Cold Chickens?

[300UGUY]

My chicks have been in a unheated shed for 2 years. They don't seem to have any problems. Folks have been keeping chickens in barns for a couple thousand years.

 

[bp fick]

First year pullets will lay up a storm, their first winter. Been doing chickens for 50 years, up here in Michigan. The hardy breeds like Rocks could care less about the cold. For sure, it is about light, as a chicken is photo reactive. Wyandottes, Buckeyes and others love the cold. They were bred for it.

The modern sex-link layer will lay, lay and lay some more. Trouble is, they don't breed true, much like a CX meat bird, thus, not sustainable.

Folks in Alaska keep chickens without heat. Shoot, there's an entire breed of chickens called Icelandic. Yup, you guessed. They are from Iceland. It's all about the breed if you live up north.

 

[Steelstring]

I guess I'll shut off that heat lamp then!

Our ventilation is pretty good. Are drafts really that much of an issue?

Thanks!

 

[Combustix]

We never heated or lit our chickens in the winter and yes they would slow down on egg production, but we got just about 3 years worth of eggs out of them before we brought in the new batch this summer.