowly as the seasons change, then there's no reason to give them additional heat.

The corn/scratch does help in the extreme temps, and my excuse for more birds is that they can huddle together and share body heat, thus eliminating the need for additional heat. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

 

[Chickenaddict]

I have heard seramas cant handle temps below 50 degrees but i could be wrong. I keep my seramas in a spare room in the house so it doesnt cost anymore then we already spend on heating the house. The flock outside i keep a heat lamp in the coop only to keep them warm during the nights when it gets well below zero

 

[Year of the Rooster]

My dad and I have been discussing this issue too. We thought about just putting the lamp in there incase we need to turn it on. Also, how well do Golden Sebrights fair in cold weather? I've read that they are not the best, but I just want to make sure while we're on this topic

 

[Snack Giver]

thank god for these posts. i've learned so much about winter-care. when i first started getting chickens last year, I built my coop with the intention of putting up heat lamps in winter. i thought i needed to do this. i thought that the birds were like parrots and couldnt stand the cold. I now know this isnt true. also I now know what is the real winter enemy of chickens: amonia and moisture. I have reasonable ventilation along with insulation now. no heat lamps. and they sleep on flat 2x4s for their feet to stay warm.

 

[hispoptart]

Quote:
Thats a myth, corn does not raise a chickens body temp.

 

[karlamaria]

10 below last week, zero every morning afterwards, my birds are fine. In fact happy and healthy . But as I stated in the summer threads, I put carpeting on my two by fours so that there feet would be warmer in the drastic cold. Since it's so cold out no mites, and my chickens feet are much better off then on a hard board . They love the carpeting and I think it feels pretty good sleeping on it. And they never poop on it! Win won situation!