Any suggestions on how to solve our frostbite problem?

[annagarret]

I live in northern Alberta and we have temps of -40 at times. I feed only layer ration no scraps and give fresh snow in their bowls every day. My flock is very healthy and no frost bite problems. I still even get a couple of eggs a day although they freeze solid and crack before I get to them usually

I do pretty much the same!! Last night was the worst ever so far. It was neg.29 here. My hens have no heat,insulation or heated water. I give them lots of extra feed,left the pop door open for circulation and put snow in the run for fluids. At these negative temps the waterers are always frozen. I do not run electrical out to the coop. No frostbite,respiratory issues and a few eggs....I'm happy

 

[Triple Willow]

@Autumn123... sounds like a nice setup but DE shouldn't be used with the deep litter method. DE will kill a lot of the bugs, microbes and that sort of thing that you are trying to build up that make the deep litter work.

 

[Bocrates]

We haven't seen a night above 30F since mid Oct with many well below 0F. No issues for us and I believe that our low humidity climate and choice of proven cold weather breeds have been the most important factors. We don't heat or insulate, just have the coop wind protected and used a coop design with a long history of success. Having lived in high humidity climates, it's a whole different story. The correlation between moisture and frostbite cannot be overstated. I know that well as a Wilderness EMT and former ski patroller.

Ventilation systems and moisture prevention measures are much more important for high humidity cold weather zones.

Someone should invent a coop dehumidifier or giant silica pads for coop roofs. Hats also actually make sense.

 

[Joan71]

I have read all these good suggestions and now I have questions. I was told "deep litter" method helps keep the chicken house warm. Is this wrong? I also feed my chickens warm oatmeal on the cold mornings. I feed it outside of their house just so it doesn't get so messy in their house (with the wood chips). I have 10 young hens and 1 young rooster, all born last spring or early summer. I usually get 3 eggs a day even on the coldest days. I have a pop door leading into their "pen", an enclosed roomy (20 by 16 ft. heavy duty covered kennel). I would like to know if it's okay to feed them warm food if it isn't inside their house. I also am not sure about what other ventilation I need. I have the pop door and one of the windows facing south cracked open a little. I have never felt a draft in the house and it has been pretty cold here lately. The other day I shut up their pop door and put a 100 watt light bulb to get them through this cold spell. Today I opened it back up and turned off the light. It was about 28 degrees outside which was pretty warm here! My question- is it okay to have a light on them only when the temps drop (-30 windchill) or should I turn the light back on them since they had it for two days. Much warmer now, it is 21 degrees out now, real feel is 13. My chickies are mainly for pets. I do not want them to freeze but I also don't want to keep a light on them and make them continue to lay eggs when they wouldn't otherwise. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or thoughts.

Some deep litter of straw or hay helps make it warmer. I added straw and hay when this horrible weather came in. I don't use a light with the "deep litter method", I am afraid of fire. It has been told here on BYC that a light left on with straw or hay can become a fire hazard. So of course we don't want that to happen. I feed my 9 month olds, oatmeal (just what I think they will eat at one time), spaghetti plain, they think its worms and they will devour the whole batch. Spaghetti is carbs and it helps bring their body temp up. I give them some ground hamburger, cooked and cooled, protein. Again, it disappears quickly. Yes, the use of a temp light is fine when the cold is extreme. If you don't want to force them to lay more eggs, then I would turn the light out. They are tougher than we are. Sounds like you are doing everything right for where you are located. It will get warmer soon we hope.

 

[SIMZ]

It could be that the fighting "mother nature thing" is happening to you. Relative humidity outside and dropping temps. Very difficult to fight. You can't. 15 miles from lake Michigan I'm guessing is an issue. Is the lake frozen or is it open near you? It could be the Great Lake is throwing humidity into the wintry mix. That's tough...IMO. You could make sure you've got the ventilation happening on the non prevailing wind side...and close the vents where the cold dumps into the coop. (North and West sides) Bunk it up with some snow on those sides to insulate. Make sure the poo is not creating a moisture issue....top off with a new bag of pine shavings. There was a lady who mentioned a fan earlier on the thread. Maybe a small one of those pointed out towards the South and east vents to kick that moisture out. If I could figure out a way to install something like this I might do it:

This is from Eggclucktic Acres:



That little spinny thing on the roof would draw some moisture out you'd think. My Dad made this suggestion to me last winter. The only thing is with this is I think it might be a bit aggressive for my coop and take out some of the warmth and not just the moisture. IDK...
I'm sorry this is happening to you. I really sympathize. Frostbite is not a fun thing to see on your birds.

