How Cold Is to Cold

It's susposed to dip to temps we haven't seen i 15 years could be down to 10 Friday night. I have some bantams in wire rabbit cages covered with tarps and they are faceing so no wind blows in them.
I was susposed to build them all nice wooden coops but the pox outbreak lasted allmost 3 months and it got cold before i had a chance to do it. I know alot of you live where it gets very cold have you ever had a chicken freeze?
I have 8 trios in these pens and i'm worried about them freezing what is too cold for a chicken?

I feel so stupid for not getting their coops done:(

Heres a pic look behind the pigeon and you will see a pen similar to the one the chickens are in.

Harm do you have any bales of hay that you could pile around the cages..open air like that isnt going to be good for them..its gonna be subzero at nite here for a few days and im not happy about that..need to keep the wind and cold off of them..hoep you can protect them

I have them covered with tarps and it almost reaches the ground in the back the only part open is the very front where the doors are. I was thinking of putting some hay on the cage floors.

Hay on the cage floor would help heep any cold from coming up from the bottom. Three chickens can huddle together for warmth. They will be much warmer than a single chicken.

Gee harm, I wish I knew. I have an insolated house for mine. I dont let them out when its that cold so I would think you would have to maybe cover the front there partly to keep in body heat and hay would help as well to pile up at the open area. I know you dont normally have to think about this. I am sorry you did not get a chance to finish the houses. When things like the pox comes along everything gets crazy I am sure. ♥

I couldn't do anything in my flock at the time and i had no idea how many would die. So i guess i thought building coops wasn't a good idea not knowing if i would even need one.
No we always have mild weather here thats why they are in the wire pens it is hardly ever cold enough to kill here.
My lord it was in the 70s last week and this week its 50s day 33 last night due to be 22 tonight.

My Dh just called and we are going to get a heater for the liveing room and one for our bathroom.
I will be getting some extra tarps for the pen fronts and a bale of straw for the floors and a heat lamp for my pigeon babys.

Lord i hope everything is going to be okay i have till thursday to prepare will get it all done tomarrow i hope.

Good luck, I will be praying for your babies.

Sandy

Thanks Wren whats the temp going to be where you are?

Wed down to 32 by Sat. down to 26! Burr!!!! I have my green house closed up and after it stops raining I am going to put a couple of lights in there. The only good news is over here on my side of town is usually 5-10 degrees warmer.

And thats Florida!!! wow. It will be okay Harmony. Once you tarp off the front and put in a thick blanket of hay they should be okay. North of me is getting down to -25 to -30 tomorrow. We will be about -15 to -20. Thats without wind chill. Claire we are joining you in the tundra. Brrrrr! Yuck. Where is spring???? :p

it has hit as cold as -2 here so far this year and my seramas made it so far in unheated, un insulated coops so chickens can endure alot. the main thing is to keep wind out and waterers unfrozen. don't clean coops out stir the bedding and pile more on(deep litter method). use straw to hold heat in on top(it is hollow it holds air) the bottom as it composts will creat heat. if u have to close doors at night open in the am and close em up before dark. plastic around the houses, bails a hay work, i can't do that mine r off ground. keep hay in runs so if out they r not directly on the ground. if i think of anything else i'll post. oh add black oil sunflowers or scratch to their diet it will help them to gain fat for body warmth and if u combine birds body heat helps.

They are now talking about it dropping down to 24 degrees. Help.

we are going to have wind chills here to -20 tomorrow nite..not looking forward to that..my girls will definately be staying in..as long as your chickies can huddle together they will be fine.
i will be praying for you too..
this is the junk we had on saturday..and we had white outs this afternoon..enough is enough!!
this was taken from my porchm there is supposed to be a major road out there!

This message was edited Jan 13, 2009 5:34 PM

Hi Harm: I know your concerned for your ladies, but Silkie hit the nail on the head. It's not the cold thats hard on chickens, but windy drafts and it sounds like you are covering your bases pretty good. My white crested polish (six of them) survived just fine in three weeks of ten degree weather unheated coop just fine. Don't kick yourself for not getting it all done! Your gonna be just fine. Haystack

Hi Harm...
I third the info on the drafts... with pet birds (cockatiels, parakeets, canaries) that's what gets them, not so much the cold. So you've got a good plan.

Around here it can get below zero in the winter, and the barn yard chickens do fine as long as they can get in some sort of shelter out of the wind. Mostly roosting up in the haystacks.

