Do Chickens Prefer Cold or Warm Temperatures?

 

You might think that it would be terrible to be an outdoor animal during the winter, right? Well, true...if that animal happens to be a hairless cat or dog. Actually, animals in general like winter better than summer. The main reason why they like winter better is because keeping themselves warm is less stressful on their bodies than keeping cool. 

Chickens have a winter "coat" that stays with them all year long, and they only effectively use it for about 7 months before it becomes more of a burden than a gift. Above temperatures of 75/80* F, chickens will start to feel uncomfortable and will start to pant to expel excess heat. Contrarily, temperatures below 75* (down as low as 0*F), chickens are more comfortable. 

Feathers do an amazing job at capturing and holding heat, and all you need to do is put a hand under the wing of a chicken to feel just how warm they can keep themselves. An easy way to think of how chickens view winter versus summer is: 

In winter, chickens get to eat more food than in the summer, and they also take a vacation from laying, or at least a reduction in egg laying. 

In the summer, chickens eat less to stay cool, are almost always in a state of uncomfortableness due to high temperatures, and are expected to stay productive. 

In the case of a chicken, applying human will and reason to the life of the chicken is a truthful representation of what would be going through a chickens' mind if they could in fact reason like a human. 

And, to answer the question of whether chickens prefer cold temperatures over warm temperatures; yes, chickens prefer cold temperatures!