Personally my next step outside of insulating and heating would be the gooped on bag balm.

We get a lot of lake effect snow (and even rain sometimes) here. Maybe that is a big part of it. I think we'll really look into our ventilation this spring and add some on the south side. Right now they're on the West and East sides. The west side certainly lets in a lot of wind. In the meantime I'll use bag balm and try to manage it the best that I can.

 

[Anita DuJohn]

I always add hot water to frozen water... inside or outside the coop without issues of frostbite... as far as moisture, just breathing will cause that build up. When we decided to dedicate part of our shed to coop our hens we had ridge vents put in the top of the shed. I live in the mid south and of course that was mostly for heat ventilation. We have a little trap door with a piece of rug attached to the inside so when we close it the rug minimizes drafts. I make sure there is plenty of hay or straw too... I don't know about you but if I woke up in the freezing temps, I'd want a hot meal too! The way to do this is make it just warm, not hot and steaming in the cold... If you raise your water or hang it, their waddles will not get "dipped" in the water when they drink... Lavender oil will help with the burning of a frost bite for a chicken without any side effects... hope this helps! Good Luck! xoxo

 

[fabfowl]

A good way to prevent frostbite is to rub petroleum jelly or bag balm on their combs, wattles, feet, and legs (daily). It's good to do this anyway, but during the time when it's cold is the best. Also, I read that, if you're no offended by it, you can also have you're chickens' combs dubbed, or cut off; it's a perfectly normal and humane thing to do. I personally don't have my chickens' combs cut off because they're short enough so that it doesn't really matter. I hope this helped!

 

[Joan71]

Before you work on your ventalation problems, remember to look up info here on BYC in the Learning Center. From what I have read, it is not necessary to buy expensive vents to get the results you need. One of the narrators says to vent all around the top of the walls under your roof (be sure to cover vent area with wire). Be sure the vent area is large enough to handle the job. Then when you need to block off really bad wind, you can put something over the vent temporarily, then remove.

One person says that using the wind turbine that was described, only removes moisture when the wind is blowing. The wind turns the turbine.

I have crazy weather here in SC. In the 70's one day and down to 12 degrees the other morning. So I have layered the protection on my coop and run. When it warms up, I can put the tarps up and let the air flow through. When the "cold" winds and temp came, we added extra tarps, more straw and hay. The chickens adapted to the weather changes. I was cautioned by BYC not to make it to warm for my birds as they do better when it is cool to cold. The chickens trap their body temperature in the down feathers under their wings by fluffing the down feathers. They really are very resourceful. My biggest problem has been frozen water. Good luck

This is info I have learned from BYC since joining last spring. Other locate chicken growers are a great source of info for problems like the weather. They can give you specifics to your area.

 

[Joan71]

Here is a list of the discussion threads that discuss getting ready for winter.

PREPARING FOR WINTER.

IT'S COLD - KEEPING FLOCK WARM AND HEALTHY IN WINTER

THE COLD COOP

WINTER IS COMING! CHECKLISTS, TIPS, ADVICE FOR NEWBIES.


The thread with the checklist is very helpful. Hope this helps.

 

[Triple Willow]

I always add hot water to frozen water... inside or outside the coop without issues of frostbite... as far as moisture, just breathing will cause that build up. When we decided to dedicate part of our shed to coop our hens we had ridge vents put in the top of the shed. I live in the mid south and of course that was mostly for heat ventilation. We have a little trap door with a piece of rug attached to the inside so when we close it the rug minimizes drafts. I make sure there is plenty of hay or straw too... I don't know about you but if I woke up in the freezing temps, I'd want a hot meal too! The way to do this is make it just warm, not hot and steaming in the cold... If you raise your water or hang it, their waddles will not get "dipped" in the water when they drink... Lavender oil will help with the burning of a frost bite for a chicken without any side effects... hope this helps! Good Luck! xoxo

Of course a chicken can live without their wattles and comb but both do serve a purpose, heat regulation.