Winter and Chickens

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That's exactly what I was hoping to do when I build my coop and run. Still working on the plans to make it that secure though.

The winters here can get so cold so i just keep mine in a small heated area. They do very well in there. They have room to play and scratch and make a mess. Im hoping it will get above freezing soon so i can let them out. I also put a small sled in there with sand so the can get a bath.

I also did a lot of research before starting our flock. I have 11 Rhode Island Reds who are hardy in our cold Wisconsin winters. Like most others who have posted here, my chickens don't like the snow. They will eat the snow off of my boots when I'm working in the coop and collecting eggs, but they don't want to walk in it.

We have about 6 inches of straw on the floor of our coop and straw bales around the edges inside the coop to provide extra insulation. I have a heater base (sold at most feed stores) for my metal chicken watering "station" so their water never freezes.

I keep a thermometer in the coop (mostly for my own curiosity) and in general the coop stays around 20 degrees inside. I have had a few times where our temps outside were 10 to 15 BELOW zero with 30 below wind chills... and the coop inside dropped down to zero. The girls did fine, when I wiggled my fingers through their feathers their skin was warm. Granted I don't think they enjoyed that cold... but they did fine in it.

I have given them a few extra treats (even some live mealworms) to give them a break from the "same old same old".

My chickens generally free range and I open it up when we aren't going to have a lot of wind and the temperature is over 15 degrees.

The key to having chickens in the winter is:

1. Make sure they have sufficient shelter and protection from the wind and elements.
2. Make sure they have access to clean water and doesn't freeze.
3. Provide them with oyster shells if they're laying. (I do this all year round)
4. Choose a breed that is hardy in your climate.

Best of luck to you! There's an awful lot of great information on these boards and lots of people who are happy to answer questions and share their experiences. Happy Chicken-ing!

I am looking at get Rhode Island Reds, or Buffs, I also want a white egg layer so I not sure on that one yet.

HI I have some who love to be out in the cold and snow, and some who stay in. Mine have free run so they can go out or stay in. Mine pop in and out all day and we still have snow on the ground. I have not had my hens long but I love to watch them. They are all so different, like little people.

My questions are how much light do you keep on the chickens to keep them laying and how do you keep their water from freezing?

We live in Hungary and we usually get a really cold blast with snow Jan or Feb.

Our chickens have the coop door open at all times, except at night of course. We have moved them this year in to an area of land we can close off in the winter. There coop is only made of plywood, but raised off the ground. We are going to wrap it up in big polystyrene sheets and then black plastic for the winter. I will also put lots of leaves on top of the snow if we get any and straw inside the coop. Hopefully this will keep them warm enough.

They seem to be quite tough as they came through last winter in a drafty, unheated old cob building. We couldn't leave them in there any longer as the building is in imminent danger of collapse. They tend to go with no warning!

I do not provide any extra light to my chickens. I get up and let them out at the crack of dawn all year round and they put themselves to bed at dusk.

Our chickens are outside we have a small coop that has plenty if sir vents around the bottom edge but they only go in to lay eggs and would prefer to sleep on the perch or in holes near the base of the coop which is raised off the ground about 3feet. I planned to close off all but one door (we have 2 small access for eggs and one bigger we can crawl in) and figured on putting straw down under where chickens roost outside as well as using leaves in their fenced area. We will only have 8 chickens left after I take 6 to butcher (light brahmas) so I'm thinking I'll be ok unless we get 45below again this winter

Also what about egg production? Currently all hens are producing but will they slow down or even stop come winter? I provide artificial light currently in the coop