Need experienced advice on how to deal with single digit temps in non-insulated coop

[FrostRanger]

PS. I just remembered one thing is to feed corn before bedtime. I have seen people post that on here to give them the sugars they need to stay warm.

That's just a myth, corn doesn't help keep birds warmer than any other food. If that were true, then regular chicken feed would be dangerous in summer 'cause most chicken feed is mostly corn

As for the situation at hand, as long as they can get out of the wind and it's dry, 5F isn't too much of a concern for most chickens. Our lows have been in the 20's (sadly we don't get too cold here) and my birds in their open air coop couldn't care less

 

[DLA]

Great! They should get through this cold snap just fine. Supposed to be -4F here tomorrow night. My chickens have been through much colder temps before (no insulation or heater either) so I'm not worried about them at all.

Aw what the heck, it's going to be -11 here in western PA tomorrow night! Vermont is supposed to be colder than where I am...LOL.
Just kidding as I know generally your weather is way worse and colder than ours. I'm just grumbling a little cause I was out shoveling snow and I had to wear my snow pants. They are really poofy and hard to move around in.

Hope everyone stays warm and all their chickens do well!

 

[CHlCKEN]

I thought it was funny, bc my husband would kill me if I brought our girls in! But seriously I've thought about it! It's their first winter and today is the coldest yet!

Right, never had it quite so cold here before. Even the pond froze over. After having seen them huddling up in the coop all day to stay warm in twenty degree day temps I knew they may not fare well in such an intense drop from the fifty degree week to just five. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Bawkbok]

We had some cold snaps already down below the 30's and I haven't worried about covering the sides with tarps or anything. But that's about as much cold as FL has to offer

We also have an open air run, however, we do cover the north side with tarps when the winds are 15mph and chilly cold - their feathers are blowing all over and they hide and huddle together on the south side of a large tree log that stands two feet high by 3 feet long. This tells me they don't like the high wind.
Please note, the weather forecast is for icy rain (sleet) this week as it will be around 27-29 in north central FL. Warnings are already issued. I don't want to see my girls covered with that.

 

[horror_trashcan]

Right, never had it quite so cold here before. Even the pond froze over. After having seen them huddling up in the coop all day to stay warm in twenty degree day temps I knew they may not fare well in such an intense drop from the fifty degree week to just five. Better safe than sorry.

I had left my chicks with warm water and hot mash (dry food too) last night and both were frozen bricks this morning so I completely understand.

 

[1stflockMama]

Right, never had it quite so cold here before. Even the pond froze over. After having seen them huddling up in the coop all day to stay warm in twenty degree day temps I knew they may not fare well in such an intense drop from the fifty degree week to just five. Better safe than sorry.

We just installed a heat panel. We went out to check and 3 girls are roosted in front of it and the other 4 girls are on the other side of the roost. Funny thing the Hardy breeds are the ones by the panel

 

[Annie6oh]

It's going to get down to 5° F tonight and I'm not at all prepared for it having never before seen temps like these in my years of chicken keeping. My coop is NOT insulated and when closed up only gets about 2-5 degrees above the external temps, which in our usual 40 degree nights is no issue at all, but is possibly dangerous tonight. I'm going to clear the droppings boards to minimize moisture but I need to know how I can bring the temps up inside without a heater. All ideas are welcome.

Chickens can tolerate the cold. We have been getting down to -30F for the past few weeks. We have put thick plastic covering surrounding the external walls of our coop. The chickens have adapted, however we are only getting 1/2 the eggs we normally get. We also feed them extra protein - dehydrated worms in the in the months, to help them keep warm. So far, so good. As weather warms up, the egg production normally increases again. (Interestingly, our friends in Guadeloupe, who also have chickens are facing the same problem with diminished egg production as the temperature has gone down more than anticipated. The owners belief this is due to climate change)

 

[Jeanierose]

It's going to get down to 5° F tonight and I'm not at all prepared for it having never before seen temps like these in my years of chicken keeping. My coop is NOT insulated and when closed up only gets about 2-5 degrees above the external temps, which in our usual 40 degree nights is no issue at all, but is possibly dangerous tonight. I'm going to clear the droppings boards to minimize moisture but I need to know how I can bring the temps up inside without a heater. All ideas are welcome.

Hello there, I am from Massachusetts and our winters are often in that temp range. I just layer straw bedding (over poop), keep adding layers daily. I put a hefty amount of bedding in at first, then layer. I have Silkies, Bantams, and Americana's and they all do well. Even when you think you should bring them inside, they are usually fine. As long as they have shelter from the wind/rain/snow and the inside is DRY and you have a heated water source then they should be ok. Good luck! Jeanie

 

[Estrella]

Hi there, I’m in Sweden and we have several days and night with even below 5F temps. I have a few different breeds, no silkies though. A few Orps, OE, EE, CL, CM and a few mixes. We have two coops, connected with a big fenced-in yard/run that I cover with transparent tarp every fall/winter to keep the wind and snow out. One of the coops are insulated and one is not. And obviously the coldest place is the tarped-in run. Guess where they all sleep? In the run. If we didnt have the nests in the coops, my guess is they wouldn’t even go in there. We have deep litter in the whole run and in the coops in the winter, about 8-10 inches thick, and I cover their roosting bars with insulating cloth, to protect their feet from getting too cold when the temperature drops. They seem to love it. I also cover the ceiling in the run with the same cloth (it’s a thick wool and polyester fabric used for sound proofing) to protect theirs combs from the cold hardware cloth and keep some of their body heat radiating back at them. Daytime I flip the deep litter to speed up the composting process and hide corn and sunflower seeds in there for them. Hope this helps.

 

[jeuner]

Negative degrees here recently. I add extra bedding and wrap tarps around the coop to block the wind. I did purchase a Sweeter Heater though, for the subzero weather, which helped a little. Plus make sure they eat before bed and provide extra protein. Try not to worry. Think of all the wild birds that have to deal with the weather. Your chicks will be ok!