REALLY cold weather

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Since you're smart enough to plan ahead I'll add some more information, I had said pick the right breeds, by that I mean ones that are heavier, with smaller combs, especially if you're gonna have a rooster, large comb roosters will get frostbite and lose the points of their combs, and if they are larger they need the 4 up on the 2x4 so they can cover their feet, I had a rooster who lost toes one year, that his whole feet got frostbite the next year and he was culled. Hens combs will shrink down, especially if they have quit laying for the season. I have never had a hen with frostbite, they tuck their head under a wing while sleeping.
Most chickens will lay during their first winter, than molt the following fall, they quit laying and won't resume until early spring, some people use light to keep them in lay but that won't work after the molt, they need to rest, of course that's when some people cull them. Hopefully I'm not rambling too much for you.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Really good reads about chickens and winter. I agree the right breed choice is very important where you are located.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/winter-coop-temperatures
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...led-look-at-the-question-of-supplemental-heat
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/winter-chicken-keeping


I found these to be helpful and hope you do too.

Chantaclers are said to be made for Canada. I have not had any trouble with the Black Australorp here but we only get down to -20 in the winter. No heat added.

How about Brahma and Large Cochins. I know, I know both are broody buggers.

http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2014/12/20-cold-hardy-chicken-breeds.html

I found this list that may be interesting too.

 

[brendajj]

thanks for the feed back on the sand i wasn't really sure about that idea But i love the hey for on the floor if the hens are spending really cold days inside...I have good access to hay not as good to straw ans shavings are hit and miss i can buy bales like what you would buy for hamsters or guinea pigs and such...But we have a couple saw mills but those chips are still wet and i think would freeze up when it was cold...Some more really great input for me to consider...I really appreciate this help Could i ask please what your winters are like? Are you in Canada or in the US

Thanks so much
Brenda from BC

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I am in Wisconsin, we get all our winter weather from Canada, so there are a lot of below zero, and minus 20-40 wind chills, and some days that is the high temperature, thanks for that.
If you use shavings make sure they are pine, as cedar can kill your birds with the fumes. I always use hay, straw is just oat stems, no real value as a food source, my birds eat the leaves of things that are in the bales, grass, dandelion, plantains, keeps them busy, and off the floor.

 

[Wrkrbee]

This will be my first winter with my chickens. They have an insulated shed-type coop with a 7 foot ceiling, and a 7'x10' floor space. We have 8 chickens and 3 ducks who are happily sharing this space. My question is, is it too much space for their bodies to heat? Our nights in Northern Vermont can get as low as -35F. I have seen a lot of coops on this site that are smaller with more chickens living in them, so I am worried that my girls won't be able to heat the coop up enough. I do have four 4"x12" vents under the eaves, and plan to use the deep litter method. Any reassurances??

 

[21hens-incharge]

My old coop was an 8x8 shed conversion and there were 13 chickens max in there. NO frostbite or other issues in that set up. It had 8 foot ceiling and such.

Oh and we get down to -20 in the winter here.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My large breed chickens are kept in a 40x40, pole building, it's not that the chickens heat the shed, it's the ability for the chicken to heat itself, most chickens move during the day, keeping warm by moving, and keeping warm from the heat produced during digestion, and at night they huddle down on the roost, covering their feet, and tucking their heads under a wing, some sit close, some sit alone. People think animals feel the cold like we do, but they have fur coats and down feathers, things humans have used themselves to keep warm. Stop thinking of chickens as people, they already have the means to stay warm, let them acclimate, and feed them well, give them choices of roost, bit of scratch in the evening, draft free but ventilated coop, maybe a bit of sun, a bit of warm water, and something to do, these are a few things you can do to make sure your chickens have the energy to stay warm during those cold winter days.

 

[brendajj]

Thanks for replying ...Sorry about the weather...haha been a bad summer here heat waves and the woods are burning down around us... I hope the north is sparing you all that bad stuff. Wanted to ask ..Is your coop insulated? I am going to do that for sure...and vapor barrier. And I want to put a nice big southern exposure window in The sun here can pack alot of heat on the down side of winter usually starts in February I know chickens have survival methods and as long as they are out of drafts there capable of surviving very cold temps So am going to take all the advice from all the long time chicken raisers and try to build the best coop i can for mine/

 

[21hens-incharge]

My coop is not insulated. It does have 11 windows and a soffit that is hardware clothed in. LOTS of air can move through in the summer. In the winter I actually had to add plastic to cut the wind from the soffit area. Snow was actually blowing in during a bad storm.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My Bantam coop is insulated, my pole shed is not, in fact you might call it drafty, but my birds are allowed to find where they are most comfortable, and on a sunny day they fight to sit in the sun, they go outside most days, and when you Canadians send me your worst weather they stay inside. We really goofed when we built our Bantam pen, it's on the north side of our barn, the poor birds get no sun and all wind if the doors aren't blocked by bales of hay, they get out too on nice days, so that's why I am happy you are planning.