winter care

Winter is coming and fast for New York. I have a heater and water heater getting set up but i want to know when i should generally take my chickens inside because their health and safety are at risk Of course i will be taking them in if there is a blizzard, or sudden freeze. But what chickens...

This time of year my non-chicken keeping friends ask me how I keep my hens warm. So I made a video about it!

I've been researching dust baths on here and other places for a while now and there's a lot of conflicting information, so I would like to just confirm if this mixture is okay. My chickens have not been able to go outside for weeks on end because of the constant snow and rain. I got a huge cat...

We have a young lady who is acting normal but losing weight at an alarming rate. She seems to have really started losing weight once winter hit, we live in Canada and she is not a cold hardy breed, I’ve noticed that she has less down than most of our other birds. She a mottled Houdan, average...

I live in zone 4b and we are currently having a lot colder of a winter already than we typically do. We are averaging 10-20 degrees during the day and are filling into the negative single digits at night. A few of my girls have need baths due to poopy butt. I’m assuming it’s from the dramatic...

There are a lot of details to this and they all are pertinent, so I'll try to keep it simple! Sorry if it's a long read. Mama bird hatched 13 babies outside the coop yesterday. They're now in an outdoor brooder on my back porch, 4x4x2' with an open corner in the top so mom can hop in and out if...

Here in central Texas were being hit with an Arctic freeze. I have a heat lamp, cayenne in the water, and lots of food for my chickens but at what temperature should I consider bringing them inside? I have 6 hens(3 buff orphingtons, 3 black sexlinks). I’ve read they’re cold hardy but we’re...

hey everyone! i’m in ontario and the weather is -4 celsius today. my gals are healthy looking and have a heated water and coop (for nighttime). today i noticed my colombian Sunny’s comb is a little dry-looking? it’s white-ish and i can’t tell if it really looks that much different from september...

Hi! We got some brand new chicks about 4 weeks ago, they are getting their feathers and are still in their brooder. I'm wondering if anyone can give me tips on the best way to incorporate them into my flock in the winter. We have 8 hens that are about 8 months old, several varieties. Our new...

This will be my first winter raising chickens and I'm worried about them once winter roles around I'm not sure what to do, snow can get quite heavy around here and it can get super cold. I'm not sure how to keep them warm and out of the snow and I'm just worried about EVERYTHING! I'm really...

i let my 5 ducks go into my pond now i can’t get them out! they can go on land but the whole pond is fenced in and there is steps (way to big for ducks) so they just stay there and run into the water when i try to get them! i’ve tried traps, sneaking up on them, and i still can’t catch them...

With summer ending, fall starting I’m starting to think about winter. This is my first winter with ducks. I’ve had chickens during winter but they stay in the coop all day when it’s super cold and snowing heavily. I’m scared about my ducks getting buried in the snow. I’m in West Virginia so...

Hello! Thank you for letting me join your group! I am excited to be “here.” I live in a small town, close to the twin-cities in MN. It’s a pretty suburban area and I have a fairly small yard, but have plans to maximize my space to do some homesteading and raise chickens. I am married with 4...

This is my first winter with chickens and living in central Minnesota I have concerns that they will stay warm enough in our cold winters, especially when we hit -20 (actual temps not wind chill). I've read a lot of great information here with recommendations both for and against adding heat to...

Hello BYCM, I have four Plymouth Barred Rock hens approximately 10 months old, the days are short now and they seem to have all stopped laying. I believe I have a egg eating problem as well, my numbers were all over the place, 4,3,2,1,3,0...then one every other day...now nothing. If they did...