I have 3 chickens. I live in South Dakota and it has started snowing and its really cold. They do have shelter but no heat lamp. I am afraid their feet will get frost bite or something. Should I be worried? Can anyone give good advice on chickens? They have shelter, but they always roost outside in the snow. WHY? Isn't it tooooo cold? Please tell me what I should do!! I love my little chickens they are my pets!
2006-10-22 05:08:10 · 11 answers · asked by safjbielabglv 3 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
When I was a little girl my family raised hens. We had a nice shelter for them, a coop about 5' tall and 4'x6'. The coop had roosting shelves to keep them off the cold bare ground. We put fresh clean straw in the coop for them as well. There was no heat, but the coop kept out the wind and snow and freezing rain.
The coop had a fenced yard so they could go outside and eat the snow. They did spend a lot of time outside during the day when the sun was shining. It was my job to tend to the hens, gather the eggs, clean the coop, etc. I was a small girl so I fit very well in the coop, plus I wasn't afraid of the banty rooster like my mom was!!! The hens were very happy. Their feet won't get frostbite.
Think about all the birds in the wild who winter in North America.
By the way, I'm from Canada and it gets DAMN cold up here. So your little hens should be fine in South Dakota.
ps I wouldn't use a heat lamp, the risk of fire is too great.
2006-10-22 05:20:07 · answer #1 · answered by kitty-mama 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Chickens In Cold Weather
2016-11-15 04:24:07 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am going to string an outdoor power cord out to my chicken coop and hang a heat light for them. I won't use it unless the temperature drops down to 20˚ F (about - 6.6˚ Celsius) or lower. I only have my own experiences with chicken care to draw on, but they usually handle cold weather very well as long as they have good shelter that keeps them dry and protected from wind chill, plenty to eat and a constant source of fresh water. I also try to make sure that their pen and coop are clean as it improves their overall health. A dirty pen causes them stress. I figure, any unnecessary stress threatens the health and well being of my hens.
2016-03-18 22:51:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have they gone through a winter there yet? It seems odd they would sit out in the snow and seem fine. I would think their feet would take a beating from the snow and cold. I would try rigging something up as far as a heat lamp and make sure their shelter is out of the wind and keeps dry, so incase they don't want to sit in the snow, they can have a nice dry warm place to sit. Might be a good idea to make a covered area off the shelter like a porch, so they can be outside but not in the snow incase they don't want to be inside the shelter. Good luck, I've always wanted a pet chicekn because they seem like fun. Hope they make it through your harsh winters up there
2006-10-22 05:15:37 · answer #4 · answered by gym_rat_laura 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I live n Germany, and 7 years ago my wife decided to raise chickens, in a city,,, the city of Kaiserslautern,. She kep them for 3 years and then sold them. The chickens had no problem with the cold. If you have a shed, make sure you have long poles stretched horizontally in the shed, off the ground, with enough space for the chickesn to roost on.
2006-10-22 05:11:30 · answer #5 · answered by demilspencer@yahoo.com 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Kitty mam is mostly correct
except not all of Canada gets dam cold LOL... Medicine Hat for example has rattle snakes and black widow spiders and cactus... over 100 for most of the summer....
anyhow really follow Kitties advice.. shelter, straw.. make sure they get fresh water... eating snow is harder on all animals than drinking fresh water
2006-10-22 05:53:33 · answer #6 · answered by CF_ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CHIKENS WILL LIVE IN COLD WEATHER IF THEY HAVE A BUILDING OR SOMETHING TO ROOST IN BUT NO THEIR FEET WILL NOT GET FROST BITE MY GRANDMA HAD 50-60-CHICKENS THEY DONE FINE.JUST MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A BUILDING TO GO INTO AND NO THEY DONT NEED A HEAT LAMP EITHER
2006-10-22 06:12:59 · answer #7 · answered by pinkice430 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
make sure you chickens have a place to get out of the snow and up on a roost. make a hen house if you don't have one to keep the wind blocked off of them, they will get out and scratch in the snow to find food, but they need a place to get out of it if they start getting too cold. if you got them blocked out of the wind, and a place to roost, they will be fine!
2006-10-22 06:43:45 · answer #8 · answered by vbeaver31 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they should be ok if they have a covered shelter and are out of the wind, snow, rain, ect... chickens ussually huddle together and share body heat. but i would still get them a heat lamp before it get's too cold.
2006-10-22 05:14:07 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, you should be worried. You may want to put straw in their sheltering, or maybe consider buying a heat lamp.
+?+Marissa+?+
2006-10-22 05:20:06 · answer #10 · answered by marissa 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