When the temp gets below zero...

[llombardo]

Below 20...not 20 below zero.
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???

I said 20 and I also said 20 OR below.

And this is just an example of one week. Where I am located, it tends to be colder then in Chicago. The point is that it is cold and it can be dangerous, it would be rare not to see consecutive days in the negatives.

Last year it would be in the negatives and then go up to the 50s. Absolutely crazy weather. There really is no way to prepare for it, so it's best to assume the worse case scenario.

 

[Killer Tomato]

???

I said 20 and I also said 20 OR below.

And this is just an example of one week. Where I am located, it tends to be colder then in Chicago. The point is that it is cold and it can be dangerous, it would be rare not to see consecutive days in the negatives.

Last year it would be in the negatives and then go up to the 50s. Absolutely crazy weather. There really is no way to prepare for it, so it's best to assume the worse case scenario.

Coldest place I've ever been was Chicago. In March. I'd been in San Diego for 3 years, and thought I was dying. Luckily there was a Starbucks on every corner, where I could duck inside and warm up while we walked the 6 blocks to the museum.

 

[aart]

I said 20 and I also said 20 OR below.

I read this as 20 to 30 below zero.

Temps here can and do get to the negative 20s and 30s and can stay that way for a while.

 

[Killer Tomato]

I am truly amazed by the levels of cold all of you deal with!

Now, rain...... I got that covered.....

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

I live in Nebraska, so we get some pretty cold temps, though not as cold as you were describing. We have a fairly small chicken house, so when it's really cold out, the chickens all just huddle up in there. They don't like to go out in the snow (I think it hurts their feet), so if it's deep snow, I'll shovel a small path to their waterer and around the house so that they can get water and some exercise. I've heard of putting straw bales in the house to keep it warmer. I won't shut the door on my house just because like I said, it's kind of small, so it's perfect for night, because it keeps them warm, but not so great for the day. I would also be concerned about ammonia, but our ventilation isn't the greatest when the door is closed.

 

[FT Chickens]

This will be my first winter with chickens. I originally was going to lock them in. But I think I am now going to put a blue tarp around my run to block wind and let them in and out as they please. My only worry is the waterer that I will keep in the coop will freeze

 

[aart]

This will be my first winter with chickens. I originally was going to lock them in. But I think I am now going to put a blue tarp around my run to block wind and let them in and out as they please. My only worry is the waterer that I will keep in the coop will freeze

Leave 6-8" open at top of run walls for ventilation......make sure coop has ventilation too.
You'll need to either have power for a water heater(lots of ways to do that) or swap out waterer several times a day.

 

[Killer Tomato]

This will be my first winter with chickens. I originally was going to lock them in. But I think I am now going to put a blue tarp around my run to block wind and let them in and out as they please. My only worry is the waterer that I will keep in the coop will freeze

Aaah, the big blue tarp -- the Oregon State Flag! (because of all the rain, lol). We have plenty of those around.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I have a small flock in a small coop. I shut them in at night for body heat and safety. I’m up way before dawn and open the door.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I open the chicken doors at 5am and let them decide. Close them after sunset because my pens are not predator proof.
My Golden Comets have been through 2 winters and still think walking on snow is dangerous if it's more than a dusting. They also don't like wind anytime of year, it ruffles their feathers. A breeze is not a deterrent unless it's cold.
My Golden Comets have survived temps of -13 and -15 Fahrenheit a few days over the past two winters. It's usually teens and twenties at night and thirties for a high during the coldest part of winter.

My 11 week old Barred Rocks will experience their first winter. They've experienced cold 23 to 24 Fahrenheit a couple of nights with highs in the upper 30s a couple of days.
I know they don't like wind. It was windy most of today and in the 50s and they were in the coop on the roost till I came out to see them several times today.
Both coops have feed and water on a heated base inside. GC