When is it TOO cold for them?!

[Fred's Hens]

You are doing fine.

There is another approach that interests me. Basically, the coop is virtually packed with birds, and well insulated. The birds generate enough body heat to keep the coop's temps above freezing. In this system, the idea is also to keep the eggs from freezing. There are posters here who use that style of management. It also is an alternative approach that is worthy of some consideration and a further look see.

 

[aoxa]

Fred's Hens :

You are doing fine.

There is another approach that interests me. Basically, the coop is virtually packed with birds, and well insulated. The birds generate enough body heat to keep the coop's temps above freezing. In this system, the idea is also to keep the eggs from freezing. There are posters here who use that style of management. It also is an alternative approach that is worthy of some consideration and a further look see.

Well my night time system is like this. They don't need to have a lot of space to move around if they are sleeping anyways, right? They have a lot of room from sun up until sundown. Enough roost space for all of them as well.

I wonder if packing snow around the coop would help with insulation? We get enough of it. 25 cm expected tomorrow alone.

I am using DL, so that should help as well. I guess I'm just a newbie and a worry wart

 

[Hippie Chicks Mom]

Agree, most animals can withstand very frigid weather. So can humans BUT is it a healthy situation? I choose to add a heat lamp on a thermostat to go on ONLY when temps dip low enough to cause damage, such as frost bite which I had with my girls last winter. It's a personal choice. I don't want them to just survive through the frigid temps but at the very least be a bit more comfortable and less stressed.

 

[P-Funk]

My girls have a heat lamp and a space heater which go on whenever it gets below freezing. Yes they're spoiled rotten but the RIR got frostbite last winter in a heated barn (it was -25 degrees F). She's OK now, but that's not going to happen again.

 

[T-Amy]

Check this article out about the importance of good air flow to prevent respiratory infections:

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/6/6-5/want_healthy_birds_give_them_fresh_air.html

I'm in upstate NY & we insulated 2 sides of our coop (shed) but, after doing much more research, we stopped before doing the other 2 sides, realizing they actually need air flow. Ours are protected from wind but I do plan to leave the window open several inches year round and not heat it; they huddle together & when I put my hand under them, it's REALLY warm- they generate a LOT of heat, esp when they huddle together. Besides, if they depend on a heat lamp & we lose power, that can hurt them more. They're covered in feathers for heaven's sake!

At night when they're in their roosting-daze, put some Vaseline on their crops when it's going to be frigid which is supposed to protect from frostbite...

 

[LN2008]

Quote:
I don't heat, but I live in Kansas. This is the first winter for my girls and it's only been down to 22 degrees. Not awful. I make sure they're put away at night, the coop is draft free. I have tarped the run too for during the day. The other thing I do is I give them a warm treat in the a.m and always refill their water with warm water. They seem perfectly happy and when I go into their coop to get them out in the a.m it's kind of warm in there! Chickens do put out more body heat than humans. Just a tip, cracked corn is a good snack because it takes longer for them to digest, something which makes them stay warmer longer. My girls are extremely spoiled about their corn. I sometimes give them hot fresh polenta (unseasoned) for breakfast too. They love it.