Chickens

[IvyYounts]

I took plastic wrap, wrapped it around the door! Bubble wrap around the sides to cover the holes. Just to sleep in. I poked some holes in the plastic wrap for air!

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I see grass....cant be that cold....lol nothing but piles of snow here my birds have their feathers thats it lol

 

[IvyYounts]

I see grass....cant be that cold....lol nothing but piles of snow here my birds have their feathers thats it lol

Yeah, lol. It's supposed to snow tomorrow here!

 

[FrostRanger]

What are your temps like?
I agree that by the looks of it it doesn't appear to be nearly cold enough that I'd worry about them being cold. The fact that you have condensation in the crate worries me. Chickens are actually generally quite cold hardy, as long as they stay dry and can get out of the wind I generally wouldn't worry about them unless you're seeing some subzero temps. The biggest danger in cold weather is moisture as that is what causes frostbite. It is far more important for where chickens sleep to be well ventilated than warm. Do they have a coop? If so I'd just let them be as they usually are in that. I wouldn't keep that many chickens in a dog crate unless it was an emergency

 

[Sono]

They are fine as they acclimate to the weather, but stopping the drafts and winds help a lot. Remember heat rises and cold hugs the ground, get them up off the ground.

 

[K0k0shka]

Why are they in a crate? I hope they have an actual coop and this is a temporary setup. They can't sleep in a crate long term. Also, foggy surfaces is a huge red flag, especially if you are expecting temperatures to drop below freezing. That's how you get frostbite - not from the cold itself, but from humid air that forms condensation on the chickens themselves, which then freezes on their fleshy bits. If there's condensation on the plastic, that means there's condensation on the chickens, and you don't want wet chickens in the cold. They need a proper coop with lots of ventilation to get rid of the moisture. They don't need heat.

 

[Ingrid_Grace]

haha, I always stress so much in winter!!
just a heads up! Be careful of condensation on the crate since it could harm their raspatory health.

 

[AGeese]

Yeah while well intended, you'll be trapping humidity in the crate which as said could cause frostbite at very low temps, and cause respiratory issues from moisture build up.

Obviously this is just over night and you probably don't have a lot of chicken dung building up you aren't cleaning out, but still I hope this is not your long term setup.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Agreed that the lack of ventilation is likely more problematic than your cold temperatures (you don't specify). Chance of frostbite increases as humidity goes up.

 

[K0k0shka]

Well you didn't have to delete everything...