Cold Weather

[Raptor Chicken]

@Raptor Chicken this is a great thread. i really feel like there should be an article written or this thread should be placed as a sticky at the top of the page.

this time of year, it seems like 10% of all new threads are about how to keep the chickens warm in the winter. i always laugh, because a few of them are in florida, or the carolinas, and they’re stressing about their 30* nights.

i can say i had all the same concerns, but i was fortunate that my coop was built by a local farmer/craftsman who has been keeping chickens here in CT for over 20 years. he gave me a heads up that they’ll be just fine in the winter. then, after reading up on here, i spoke with him and we added a lot of ventilation to my setup.

best advice is to READ READ READ before you build!! second piece of advice is that the “rule of thumb” guidelines are awesome, but the golden rule is that more is better when it comes to (draft free) ventilation and space for your chickens.

Think its more than 10%, just look how many "cold weather" threads are on the first page of this sub forum.

But you're spot on on everything else you said.

 

[aart]

The poops get larger???

Oh, yeah....those cute little pullet poops are nothing.

 

[Raptor Chicken]

Oh, yeah....those cute little pullet poops are nothing.

I was joking but I realize how emojies, or how however you spell those things, don't translate well online.

 

[linguini]

The poops get larger???

I think its going to be Spring at this point before we see any eggs, so I think I might have some time to think about it.

We'll see...

Somewhere there is an article in BYC about all kinds of poops - worth exploring.

Laying hens normally hold their poops while laying. But once in a while you'll see very large poops in the nesting box, I guess sometimes they just can't hold it.....

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Most chickens are hardy. I've got bantam frizzles that I do need to worry about keeping warm in the winter. My oldest is a 7 yr old frazzle that starts huddling when the temp drops below 50. On the other hand she barely notices in the summer when the mercury rises above 100... 105... 110...