New England- winterizing coop

[cheermom1024]

I am new to this forum as well as new to raising chickens. I have a total of 10. 2 NH red, 2 americanas, 2 barred rock, 3 RIR, and 1 leghorn. They all currently live in my daughter's old clubhouse, that was remodeled.

My question is: with living in N.E what would I have to do as for winterizing? Insulating the coop? Heat lamp? I am not certain this is all new. I do know about heating the water.

 

[Percheron chick]

You can do as little or as much as you want. I'm in the minimalist camp. My winters get into single digits with snow on the ground for maybe a week between storms. Heat kills more chickens than cold does. How large is the coop? They will spend extended periods of time inside in bad weather. That's more important than any weatherproofing you can do. Adding lights to increase laying is the only winter extra I offer.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine are in an uninsulated tin shed, not heated, you need good ventilation so there is no condensation, proper sized roosts, access to sunshine, wind breaks, something to do if they need to stay in, I use hay in the run on top of the snow, mine don't like walking on snow, fresh warm water at least twice a day, I use rubber bowls that I dump and refill with warm water, good fresh food, maybe some warm mash or oatmeal, some scratch in the evening so there's stuff in their crops at night. Chickens are pretty hardy, let them acclimate naturally and they should do fine.

 

[jetdog]

I am new to this forum as well as new to raising chickens. I have a total of 10. 2 NH red, 2 americanas, 2 barred rock, 3 RIR, and 1 leghorn. They all currently live in my daughter's old clubhouse, that was remodeled.

My question is: with living in N.E what would I have to do as for winterizing? Insulating the coop? Heat lamp? I am not certain this is all new. I do know about heating the water.

New England here also,I wrap my run with commercial grade clear shower curtains keeps the snow and wind out and let's the sunshine in,actually stays a lot warmer,for water i use horizontal nipples in a bucket with a plastic safe stock tank heater it worked great and it got put to the test after this past winter.

 

[Emma Miriam]

I'm in the northeast too. I would highly recommend NOT heating your coop. Chickens are surprisingly hardy, and slowly adjust to low temps during the fall and winter. If, however, you have a heat lamp, they won't adjust...and if the power ever went out (as it often does in snowstorms), your birds won't stand a chance. Of course, there's also the risk of fire with heat lamps. (If you're absolutely set on heating the coop, I've heard the Sweeter Heater is the safest option.)

That being said, there are some things you can do to help. Make sure there are NO DRAFTS blowing on the birds, but that there is VENTILATION up above the heads of roosting chickies. Hopefully you already have good ventilation in your coop...it's important even in winter so that frostbite-causing moisture can escape. Close any vents, though. that would be blowing directly on your birds for the winter.

Insulation is great, but not necessary...that's up to you.

If you have a run, I'd also recommend covering three or three-and-a-half sides of it with a clear tarp or plastic sheeting to block some of the wind (http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2011/11/25/chicken-coop-plastic-wrap-winter/).

The Deep Litter Method can also generate heat in your coop during the winter. Here's a good article on that: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/10/the-deep-litter-method-of-waste.html. It's especially important to have good ventilation if you do deep litter.

The only other thing would be to make sure their water doesn't freeze! If you'd like suggestions on that, let us know.

Hope that helped!