Hang in there...
Jay

i lost 2 show birds this weekend, so sad one was a silkie the other was a showgirl. i'm praying the rest pull through. it is snowing again we have min a 1ft of snow + already at it is down to 20 degrees.

i'm praying my son makes it home from his dad's safely soon he had to go on visitation tonight. my brother is bringing him home. my van is stuck at end of my drive and snowed in can't get it in the drive. this stinks i hate snow!!!!

Thanks everyone went out and got me some tarps to cover the fronts and will be getting hay tomarrow.
Bought a light and have a 100 watt bulb over the water in my pigeons pen.(babys are fine and growing)
Took my 3x3 rabbit pen and put in a wire devider so now my new bunnys are side by side and shareing a 100watt bulb also.
Thanks for all the support i'm such a worry wart i take careing for my animals a personal responsability. I don't sleep well knowing something isn't comfortable and hasn't a full tummy or crop.
Silkie i feel for you and all the others yalls bad weather makes mine look silly ^_^

Got all yall in my prayers {{{Hugs}}} We will all dig out this spring and BTW i hate winter:o{

Oh and i found out the show isn't but about and hour from me SO I"M GOING "YIPPY" i can get out and give water then head to the show WOOT WOOT!!!!

Silkie what happened: I'm so sorry about your loss. What happened to your girls? I feel so sad for your loss! Like Harm I know how much you love and what great lengths you go to for your birds. I don't blame you, I also do not like the snow. It makes everything so difficult and so increases the dangers of getting around. You and your birds are in my prayers. Haystack

Hi CndyDavis: Beautiful pic, looks about a foot deep. That minus 20 sound oh so cold. That snow just looks like cuddling weather. We just got rid of four feet so I know how you feel. Stay safe and I hope your animals are all safe as well. Haystack.

Silkie,
So sorry to hear about the loss of your birds. =0(

Do the silkies and showgirls both have 'mutated' feathers? (I'm not that familiar with the different breeds). That could be why... those unusual feathers have lost their insulating ability, so extra special things would need to be done. Maybe the same for Frizzles...

Enjoy the show, Harmony... =0)

Jay

I just bought a chicken hutch and another contraction off the critter cage website. I live in Chicago and will be buying a couple chickens next month. My husband, who is not totally onto my new endeavor, said the chickens will freeze in these things. I think we're at -10 this morning and we've had a good amount of snow. I'm still waiting for a book I purchased from Amazon to get more info on having chickens so I thought I would check DG to get more info. Would a heat lamp work? When tarp is mentioned, is that just a heavy plastic?
Thanks for any advice.
Rose

Heat lamps work if hung above a roost but won't heat an entire coop unless it's a small one.

I use heat lamps for direct heat during the cold mine are located hanging above the roost.
My rabbits are under my shed and i have the heat lamp on the top of their wire cages.
I use 100 watt bulbs but according to your weather you may want a higher watt. Also a warning make sure its secured and won't fall heat lamps can start a fire if they fall in litter or hay.

Tarps are thicker than plastic and are those like you cover a boat or other things with they are usually Blue or Silver color.
Sorry it escapes my mind at this moment what that plastic fabric they are made of is?

How are you making out Harmony? Sure hope everything is batened down. When are you due to get the cold spell? We got ours last night. Its okay though.
I have a heat lamp the hangs over the waterer. To prevent freezing. My coop is small so it keeps everything warm when I close the door. Its insulated so heat stays in and cold wind stays out.
The tarps are definately the way to go. They are thick (like you said and they will block the wind better. I use them in the fall for the outdoor chicken area. ;)

JeanMarie i answered your question on the Jelly Bean Thread

Silkie-I'm so sorry to hear about your birds and all your other frustrations. I was giong to b****** about it being 19 here this morning but I instead I will be thankful I don't have snow.
Lisa
Garden2grow

Same here i was concerned about my temp being 10 degrees friday night till i heard how bad it was for some others here.

Hopeing everybodys weather lets up soon and keeping yall in my thoughts♥

Hey Rose .. I live in Kenosha, WI and have this to share with you. If you plan to purchase 1-day chicks ... plan on delivery mid May (as you need to keep them at 90F for a week, 85F the next ... by the end of June they are strong enough to live at our outdoor temps. Mine are 8 months old now ... and as you know, we are expecting below 0 temps high for the day this week Thursday and Friday. My birds are in a coop that I open at 8am and close at 8pm (opening is just 15 x 15"). Indoor I have a concrete slab with one foot of wood chips and straw. The coop is 8 ft high and up in the ceiling I have a red heat lamp. Even in temps of 10 degrees chickens come out to eat. My birds are acclimated and don't mind the cold. The breeds may also play a role. I have Buff Orpington, Black Austrolorp, Dominique and Ameraucanas.

