Winter Overnight Temps?

[Zenbirder]

I am trying to decide when to close the windows in the hen house at night. I have not closed them in 4 months, but now it is down to 45 this morning outside. I guess inside around 60, so no chicken is really cold yet. Any suggestions?

 

[HowdyPete]

OK, many thanks from LA!

 

[Davaroo]

I live in eastern PA and it gets pretty cold here in the winter. We do not supplement heat for our chickens. They acclimate to the temperature changes just fine, as healthy mature birds should....I do not know the temp inside our coops, but I do know that without water heaters, the water freezes solid, so it is definitely below freezing. We close everyone up tight at night (no drafts) and give scratch before bed to help with body warmth...If you want to maintain a hardy flock, in my opinion this is the best approach.

Really excellent, Jody. This is precisely how it should be done. I would argue the one matter and suggest they be fed cracked grain (scratch) made soft by moistening, as it is easier to digest and leaves more energy to ward off the cold. Feed just before roosting and only what they will eat in 15 minutes or so.

There are a couple of cases to be made for supplemental heat. The most prominent one is when you want to maintain egg laying among hens. If you timed your flock right, it is possible to have hens that are coming into lay during the winter. Adding some heat will help them, as cold birds don't lay well - they are using much of their food energy to keep warm. You dont need to provide tropical temps, mind you. Just in the mid range.

By the way, why do WE try to warm our houses in the winter to the same temps we complained about in the summer?

Another time when heat may be useful is when you have a breed that is not cold hardy, perhaps a med type. I seem to always end up with big old fat utes of some sort, so I'm guessing on this one. And of course, chickies need to be catered to if you have them in the winter.

But the point here is, it usually isn't necessary unless you live in the sub-arctic. I use a milkhouse heater, adding enough heat to keep the coop above freezing on those nights when it will be raw out. Other nights, I leave the heater off. I only do it cause Im a big softie. On the time I've forgotten to turn on the heater, no ill effects were noticed.
My little coop is sealed tight against cold drafts, I keep the roosts high and the birds are outside during the day, since I live in Dixie.

If you live in LA, as the original poster does, winter temps are something you can stop wringing your hands over.​

 

[KKluckers]

There are a couple of cases to made for heat. The most prominent one is when you want to maintain egg laying among hens. If you timed your flock right, it is possible to have hens that are coming into lay during the winter. Adding some heat will help them, as cold birds don't lay well - they are using much of their food energy to keep warm. You dont need to provide tropical temps, mind you. Just in the mid range..

This is the main reason I like to provide a little heat for my hens.​