Free Range vs Run in (UK) Winter

[Lorielus]

Hi all,

I was looking for a quick bit of advice from those of the chickening community who are used to cold & dark winters.

This will be my first winter with chickens (and two ducks). Normally, I tempt them to bed before dark with a tomato to ensure they go into the run/coop (they free range during the day). However, on occasion if I've been late home - usually they make their own way into the coop, but a couple of times two of them (aptly named Ripley and Sarah Connor) have roosted in a tree (not a great concern, there's aren't many tree-climbing predators out in non-wooded rural Scotland), but I'm more concerned about exposure in the winter.

As I'll often be home after it's already dark (at the height of winter, it'll be dark by 4pm or so here), when it's cold can I expect them to have the sense to go into the shelter of the coop rather than into the tree, or would I be better off keeping them in the run through the whole day for safety's sake?

Many thanks as always!

 

[azygous]

If you get sudden below freezing onslaughts during winter, they can indeed kill an exposed bird roosting on a tree branch if they lack protection from freezing wind.

An alternative would be to permit free ranging and keep a close watch on weather forecasts, confining the birds when you get word of a low pressure system in the works for your area.

I live where winters are often mild but can have unscheduled sneak freeze attacks. I purposely built a very large run with translucent roofing panels to let in maximum winter sunlight. In addition, I put up double-walled Coroplast plastic panels on the sides of the run during the winter to eliminate snow and freezing wind. Therefore, the coop pop hole doors can be left open even in winter, allowing my chickens to put themselves in at night as well as come out on their own in morning.

 

[Lorielus]

Thanks a lot, that's really useful. I preparation for winter I have already added some solid roofing and a windbreaker on the exposed mesh wall of the run, but the translucent panels didn't occur to me - that's an excellent idea.

Will the birds be ok in the coop itself (I'd expect that absolute worst temperature to be -10C at night) or should I be looking at adding some insulation? (Fairly standard wood construction, tightly built so shouldn't be drafty as is).

 

[lazy gardener]

My birds do well in an uninsulated coop without any extra heat. My temps get down into the minus single and double digits F* fairly frequently in the winter. A cold snap will result in below 0*F temps for 24/7 a week or more at a time. The only time I ever worry is if the birds are showing signs of hypothermia. I have closed off part of their run with a green house tarp roof, and 6 mil. poly on 3 sides to give them a sheltered winter "sun room". I can not free range here b/c of the many predators. I even have hawks showing up in November and February. Owls year round. Then... there are the many ground predators. But I digress... your birds will be fine, especially if you give them a sheltered winter run.

 

[azygous]

BYCers in Alaska shelter their flocks in unheated and uninsulated coops in winter and those chickens deal with temps far below -30C.

The secret is good ventilation so humidity doesn't build. That's when frostbite occurs. Chickens won't freeze to death as long as they consume the calories to keep up their body heat.

 

[centrarchid]

I do not think anywhere in the UK will challenges to chickens be by way of cold.

 

[Zoomie]

Have to agree with @centrarchid. It gets down to -20 F here. No problems. Also, keeping chickens in an enclosed run does not hurt them in the least, so if you are worried or you have some that do NOT come home to roost, and enclosed run works really well.

 

[poultry person]

You con feed your chickens and duck cracked corn it takes a while to digest so the corn helps their bodies stay warm. It worked for me!

 

[poultry person]

*can

 

[Sutremaine]

Do you have somewhere to roost that's inside the run but not inside the coop? We have a (secure) covered run and one of those little box coops, and, long story short, the preferred roosting spot is a piece of wood screwed to the propped-up nestbox lid.

Last year was the first winter they did that and it was a really mild one here, but it did go below freezing for several nights at a time.