CHICKENS IN THE WINTER!!!!.......HEAT...or NO HEAT??????????

[3chicksmomma]

Sorry, but I find your logic kind of funny. What about before the invention of power? Chickens have been around for a VERY long time. In the grand scheme of things electricity has only been around for a little while. They survived that long without it just fine, and can keep doing so.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I am fairly new to BYC and I have come to one conclusion some people love to pamper their chickens with heat lamps, ocean cruses, walks on the beach, Christmas presents, extra lighting, tanning beds, trips to Florida, and Sunday drives.

I give my chickens food and shelter 24/ 7 no heat, and no light, please forgive me.

 

[ChickNik]

It's good to know that chickens don't need a heater in their coop. I'm new to raising chickens up north, so I wasn't sure. We had chickens when I was growing up in Florida, but cold was never really an issue down there. I was worried about putting any kind of heating lamp or device in the coop because my co-worker had her coop burn down not too long ago due to the heat lamps being too close to the straw bedding. She was extremely lucky that it happened during the day when the chickens were out of the coop and also that the coop fire didn't spread to her house which was nearby.

 

[SarahInAlaska]

Thank you so much for posting this article! I live in an area where it is not uncommon to see as much as -25*F in the winter and I've been struggling with how to prepare my new coop for my new little flock to keep them healthy. Three of my new hens all came to me with horribly swollen combs from frostbite and I want so much to prevent that from happening to any of my hens again. Thanks again for this really helpful article!

 

[pepe91603]

Hi all! I was very worried about my chickens last night so I wanted to share, yesterday the high was 11F and the overnight low was 0F though some news channels say it went down to -4F. I have 2 red sex-links and 4 brahmas with no heat source. I did insulate the roof of my coop and the floor has a 1/2in rubber horse mat, the rest is 1/4" plywood siding with a 12" by 18" cut out for them to come and go. After reading i decided against adding a heat source during this cold spell and everyone did GREAT, even had 3 eggs this morning. All I did was add a bit more shavings (horse kind) for them to bed down in. Hope that helps if anyone is expecting similar weather and is one the fence about what to do!

 

[Rosaleen]

Living in northern Vermont, below zero temps are not uncommon. We never had a heat lamp in our coop and the chickies did just fine. Last year I acquired a great chicken coop. It was built by a carpenter who really didn't know much about chickens. I redesigned the inside to better suit the birds. He did fully insulate the structure which is a nice plus. He also put in electric sockets and outlets with 6 ...yes 6 heat lamps. I removed several sockets but not all. There is also a small "patio" which the chickens can access with a small pop door. I put three roosts in the outside patio. I have four chickens who always spend the night out on a roost together. Last evening it was -15 below when I did chores and decided to bring those four into the main coop and lock up the patio. I was pleasantly surprised to see how warm they felt as I moved them. Nevertheless, the patio was open air and the roost was in the direct path of the north wind so I thought it best to bring them inside. I flipped on the only heat bulb in the coop, wished all a good night and shut the door. The overnight temps reached -30. This morning when I got up the thermometer read -20. The chickens and all the other animals in the farm faired well. When I opened the door in the coop this morning, the thermometer read 24 degrees which was comfortable for the birds. I had spread hay outside over the snow for the chickens to run around on, some went back out to the patio and throughout the morning the chickens went in and out of their coop. I rarely use the heat lamp, only in extreme below zero temps. My birds seem contented and I get eggs everyday. So that 's how we do it on our little farm.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Thanks Pepe and Rosaleen! Good info! We've been racking our brain as what to do for the coops in preparation for the extreme cold temps that are expected here on mon. and tues. High of -4 on mon with wind chills -20!! It hasn't been this cold here in 20 years. We've had our flock for going on 6 years and this is the first time we've had to deal with these kind of temps. We are going to go out tomorrow and put plastic over the windows and add some more insulation in the ceiling of our large coop, and more shavings on the rubber floors. It is 12x12 with 7 ft ceiling with only 10 chickens in it. The small coop is about 9x8 with 6 ft ceiling. There are 20 in this coop! It stays warmer in the small coop than the big one. More bodies! So I guess if your flock survived the -20, -30 degree temps, I'm sure mine will survive also!!!

BBBRRRRR!!!!

 

[Rooster Rules]

Sorry, but I find your logic kind of funny. What about before the invention of power? Chickens have been around for a VERY long time. In the grand scheme of things electricity has only been around for a little while. They survived that long without it just fine, and can keep doing so.

Okay yes this is true, and depending on your local environment, folks kept certain breeds known to handle whatever cold gets dished out.
So when my parents were kids, no electricity until the early 50s, so what,. lived without, don't bother with heaters now, have the water pail frozen every morning, cover the house plants too.
I live where it is friggin 1 of the coldest parts of Southern Canada, infact it is -35 right now, with a -47 windchill, wouldn't this be fun to have only the woodstove going in the old uninsulated clapboard house on the prairie.
Currently I have mostly bantams, and have some heat going in my coop, just enough to take the edge off, and where water takes at least to overnight to freeze a bit. My little birds are less stressed and more comfortable as a result. Yesterday I saw several wild chickens (Sharp Tailed Grouse) near my property, they can handle it, but they are very much adapted to this climate for probably a 1000 years.
Hoko coko, feeds his more corn, others do other things.
I will put it nicely this way, 0f or even to -10f is mighty cold, but -30 to -50, is a whole other story, why would I make my bantams sit ina coop at say -15f, when they can have 20-25f........nuff said
IMHO, people should do as they feel is right, without feeling coerced by those who do not agree with there methods, well above 0f needs no heat, but subzero needs some at times

 

[scooter147]

I have never lost a chicken to the cold in 40+ years of chicken keeping. I will lose at least one in the 100 degree heat every year. It was minus 7 hear last night.

The keys are to keep the coop draft free but not air tight, the moisture needs to escape. Chicken manure puts off a lot of moisture as well as the simple function of breathing. I have two vents on either end of the coop and this morning I opened the south facing window about three inches. I will close it tonight.

I do pamper them with all the scratch feed they want.

I have no problem with those that want to provide a heat lamp or other type of heat source.

For the one poster that has frostbite on combs. Although it's too late now in the future a good lathering of Vaseline helps. Obviously this is an easier chore if you only have a few birds. The main problem here is when they drink they get their combs wet and that freezing on the comb and wattles.

Bears have the right idea, just sleep through it. ;-)