Wind chill doesn’t count, right?

[NaperLix]

For Pete’s sake,give them some heat. Couple of Cozy coops or heat lamp.inhumane,no if or buts about it.
Chickens are jungle animals. Poor circulation in feet.
Mine have there own space attached house. Full sun. Full heat.Get eggs through winter too.

 

[NaperLix]

And NW il. 18 below - -7 below 2 weeks now.and counting.Not wind chill,actual. They go out 5 min. At a time on dry leaves that it,back in.

 

[A-Texas-Man]

At those temps, regardless of windchill, I would seal up my co-op as best a possible, and maybe add some heat too.

 

[The Good Grumble]

It’s going to be -20 to -40 where I live this weekend. But that’s with windchill. If the chickens are in a coop, that doesn’t count, right?

I know it’s a silly question but I’m worried all the same.

I’ve had a hen lose her feet due to frostbite - 10 years ago and in a different situation…but it still haunts me.

I have good ventilation. It’s been fine but maybe close it up for a couple of days? I’m pretty sparse on bedding currently. I have stall pellets and they’re hard to manage in the winter.

I need to moisten them inside the house so they fluff. Then wait for them to dry before putting into the coop. I won’t have time to add more before the arctic front comes.

I believe when in extreme cold the Poultry Doctor, Dr. Blayne Moziek reccomends closing the vents temporarily to reatain as much heat as you can. I personally would monitor temps and humidity in the intereim. Currently is -30 to 10 in Central Vermont. I do have a heated coop. So the birds are sucking it up and staying in. I have not opened my vents since November, but humidity levels consistantly stay below 40%, and ammonia isnt an issue as I clean poops daily.

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[DianaD]

I brought my hens inside and put them in dog crates in my unfinished basement. It was minus 5 degrees at 8 am this morning( Thursday January 29,2026 in Connecticut) I did not want my hens to get frostbite or die from freezing to death. Am glad I got them all inside(down to 9 hens) the evening before the storm hit. My brand new snowblower stopped working and I still cannot get to the coop and run. Floor of basement is concrete so easy to clean. Figure about a week-ish more down there and then hopefully the temps will be up to normal for this time of year. Melt away some of the snow to be able to access the coop. Worst comes to worse,then they can stay down there warm,safe and dry until Spring arrives. Put them back outside when it is safe then. Hawks will think they are gone from here. They killed one of my favorite hens (Goldie)on Christmas eve when they were free ranging. Going to deep clean the basement afterwards and be happy the girls survived the winter. They like to throw their shavings around and break boxes down there when I let them roam for a few minutes. But then I throw treats into the crates and they go inside and eat. I took a couple of the perches from the coop and put one each into each dog crate. They like that. It is definitely easier going downstairs in this frigid,life threatening weather than trying to make my way down a hill to their coop through 3 feet of snow plus snow drifts! With wind chills that make everything below freezing! More snow coming this weekend.
On the bright side,Spring is technically a month and a half away.

 

[Annasg]

At one point, years ago, I sealed up my coop to keep the cold out. Moisture and mold caused some of my ladies to get respiratory infections and I lost some of them. Since then and up until this year, I have just blocked off, unblocked and blocked off again, the crosswinds in the coop. This year has been unusual because of the steady cold winds and I have blocked off the crosswinds but have left more ventilation gaps. My ladies seem to be fine but I noticed when I blocked off the crosswinds, the coop actually seems to be warmer for them.

 

[KathyBell]

You must be in Minnesota, because I have been dealing with the same windchill! I have zero bedding in the coop - I scrape the plywood floor under the roost every morning to keep it clean. (This time of year, I have to use an ice chipper - ha ha.) I have a wall mounted panel that I use only when it's going to be below zero. It will keep the area they sleep in at 3-6 degrees. Because of the -26 air temps we have had at our house (-45 windchill), I also installed a heat "lamp" that doesn't emit light. The exact name is Pinegreen Lighting 150Watt Black R20 E26 Ceramic Heat Lamp. It was about $5 and even at -26 degrees outside, both of these items kept the coop at 3-8 degrees. So no frostbite, no unneeded stress on the ladies, etc. I also worry about fires because of the horror stories I have heard, but I feel confident that these two items are as safe as can be hoped for. This winter, there are so many pictures posted of suffering chickens, that it breaks my heart. Good luck - February is supposed to be as bad or worse.

 

[Mildly Cranky]

Wind definitely makes you feel colder and causes harm to animals and people. I put a double-sided moving blanket on the exterior roof of my coop. It's held down in places with bricks. Then I bought 2 heavy-duty tarps--12 mil--that are reflective on one side and black on the other. I put the tarps (reflective side towards coop) on the roof of the coop and draped down the long sides, again with bricks on top. They drape onto the ground and I put heavy stuff at the ground to hold them down. I did this when we were going to have wind and near-zero temperatures.

After all that, my coop has been reasonable. I already had a Cozy Coop radiant heater over the roost. I have a Bluetooth thermometer/hygrometer in the coop and monitor the temperature and humidity frequently. The inside temperature was 10 degrees warmer than outside on the coldest days. On warmer days, the difference is more. Our coldest night most recently was -5F and the coop was 6F. Cold, but not -5. But we also had big wind so I know the feeling was considerably different. Without the tarps, I think it would have felt more like -15 inside. (I also have about 4 inches of hemp shavings on the floor.)

 

[Shepherdess]

I

It’s going to be -20 to -40 where I live this weekend. But that’s with windchill. If the chickens are in a coop, that doesn’t count, right?

I know it’s a silly question but I’m worried all the same.

I’ve had a hen lose her feet due to frostbite - 10 years ago and in a different situation…but it still haunts me.

I have good ventilation. It’s been fine but maybe close it up for a couple of days? I’m pretty sparse on bedding currently. I have stall pellets and they’re hard to manage in the winter.

I need to moisten them inside the house so they fluff. Then wait for them to dry before putting into the coop. I won’t have time to add more before the arctic front comes.

I hang radiator heaters in my coops from the rafters using chains and 10 or 12 gauge extension cords. Doing this for 25 years and never an accident or lost a chicken due to cold weather. I also use straw or dried leaves as bedding to keep chicken feet warm.

 

[Shepherdess]

Throw old blankets, sheets or fabric tarps crumpled down on your floor. You would have to toss them after the cold ends but they will protect feet.