Silver Lakenvelder

[MountainChickenMama]

I see that this breed is not hardy in the winter, but does anyone know how much cold/snow they can tolerate...My local feed store will be getting some of these next Friday and I can pre-pay for them if I want one....Thanks in advance....

 

[Henk69]

It is mainly the comb freezing like for most single combed breeds.

 

[WallTenters]

With a properly designed coop, any breed can thrive in a winter climate. No, many won't do nearly as well as others, but if all else fails a red heat lamp will keep them toasty at night. Frostbite is usually a concern at night because all the birds are in the coop and their breath has a lot of moisture in it. Moisture + cold = frostbite. Keep them dry and well ventilated, and if that's not enough, do use a heat source.

I've also seen single comb breeds dubbed - so their spikes are removed, but the comb is left intact - to be more cold hardy. This isn't something you'd want to do if you were showing, and you'd want to make sure they have a proper comb before dubbing and then breeding, but it's certainly better than them having to deal with the pain of frostbite.

Good luck with them!

 

[MountainChickenMama]

Thanks for the replies....My husband will be building me a new coop, so I will make sure he puts electric in there so they can stay warm....