First Winter

[jlabs]

I could use some advice from seasoned chicken owners.
I have 9 chickens-1 barred rock and 8 silkies. Heading into the first winter I am not going to heat my coop. It's well made by my husband and ventilated well. I am still nervous about keeping them safe.

My questions are:
Do I continue to open the coop door-even as temperatures drop-to allow them the choice to got out into their covered run? The run has a roof and we put plastic shields on the lower half of the run to block the snow and wind.

How cold is too cold for chickens inside the coop? outside? (I don't want chicken popsicles)

Do I keep the water inside the coop or outside the coop? (They have it outside during the day now. I'm worried they will fill it will shavings or spill water inside the coop)

Is there anything else I should consider to prep for winter?

 

[lazy gardener]

If the temp is bitterly cold, (below 10*F) I might leave them closed in. More often, I open the pop door anyways, and offer the choice. But, if no one ventures out after a few hours, and the temp starts to drop, I may close the pop door. Of course, the most important thing is to have good ventilation in the coop, even if temps are in the minus digits. I keep a hygrometer in the coop to monitor moisture levels, and also keep an eye on ammonia levels. I move the water inside the coop and set up a heated dog bowl raised up on a platform during the winter.

 

[jlabs]

Thanks!
You've never had a problem with your chickens jumping inside the heated bowl or filling it with shavings? I am imagining my chickens trying to perch on the bowl and getting wet!

 

[lazy gardener]

Ok, let me back up a bit and add more detail! I put the heated bowl (5 qt) on a raised platform. (about 8" or what ever you need to use to keep the water as high as their backs) I set a gallon milk jug filled with water in the middle of the bowl. This jug creates a moat to keep the birds from stepping in the water. It also keeps them from trying to perch on the edge! It is handy so that I can top off the bowl when I go out to tend the flock. B/C my birds eat fermented feed, they don't drink as much as birds who eat dry feed.

 

[lcwmt]

I could use some advice from seasoned chicken owners.
I have 9 chickens-1 barred rock and 8 silkies. Heading into the first winter I am not going to heat my coop. It's well made by my husband and ventilated well. I am still nervous about keeping them safe.

My questions are:
Do I continue to open the coop door-even as temperatures drop-to allow them the choice to got out into their covered run? The run has a roof and we put plastic shields on the lower half of the run to block the snow and wind.

How cold is too cold for chickens inside the coop? outside? (I don't want chicken popsicles)

Do I keep the water inside the coop or outside the coop? (They have it outside during the day now. I'm worried they will fill it will shavings or spill water inside the coop)

Is there anything else I should consider to prep for winter?

***
No heat or supplemental light here. N Central MT, 4 Buff Orpingtons, 2 EE, 1 Banty (the first to lay and currently molting!). I don't know how Silkies would do here.
All my girls except the Banty were chosen for cold hardiness.

Last Winter we had several weeks of -30 to -40. A neighbor lost his house due to a chicken coop fire. It's tempting to add a heat lamp when it is 20 below or colder. Not gonna!

Our coop door gets opened to the big wide world if/when the sun is shining and propped slightly open when it is cold or windy or the pullets seem to want to huddle up. The pop door to their (covered ) run is always open.
This past week we had single digits following a foot of snow. (the first snow, also 1', was October 1).
The girls did fine, I am not so sure about myself. Today it was 40 degrees warmer, the sun was out, the chickens ventured out and about and my hope is restored. The idea of an unrelenting bitter Winter is more than I can bear right now.

We have a heated dog water dish in the run (the Summer tube waterers have frozen solid). The food is also in the run. The run is hoop style with clear tarps added to keep things dry, wind proof and slightly warmer.
These are early April chicks. Laying has cut way back, mostly I think due to the cold spell combined with shorter daylight hours.

We started out using pine shavings and DLM. As of this week, straw is added on top and things seem better. The girls have distributed the straw, it's fluffy and seems warmer for them, there are places where they are hollowing out spots to nestle in.
Jeff says (and I believe him) that pine shavings came into use in horse barns because they were less expensive than straw. That transferred over to other critter keeping.
Now, the pricing, here at least, is pretty even but I'm a fan of straw on top of shavings <G>.
i hope this is at least a little helpful and reassuring. Your climate is different than ours: more humid, fewer freeze/thaw cycles. Ventilation in the coop is really really important. Really, all you need to do is provide clean water, balanced feed and don't let the girls get accustomed to artificial heat! They are well equipped to maintain their body temps. As our local fire chief said after 4 in-town fires last year: "Chickens are resourceful".

 

[jlabs]

Ok, let me back up a bit and add more detail! I put the heated bowl (5 qt) on a raised platform. (about 8" or what ever you need to use to keep the water as high as their backs) I set a gallon milk jug filled with water in the middle of the bowl. This jug creates a moat to keep the birds from stepping in the water. It also keeps them from trying to perch on the edge! It is handy so that I can top off the bowl when I go out to tend the flock. B/C my birds eat fermented feed, they don't drink as much as birds who eat dry feed.

That makes a clearer picture. Great idea.