Mumsnet Talk

new to chicken keeping.

do I need any sort of heating for my recently rescues ex-batts in this very cold weather? They are in a chicken coop inside a wooden shed.

I've been looking at poultry lamps but are these just for chicks?

No, they can withstand low temperatures. UK weather is not too challenging for them. Cold will control diseases and parasites.

Important thing is just to protect them from the wind. if they are inside at night (and can go in during the day) in somewhere that isnt draughty they will be fine. wait to til you see them in snow - our ex batts were hilarious.

Agree with mummymeister as long as they have no draughts they will be OK. They need a good draught free roosting box to perch in.

The bigger threat is frozen water fountains and dehydration. My water fountain froze yesterday and they were thirsty this morning when I melted the tap and refreshed it. Also do give them warm porridge of dried fruit, left over veg and grains when it is really cold to give them some extra energy.

Thanks for the help everyone. I am going to make them some special chicken porridge in the morning.

Was wondering what they would make of snow mummymeister.....when it hailed the other day they rushed out very excited and tried to eat the hailstones!

We missed an egg so was left in coop overnight and it was frozen solid this morning! It cracked. Going to give it to the dog

i just spent ages making my recently rescued exbats some mash which they eyed distatefully and looked at me like i was mad! luckily, i'd also done them some sweetcorn which they tried and LOVED.

they are all still quite bare and i have been checking on them all day, poor chilly babies.

Mine were stood out under the tree looking at the snow falling earlier - looking sort of puzzled and fascinated. The cockerel is 5 yrs old and daft as a brush and can't remember what he did 5 minutes ago but the hens are new and have never seen it before.

worth putting vaseline on their combs if it falls really far below zero just to protect against frost bite.

If anything in harsher weather conditions I just fill the coop with straw so it adds extra protection and warmth. They all tend to snuggle together in colder conditions! Very cute :-)

I use a lot of newspaper and straw. Bring water in overnight otherwise it freezes. Hang it up off the ground so that it doesn't freeze during the day too.

Porridge made with water and corn will help keep them warm and put on weight.

We used to put ping pong balls in their water dishes to keep an ice free area (plus put an extra bowl inside the henhouse), and my mum used to chuck an old blanket over the henhouse roof to keep the heat in, it added a layer of insulation and kept the worst of the frost off.
Sadly am without chickens these days, boooo, keep trying to persuade my mum to get more so i can chicken-keep vicariously thru her, but she's not having any of it dammit...