Do chickens sleep longer in the winter?

[dancingmama]

Just wondering..... Their coop is not huge (enough space according to all the measurements, but cozy). I'm wondering if in Northern climates (I'm in MI) they sleep longer since it's dark so much?

 

[chickendude]

Yes. They sleep through the dark. How many sq feet is your coop and how many and what type birds do you have? A crowded coop in the winter is a very dangerous situation.

 

[dancingmama]

I have an Ark. Right now I have 5 that I've been raising since day-olds, but I'm going down to three in a few weeks. The coop has 16 sf of covered run underneath it, and 12 sf of roost and nesting box above. The chickens free-range in the yard a couple hours each evening.

 

[dancingmama]

Forgot to add.... the chicks I have right now are 2 EEs, 1 Barred Rock, 1 Australorp, and 1 Buff Orp, all 13 weeks old. I'm not sure which two we will be re-homing.... we're still trying to figure out who is a roo!

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Hopefully your BO and BR are not Roos, I would keep those, either the Australorp or maybe one of the EE's if they have nice personalities, not all do. The three you keep will have to be friends to live comfortably without picking at each other inside the coop for long periods.

Am from MI originally so, I am very familiar with snow and ice storms. You won't always be able to let them out in their run or to roam about for a few hours a day. Hope its a mild winter for you. My girls can't handle much more than 4 days of being cooped up (that is where the saying comes from) before they start going stir crazy and picking at each other.

 

[dancingmama]

Thanks for the replies! The cool thing is, I have this raised porch thing, with about 8x8 of covered space, which would be protected from any snowfall. I'm thinking that in the winter, I won't be moving the tractor around -- no point.... so I'll put it adjacent to this space, and then even when there is a ton of snow, they can explore under it. My only issue is that I work 2-3 days/week, and in the middle of winter, that means I won't be getting home till dark, so no free-ranging time cuz I assume they'll already be upstairs. So that's why I asked the question.... there is so much dark in the winter in MI, the chickens must actually sleep a lot then?!?