They should be fully feathered, but unfortunately you have to slowly acclimate to outdoor temperatures, you can't just move them from your house to outside without slowly lowering the temperature, you will need to heat them in the coop for a bit or wait until it's warmer, winter is a bad time to raise chick in Ontario.
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It can be cold here for long periods of time here but it's usually a dry cold. With chinooks, the change in temperature and the humidity would wreak havoc on livestock, wouldn't it?
I'm in an area that's been wet and flooded...and humidity has been the problem this winter. It's been in the 80's/90's The coop's fluffy and dry with no smell and decent ventilation but we put two heaters in the coop, more to dry the air than keep it warm. I've got 20+ roosters and the OEGBs and the bantam crosses have straight combs...lol. So far only a few tips have gotten touched.
It's good to hear that cross does well. I've been looking into getting some barred rock pullets, but I wasn't sure how they would make out with the straight combs. Thank you for the information! I've got Easter Egger and Silkie roosters and pullets with the cushion/walnut/rose combs and those are excellent in the cold.
This weeks warming up to -13 for highs this week so it'll be gorgeous!
