According to Gail Damerow, in The Chicken Health Handbook, a chicken’s body temps for chickens runs between 105F and 107F (40.6C and 41.7C). When a chicken goes without food for a day, their body temps can drop 2.5F (1.4C), and another degree for every day without food. However, when the temps drop the bird’s metabolism speeds up. Providing adequate food and water, will help your chickens endure the cold temps.

You may see them fluff up and hunker down, shifting from one foot to the other. Do not worry, this is normal. Just like we need air in between our layers of clothing for insulation, a chicken will ruffle its feather’s creating pockets of air for insulation. Their blood flow reduces to their extremities, also cutting back on the release of heat through the feet, waddles, and combs.

In addition to feed and water, their environment plays a big role in their health. Providing dry locations for the birds in the field to hunker beneath helps to keep them out of the snow, sleet, and rain. Clean bedding such as hay can help to absorb water from snow and ice melting from returning birds.

When they bed down for the night, make sure the coop has ventilation, but not drafts. People keep asking, what is the difference between ventilation and drafts? Gail suggests a test to determine if the coop is too drafty. “Hold a strip of lightweight paper in the roosting area. If the strip moves, the coop is too drafty” paraphrased.

Good ventilation will limit a buildup of condensation or humidity in the coop, which can accumulate on chicken feathers. Ventilation is high in the coop and allows for an exchange of air inside and outside. No breeze. Good ventilation will also limit the build up of pressure within the coop, which could affect more fragile structures.

One last note, on cold nights, as tempting as it may be, there is no need to put a heat source in the coop. This can be a fire hazard. Also, when chickens leave the coop, they can experience shock from the changing environments.