Rural Gardening: A New Chickenhouse , 0 by kenboy

kenboy wrote:
Sarge, you are only one zone colder then I and last Winter we had zone 6 weather. Still no problem with chickens being too cold. What chickens need is to be healthy and have some place to get out of the rain. If birds get wet, then it turns cold, it is much harder on them. Still, for years I had game chickens to hatch my peafowl eggs and then switched to Phoenix ( did not like chicken fighters coming to buy birds). I have had these birds free range from 1992 until last year, we started a nursery and they were knocking plants off the benches. When I say free range, I mean even sleeping in trees. I have seen chickens with several inches of snow on top of them and can never remember having any problem with them not being able to handle the cold. Phoenix and Game are not considered a heavy breed like most kept for egg laying.

For years I have always had more problem with Texas heat than cold. Even if you have a vented hen house, it is several degrees warmer than outside. If I get a sick bird in the Winter, I will place them where I have added heat but if they get sick in the Summer, there is not much I can do for them. Back when I had lots of birds and and had a sickness running through the flock in Summer, I was always hoping for an early Winter. Bacterias and viruses are much easier to contain with freezing temps.

Still, I know everyone loves their birds and goes to extra lengths to see to it their birds are snug and warm. I have been a gardener all my life and know, nothing makes a plant grow like TLC and nothing makes a bird more healthy than TLC, we do love our birds.

Wheaten Phoenix;