chrismahon
Well-known member
We've had threads on condensation and ventillation which reminded me of a sad tale from last year.
One poultry keeper we know left the coop unlocked and a Fox got in and killed them all. They were replaced with Orpingtons which as we know are big and very fluffy. During the extremely cold spell last year, when the daytime was -10 degrees and night was -18 they left the door open again. Disgracefully neither wanted to go outside to close it -too cold. In the morning they went out to find a solid block of frozen to death chickens. They had all huddled into the least draughty corner together but even that wasn't enough with a temperature that low.
Seen a few posts saying that chickens can stand cold temperatures better than hot, which makes sense. But how much cold can they actually stand. In other words at what temperature should they be brought inside or given heating. I know it varies between breeds as our Leghorn Bantams went blue at -5 and were bought in overnight. All the others breeds survived during the very cold temperatures at night, but all the vents and doors were closed and they were all crammed together. Anyone have any figures or experience?
One poultry keeper we know left the coop unlocked and a Fox got in and killed them all. They were replaced with Orpingtons which as we know are big and very fluffy. During the extremely cold spell last year, when the daytime was -10 degrees and night was -18 they left the door open again. Disgracefully neither wanted to go outside to close it -too cold. In the morning they went out to find a solid block of frozen to death chickens. They had all huddled into the least draughty corner together but even that wasn't enough with a temperature that low.
Seen a few posts saying that chickens can stand cold temperatures better than hot, which makes sense. But how much cold can they actually stand. In other words at what temperature should they be brought inside or given heating. I know it varies between breeds as our Leghorn Bantams went blue at -5 and were bought in overnight. All the others breeds survived during the very cold temperatures at night, but all the vents and doors were closed and they were all crammed together. Anyone have any figures or experience?