Cold Weather Poultry Housing and Care

Very informative and detailed article on cold weather and chicken health from someone who lives in the Great North Country! I enjoyed it!

I love how in your article you explain everything so folks can understand the why or why nots of things. I also like your consideration of the sometimes need for heat for chickens and caution about the same. We heat our coops full of silkies to 40°F here in WI, safely.

Very thorough and clear in explaining the reasoning behind everything you've built and done! Nice job!

Outstanding and comprehensive. This will be my go-to article when I need to remember this kind of information. Like you, I also use seed-starting mats covered with shavings on the floor of the coop and they like to spend time there when they've been outside and their feet are cold from the ice and snow.

Incredibly useful! Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge

Great article. Very detailed.

Excellent information. Thank you for sharing!

Anyone with chickens can benefit from this detailed helpful article, especially for newbies, which I basically still am, with our little flock raised as newly hatched RIR’s, 2 yrs. ago. It’s very specific to doable methods that will help protect the flock inside the coop and outdoor run. This includes tips around snowfall and how it can impact not only their little feet but can keep the humans from easily accessing their territory. If someone has the opportunity to build or renovate a chicken house this article clearly will help in major ways. One example is how critical the roof design itself is, by the angle and position, whether or not it covers prime spaces like windows. Another most important subject is how to create enough ventilation areas high above the roosts in order to have air circulating yet not placing any gaps or spaces where cold air could blow directly into the chickens’ roosting areas. That is an issue year round, no matter the temperatures dipping, there must be a healthy amount of air flow. It’s helpful to check in here to learn more about those low temperatures, when to consider providing more protection like when your area has below zero or below 20 degrees F temperatures, so there are options, and some folks in more extreme freezing weather can possibly and do build their coop attached to a warmer building, whether a barn with other animals on other side of their area, next to a well house or even your actual house. As we all must learn it is never safe to use the plug-in standing or wall-mounted heaters. It’s simply not worth ever taking that risk of a fire and in most of our environments, like mine, Piedmont of N. C. where we do have real winter but the standard is around or above freezing, with lowest of 20 degrees F that normally comes and go. Speaking of freezing there are good tips around watering the girls and Roos.
I also like reading about how to address their winter-boredom and the simple but clever things that can help entertain while also providing wintertime food including creating a suet that helps them stay well and warm. It does make sense to toss dried leaves into the run on hand every so often as it keeps them curious and busy while helping protect their feet from any water and cold ground. Using wood chips and finding a local saw mill or other source is definitely on my to-do list!
Thanks for a great well-written article. By the way your landscape and views are stunning, makes me miss mountains and snow.
Best to all! Stay warm.

I'm a hot-climate person myself, but I recommend this article all the time because it's so thorough.

Great information.

Thank you so much for all the information in one spot.

The most helpful and informative article I have read so far here in BYC. Thank you for going into such great detail. I am now off to rearrange my Serama shed design draft.

Needed this.
Great info.
Thanks !

Practical and helpful information with an engaging writing style. Really enjoyed the read.

Good information even for those of us that are not in the cold country.

Very thorough, clear....lots of good information. This will be my first winter with chickens and a goose and I haven't seen much on goose wintering
except this. I also like the mention of useful things for insulation that don't cost alot of money.

Super helpful information, including all the aspects of winter care and run preparation that one should consider well before the freezing temperatures and snowfall.

Great article. I have re-read many times. I like how you provide a rationale for each recommendation.

Very informative, Idaho has a mind of it's own so I will be prepared.

Very helpful as I plan my Canadian coop.

thanks for taking the time to write, and post this.