Winter Worries.

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Deviledegg

Deviledegg

In the Brooder
Oct 11, 2015
14
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Hi everyone. Our first winter with our flock of 4 but soon to be 6 is approaching and I am wondering if I should put a small heat lamp in their coop to keep them warm when the temperatures start to drop. I've heard that it shortens their lives but by how much? We live in South Eastern New England do our temperatures can go below freezing but seldom 0. Also, any ideas on how to keep snow out of the run? All replies are greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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Deviledegg said:
Hi everyone. Our first winter with our flock of 4 but soon to be 6 is approaching and I am wondering if I should put a small heat lamp in their coop to keep them warm when the temperatures start to drop. I've heard that it shortens their lives but by how much? We live in South Eastern New England do our temperatures can go below freezing but seldom 0. Also, any ideas on how to keep snow out of the run? All replies are greatly appreciated! Thanks!
smile.png
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What breed(s) are you dealing with and how are they housed? Most breeds do not require, and in fact will not do well with, supplemental heat - but there are a few exceptions which is why knowing what birds you have is key in answering your question. If you show photos of your run we can best advise on what methods might work for you regarding snow.
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. Assuming you have cold hardy breeds, just be sure that they have a draft free, dry, and well ventilated coop to prevent moisture from building up in it. Feathers are wonderful insulators and moisture is much more dangerous than cold. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is a good article there on winterizing your coop. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
Thank you all. I will post a few pictures of our coop and run later. We have 2 ameraucanas and 2 cuckoo Marans and another breed that we are not sure of soon!
 
Ol Grey Mare said:
these are birds who are well suited to winter and will not need heat....they will need good ventilation.
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Ditto. I am NW of you, it does get below zero at times, and I have never used supplemental heat. Good ventilation is key - any buildup of moisture with temperatures below freezing causes problems.

Pictures of your run would help. If you could construct a wood roof over it to keep snow out, along with rain and sun in the summer that would be best. Anything less can potentially collapse under a heavy snow load, like mine this past winter. It collapsed under the heavy snow, then was further buried by the snow load we had to rake off the coop roof. It was almost May before they got out again.

This is the main coop. There are open vents along the bottom edge of the roofline, to allow for plenty of ventilation. The run is off to the left under the long roof which is why it disappeared last winter. Not the best picture to show that though.

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