buff orpington chickens and cold weather

[davimi]

Hi,
I have 5 buff orpington chickens. They are supposed to be weather hardy chickens, but I am worried with these cold temperatures. At what temperature is it necessary to provide added heat?

 

[teach1rusl]

I would think that would depend partially on their age. Assuming they are full grown, many say they are fine down to 0 degrees as long as they have adequate, draft-free shelter available. I have breeds considered winter hardy who are younger, and I provide a heat bulb in their coop to make their nights a little more comfortable... You will get more responses if you post this under a different topic...maybe flock management or something...

 

[Barred Rocker]

Buff Orpingtons are very weather hardy. I have 9 myself. They have a lot of fluff to keep em warm. Like teach1 said, as long as you have a draft free shelter they should be fine.

 

[xC0000005]

We have six Buffs and they are very cold hardy. When it was in the teens they came out and wandered the yard as though it were not completely frozen. They do not care about the rain. When it was twenty several of them declined to even go into the coop. The run is built from livestock fencing so I wasn't worried about their safety but in essence they did not care about the cold.

 

[willowtreecreek]

If you haven't been giving them a heat source I wouldn't start now. Mine haven't had problems in the cold at all. I have 5 year+ girls and I don't give them a heat source other than a traditional lightbulb that I only leave on until about 10 each night and the purpose of it is light not heat. I have 25 3 month olds that I do still have a heat lamp on at night only because we were already really cold at night before I could wean them off of it.

 

[Chicken of the Sea]

My Buffs are outside in the snow as I write this. Its 12 degrees now and was 2 last night, I have no heat in the coop and they do fine. Last year it was -28 overnight and no ill effects.

 

[2txmedics]

I have 9 buffs that are 5mos old and I live in south texas...which we also got some cold weather down to 18....my buffs are STILL in the very first coop when they were little. I didnt have time to built one so I did the best I could at the time since they were tiny...now they are big for 5mos...and this is where they have done very well in this cold rainy weather...I just added alot of hay for warmth, and I did cover the doorway of this playhouse and inbetween insulated it with hay also....

I know its time to upgrade my coop for them....but they were smaller at the time, I hatched them....

This is how big they are now!!!!

 

[ksct]

we have 13 BO's and they do quite well. We have a heat lamp on pretty regularily becuase we spoil them. BUT with the wind chill that we've had around here lately and the fridgid weather on top of that our roo's comb was frostbitten. their coop is quite warm and we probably don't need the lamp but i don't want his comb to become infected or anything. We got the BO's for egg laying and hardiness. I think as long as they aren't young, and have space to roost at night (even though i'm sure they'll be snuggled together) and make sure the roost is big enough for them to cover their feet, they don't like to hang on the things like a robin or some other kind of bird does. We have a 2x4 with the widest part up and they are fine. they keep their feet warm that way.

 

[lildinkem]

Here in INDY we JUST broke freezin yesterday and expect to have a balmy 42 degree high today. I have 10 six and seven month oles ( Buffs ) who endured the cold. When it got down to zero in the evenings, I stuffed them in a couple of cardboard boxes and brought them in my breezeway. But, during the days it was highs in the teens,they went outside & they thrived. Just make sure they get plenty of HOT water.

 

[Pam Allan]

I have 7 full-grown hens who are used to just roosting in the open on top of some dog kennels - they won't go inside them. They are in a fenced area, but it is going to get into the teens the next 3 nights and very windy - I have some tarp around them but they aren't completely covered - I'm worried about them - should I force them to go inside the coop with the other hens - it will be crowded and they aren't used to going in there - they are used to being where they are. Should I just put hay or leaves or something into the kennels and put them in there and cover it with the tarp - I just don't know what to do. My set up isn't the best obviously. I don't want to freak them out.