Silkiechick, I'm so sorry about your loss. :-( Sending prayers for your family to stay safe.

Hope everyone gets through this tough weather week. We had 7 degrees this am and it's about 22 now. The dang wind is what really gets ya. Friday night and Saturday night lows are supposed to be 1 and 2 degrees, respectfully. BRRRRR. Our average is 36 for the high and 20 for the low. Which I still think it too cold but would gladly have it now!

I opened the big door of the coop this morning to put wood shavings down and no-one wanted to leave the coop. Surprisingly, not even the duck!

Sue.... I forget, where's here for you?
Wanna make sure I send warm thoughts in the right direction....

curzio, Thanks so much for the advice. I was wondering how the heck they could ship chicks in February. My UPS delivery man told me about a place in Kankakee off of I57 that sells chicks/chickens. I might try to do that also. I need a breed that is quiet and doesn't get broody but I love the Austrolorp. They all beautiful though. It's going to be hard for us to pick them out.

I was even thinking of bringing the chickens into the basement area where we store things. It's cold there but not as cold as outside. My husband just thinks I've lost my mind! But I'll look into the tarp and I was going to be them in the yard on grass but I do have a bricked in area where I can put the coop and lay down wood bark and straw. Thanks for the help and if anything else comes to mind that I need or should know, I would appreciate it. I know I would be heart broken if I couldn't provide a safe home for the chicks. I know I'm going to love doing this.

Temps expected to go down to possibly -20F here by Friday night. The coop is free of drafts, and that's the main thing. We have standard heavy breed chickens and I don't expect too many problems.

Rhode Island. We are about 7ish miles(driving) from the ocean. So usually we get rain while the rest of the state gets snow but this year we've had more coastal storms. At the moment we have 2 inches of snow and ice galore! It rained last night before the cold front came in so there's a thick coating of ice on everything. The driveway is completely covered in ice and I literally went sidewise for a bit! I'm thankful that we don't have alot of snow like alot of you all. (I really detest snow!) Here's a pic of our driveway

BRRRRrrrrrr!

We've got Buff Orpington, Black Australorps and the EE's. They seem to be doing well in the cold weather. We moved everyone together into one coop and they all snuggle together on the roosts at night. I've gone in to check on them and they make little sleepy chirps but don't move an inch! Too cute.

We used to have Buff Orpingtons - loved them. There was one hen we had that we called Big Fluffy Buff because she seemed to have so many more feathers than anyone else. When she sat on a roost and fluffed her feathers out, it just looked like a big ball of feathers with a beak sticking out of the center. :-)

saanansandy, I lived in Newport for about 6 years. I miss the nice weather and the ocean. We are already at -12 rignt now. It almost got above 0 today.

thanks everyone it really means alot. ds made it home safely another 2 hour delay tomarrow for the schools. it was 2 here last night and 10 right now suppost to get down to -5 tomarrow night. my drive is anywhere from a ft-3ft deep in spots. i'm praying we can get out tomarrow to get groceries if not i'll have to get my brother who has 4 x4 drive to come take me out to town in this to get stuff.

to answer a question above silkies and showgirls have rabbit fur type feathers, they r not barbed like a normal feather. my frizzles r fine no probs it's the frizzle x frizzles ya have to worry about, those r what i call curly's.

Sue that is a pretty picture. I hate the snow if and when we get it here in Oklahoma only because no one here knows how to drive in it. And with 1 mile in any direction from my house the county stops sanding the roads. And it is hills on 3 ways out. I do not dive on ice or snow. So far we have not gotten any of either this year.

Good morning. Hope everyone is riding out the cold ok. It get down to 30 here last night and depending on what site you check it will be 15-24 tonight. You know that they do not sell coats down here that can hand that kind of cold. We are usually in the 40's at night here.

Sandy

Thanks for the info on the feathers, it does rather confirm my suspicion that those breeds have lost the insulating capacity in their feathers, so special measures must be taken to protect them from actual cold, not just drafts.

Hope everyone and their critters gets through this amazing cold...

Jay