Do Chickens Get Cold? Signs of Cold Stress and What to Do First

Yes, and here is why it is not the whole answer

Chickens feel cold. They react to it, they spend energy against it, and in the wrong conditions it harms them. At the same time they are better equipped for it than most keepers expect. The University of New Hampshire Extension calls them surprisingly hardy birds, thanks to a fluffy inner layer of down feathers. Ohio State University Extension writes that most chicken breeds can tolerate cold, even sub-freezing temperatures. What the season changes in the daily routine is listed under chickens in winter.

Both statements come with the same condition. Cold alone is rarely the problem. Ohio State names wind and moisture as what makes cold hard to handle, and an article on the Cooperative Extension's poultry website puts it in one line: chickens can withstand quite low temperatures as long as they are dry and out of the wind or draft.

So the useful question is not whether chickens get cold. It is how they keep warm, and what takes that ability away.

Warm-blooded, with a high set point

“Are chickens cold-blooded?” is a common search, and the answer is no. Penn State Extension describes the body temperature of the chicken as variable but averaging around 106 °F. The bird has to hold that level on a January night as well as in July.

Everything a chicken does in cold weather serves that purpose.

The table also shows where the weak points are. Feathers that are wet or blown apart by a draft insulate poorly. A bird in molt has fewer of them: the University of Maryland Extension notes that molting hens will need extra heat or protection. Bantams, according to Maryland, do not produce the same amount of heat as large fowl. And the parts without feathers, the comb and wattles, have no cover at all. Penn State describes them as the parts through which the chicken circulates blood to cool itself, and Ohio State names combs and wattles, together with feet, as the places where frostbite is most common. Which breeds the extension services name as hardy is covered under cold-hardy chicken breeds, and the exceptions under do bantams, Silkies or molting hens need a heater.

How a cold chicken looks

There is no thermometer reading that tells you a chicken is too cold. The birds are the gauge. The University of New Hampshire Extension lists three signs:

• they huddle together,
• they lift a foot off the ground,
• they fluff their feathers constantly.

New Hampshire adds what the signs mean: the birds are cold and at risk of frostbite. The University of Minnesota Extension describes the same behavior as cold stress.

Some care is needed in reading them. A hen that fluffs up once on the roost in the evening is doing what feathers are for. The signs count when they persist, when several birds show them during the day, or when they come together.

Cold, frostbitten or sick?

Three different things get mixed up when a flock looks cold.

The third row answers another frequent question. Chickens do not catch a cold from being cold. According to the Poultry Extension article on respiratory diseases, these illnesses result from viral, bacterial, fungal and mycoplasmal infections, and sneezing and nasal discharge are among the signs it lists for infectious coryza. That calls for a diagnosis, not for a warmer coop. Frostbite has its own page: frostbite in chickens.

What to do first

The order below is the one the extension services give. A heater is not at the top of any of their lists.

1. Look for drafts at roost height

   New Hampshire's first advice for cold birds is to check whether the coop needs sealing against wind, or whether the ventilation allows too much airflow. Air that blows across the roost takes away the warmth held in the feathers. Close the gap at bird height and leave the opening above the birds.

2. Check for moisture

   Damp is what turns cold into harm. The University of Minnesota Extension names high moisture together with cold as the main cause of frostbite, and Ohio State advises checking waterers for leaks because they add to humidity in the coop. Wet bedding goes out. How moist air leaves a closed coop is explained under chicken coop ventilation.

3. Add dry bedding

   New Hampshire lists adding bedding as needed. The University of Maryland Extension names three to four inches of shavings or straw as good insulation.

4. Keep feed available

   Body heat comes from feed. Maryland writes that birds require extra energy in the cold months and that feed needs to be available at all times. New Hampshire notes that scratch grains in the late afternoon can help birds generate body heat overnight. Maryland limits such treats to 10 percent of total feed intake.

5. Make sure the water is liquid

   The University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension names water as important for temperature regulation, and Maryland points out that chickens cannot break through ice. For most flocks, liquid water is the first winter job. The options are on the heated chicken waterer overview.

6. Check the roost

   Wood, wide enough to sit on flat-footed, off the floor. Maryland and New Hampshire both warn that metal and similar materials carry cold to the feet.

And if they still look cold?

Then you are in the territory where the sources stop agreeing. Three extension services advise against supplemental heat for adult birds that are protected from wind and wet, with bantams and molting hens as the exceptions Maryland names. The University of Minnesota Extension recommends heat once the temperature inside the coop, at the height of the nest boxes or the lower roost, falls below 35 °F. Wisconsin expects that many keepers of small flocks will want to provide some. Both camps are laid out under do chickens need heat in the winter.

If you decide for heat, the lower-risk device is a low-wattage radiant panel near the roost. It is not free of risk and needs a fixed outlet. The devices are compared under the safest heater for a chicken coop.

What no source gives you

No extension service read for this site names a temperature at which adult chickens come to harm, and none names one they can safely take. Numbers of that kind circulate widely, and none of them could be traced to a primary source. What the one existing figure means, and which birds are at risk earlier than others, is the subject of how cold is too cold for chickens. The routine for the whole season is under how to keep chickens warm in winter, and terms such as cold stress and molt are in the glossary.