Winter is Coming! Checklists, tips, advice for a newbie

[LadyCluck77]

At first, I was really worried about comb frostbite. I attended a small-scale poultry show in my area this past fall. Actually most of the birds there had some frostbite nips on the combs, some with some very extreme dubbing and it didn't seem to disqualify them. Plenty of them had ribbons. Now, if you were going to a large-scale show with serious competition, every point might count (no pun intended).
I have never shown a bird, so I don't know.

 

[bigmrg74]

I know its the Dog days of Summer here for most of us here in the States, but I thought I would bump this up a little for the newbies who should start thinking about what is coming with cooler temps.

 

[Alaskan]

Yeah... We have already had a few fall days

 

[Blooie]

Snowed here up in the mountains on Monday. Over 80 at 9:30 in the morning, 50 by 5:00, overnight low of 41. I ain't ready yet, doggone it!

 

[K Epp]

Ill trade you some of that snow for some humidity and 106 heat index....

 

[corrabelle]

Thank you! I'm from the midwest and am now in Ontario. No one from where I'm from does anything special in the winter (aside from making sure their water doesn't freeze.)
I wasn't sure if I should do something to winterize our chicken coop since winters here are longer, or just leave them be.
Do you insulate at all? (Styrofoam in the walls etc?)

 

[bigmrg74]

Thank you! I'm from the midwest and am now in Ontario. No one from where I'm from does anything special in the winter (aside from making sure their water doesn't freeze.)
I wasn't sure if I should do something to winterize our chicken coop since winters here are longer, or just leave them be.
Do you insulate at all? (Styrofoam in the walls etc?)

Grenade!!!


The debate to insulate the coop or not usually tends to be a hotly debated topic on here. You can insulate some, but you don't want to cut off too much ventilation to the coop as well. As long as your chickens are not constantly exposed to drafty areas, they should be fine, they do have that wonderful feather jacket on them that helps them to stay very warm by trapping warm air next to them. I myself got my girls thru the winter here in SE Michigan in a tractor with only some reflective insulation around the nest box section of a tractor with shower curtains wrapped around the top of it to block off the wind and straw bales around the base to block the wind.

However, if you do insulate, do be sure to have a way to cover it up with something that's peck-proof. Chickens will eat Styrofoam and its not good for them at all.

 

[Alaskan]

insulation does help if it gets super cold, or you have lots of wind, but it isn't needed.

Insulation will keep the coop warmer (even with lots of venting), and if the birds are warmer than they wont eat quite as much. Cold birds eat a ton of food.

You do need lots of ventilation, LOTS, and you do need no wind or breeze or draft where they perch, and you need the perch to be a nice wide perch where they can keep their feet flat and so warm and frostbite free.

as far as super long winters.... space is what is most helpful. I have my coop setup so that the birds have access to the greenhouse in the winter for the extra space.

 

[centrarchid]

If you are in the far north, consider providing piles of dry straw or hay. Birds can stand on it to protect feed and even hunker down as groups in it to conserve heat.

 

[LadyCluck77]

If you are in the far north, consider providing piles of dry straw or hay. Birds can stand on it to protect feed and even hunker down as groups in it to conserve heat.

This. Especially when the snows come, you won't regret having a few bales of hay on hand to place a barrier between your birds feet and the frozen ground. Even though my run is roofed and covered, we had a couple of storms last winter that brought it swirling into every crevice, and there was about a foot of it in there. I shoveled it as best as I could, then spread out a bale of hay. Most chickens won't set foot on snow. Plus, you don't want frostbite on their feet. Buy a few bales in the early fall before the prices go up, then store them either in your feed shed or garage.