Different coop setup for winter?

[dianefbarfield]

Hi again. Looking for advice. I have a nice, big wooden coop with roosts, a large window and a large door. The window and door are securely screened and will have plastic for the winter. Right now, my chickens stay outside for long days in a secure run around the coop. At dark they go to the coop, get closed in, lights out, sleep. No food or water, up and out at daylight. Now, in winter they will go in early. It gets dark here around 5:30 (North Carolina mountains). Do I feed and water in the coop and leave the light on longer or let them follow the sun naturally? Seems like a long time to not eat or drink. Thank you

 

[sourland]

I would not leave feed and water in the coop overnight. What they have in their crops will carry them through the night. I would only supply supplemental lighting if you want to assure egg production through the winter when day light period is shorter. They'll be fine.

 

[3KillerBs]

The window and door are securely screened and will have plastic for the winter.

They need ventilation just as much in the winter as in the summer.

I know that you get a lot of winter wind -- when I lived up there near Boone I would sometimes think that I'd wake up to find that the entire county had blown off the mountain and turned into a suburb of Winston-Salem.

But even so, chickens need lots and lots of fresh air.

What you need to do is to block the wind but allow airflow on the leeward side. If you show us photos of your coop and run we can help you.

In re: food and water, there's no point to putting it into the coop because the chickens don't eat and drink in the dark. But if you do want to extend their day with extra light it's best to add that light in the early morning so that they can go to roost naturally in the fading light instead of being caught out by a sudden shutoff.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[dianefbarfield]

They need ventilation just as much in the winter as in the summer.

I know that you get a lot of winter wind -- when I lived up there near Boone I would sometimes think that I'd wake up to find that the entire county had blown off the mountain and turned into a suburb of Winston-Salem.

But even so, chickens need lots and lots of fresh air.

What you need to do is to block the wind but allow airflow on the leeward side. If you show us photos of your coop and run we can help you.

In re: food and water, there's no point to putting it into the coop because the chickens don't eat and drink in the dark. But if you do want to extend their day with extra light it's best to add that light in the early morning so that they can go to roost naturally in the fading light instead of being caught out by a sudden shutoff.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Thank you!!! And yes, winters are wild here.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you!!! And yes, winters are wild here.

When I lived there I had moved from New England so to my perception the wind was insane but the temperatures were quite mild because it almost never dropped below 0F.

Put up good windblocks and the chickens should be perfectly happy.