Hardy, friendly chickens recommendations...

[cavemanrich]

Here are some of my thoughts......
Also considered leaving my dog in the coop for the cold night. May sound silly but she is big and chicken friendly...
I'm sure it is not a chihuahua, but I would not do that to my dog. JMO.

It makes sens to skip the rooster for the girls. I'm not familiar with roosters because of there reputation but I did see a few that were fine with my daughters so I thought maybe some breed would be better than others.
Wait until your children are bigger. A mean rooster can harm them, and its to late to undo.

You being way up north has weather challenges galore. Are there other peeps near you that you can fashion your coop to theirs? Ideally , you would consult those that have kept chickens for some time. You would also learn the do's and don't's from those that experience same circumstances.
WISHING YOU BEST... and

 

[PetitePlume]

Here are some of my thoughts......
Also considered leaving my dog in the coop for the cold night. May sound silly but she is big and chicken friendly...
I'm sure it is not a chihuahua, but I would not do that to my dog. JMO.
Fair enough, I'm brainstorming...

It makes sens to skip the rooster for the girls. I'm not familiar with roosters because of there reputation but I did see a few that were fine with my daughters so I thought maybe some breed would be better than others.
Wait until your children are bigger. A mean rooster can harm them, and its to late to undo.
True! I don't know how bad they can get, but I don't really one to find out either...

You being way up north has weather challenges galore. Are there other peeps near you that you can fashion your coop to theirs? Ideally , you would consult those that have kept chickens for some time. You would also learn the do's and don't's from those that experience same circumstances.
I'll have to talk with them for sure. There is some chicken keepers around here.
WISHING YOU BEST... and

 

[Lady of McCamley]

You've gotten some great advice.

I think the best advice is ask around in your area which breeds are serving best. I'd be surprised if you don't find some Chanticleers as they are Canadian bred for just your purposes.

Buckeyes may be harder to find in your area, but I can say they are extremely friendly, cold hardy, decent layers, and the cockerals make excellent meat birds, coming to table fairly fast for a heritage breed (about 16 to 18 weeks)....that's if you begin to hatch your own and get unwanted roosters.

I agree that roosters can be wonderful or awful, and children are at their level and most often attacked. It is far more than a cat scratch. Roosters have spurs that can cause deep wounds and puncture eyes.

I don't think you'll need to worry about putting heat from the wood stove to the chicken house, but it is a thought as long as you can do so without any smoke or fumes going with the heat. Chickens are very susceptible to fumes.

Overall, chickens do very, very well in the cold weather as long as they have a place to stay out of the weather and have large flat boards to roost so that they can cover their feet at night.

Since you are so far out off the grid, I would also consider security. I imagine you've got some predators that would find a chicken dinner very tasty too.

I'm excited for your new chicken adventure. Kids and chickens go together like peanut butter and jelly. They learn a lot from having chickens too!

LofMc

 

[WhatAboutBob?]

My vote is for the breeds I have up here in Northern Michigan. Easter Eggers and Wyandottes. Both have small combs, are friendly (Easter Eggers more so), and are good winter layers. Easter Eggers get another plus for your girls for their colored egg laying! My Ethel gives me the loveliest large Rose colored eggs! Plus she eats straight out of my hand. They have beards and muffs instead of wattles that could be prone to frostbite.

 

[chickens really]

Hello...I have a Brahma Rooster and Orpington Hens..All are very Docile and winter hardy..Also Speckled Sussex are docile Birds..

 

[lazy gardener]

If you build your coop into the ground, you are going to need to lay in a buried skirt to keep rats and mice out. Same with the sod roof. One definite consideration for your benefit would be a deep composting litter in the coop (and run). Depending on how much work you wanted to do, you might build a "hot bed" under the perch area. Trench out an area and fill it with horse manure every fall. It will cook throughout the winter, and produce some good heat. You will need excellent ventilation in your coop to vent off any moisture. I'm only speaking in theory here and have not tried such a thing. However, there is a fellow in ?Sweeden or some country in that area who has his birds in a giant green house type building with a huge compost frame in the middle.

 

[Mrs. K]

Do not worry about adding heat to your coop. DRY is what you need and out of the wind.
A good windbreak, and good ventilation and your chickens will be fine. If you are going to raise chicks without electricity, check out the wooly hen. I did it last spring and had great results.

 

[jane s chickens]

Rose Combs might suffer less frostbite. EEs or wynndottes. 2 of my BO roos got frostbite here in Alabama.

 

[HensBeforeFriends]

I'm in PEI, Canada, so we don't get winter as bad as you, but it's still pretty cold! This will be my first winter with our chickens.

We have 5 hybrid Buff Orpington/Barred Rock hybrids that I bought from a local farmer as chicks. I was looking for cold hardy, friendly breeds that laid a lot of eggs as well. Where I raised them from week old chicks, they are very friendly and tame (they get tamer and less flighty as they mature). Buff Orpingtons are a bit later to start laying than some other breeds, but they have smaller combs and are a heavier breed, which is what I was looking for.

Henrietta is the first of my girls to start laying at 25 weeks. The rest of the girls look like they're almost ready to start laying. We've gotten an egg from her 6 days a week for the last 2 weeks.

I think your primary struggle might be maintaining liquid water. It only takes our waterer an hour to freeze over when it's -15C, and if you aren't going to provide a heated waterer, you're going to be hauling fresh water to your birds every 30 mins, although they will only drink when it's 'daylight'. I have a cookie tin with a 60W lightbulb that sits under my chickens waterer to keep it from freezing in their run which works well.

If you're concerned about getting year round eggs... With your lack of daylight hours in the winter up where you are, and the fact that you're off grid, you may consider solar powered lights to turn on a few hours before natural sunrise to keep egg production. This might also work for 'heating' their water. Just make sure to collect the eggs right away so they don't freeze. I don't provide supplemental lighting - we get a minimum of 8.5 daylight hours in the winter.

As far as heating goes, the coldest it ever gets here (without windchill) is -25 C. From my research/experience, it's more important to acclimatise your chickens to the cold than to heat the coop. I like your idea of putting sod over the roof, and putting it into the ground, but like another poster said, you'll need to line it with something to keep out critters. We use straw bales around the outside of the coop to provide some thermal mass/insulation, and I use the deep litter method for their bedding, but that's it for 'heat'. A major concern would be to ensure they have enough space, and LOTS of ventilation far above their roosts to allow the moisture to escape (while providing a draft-free environment).

I didn't bother with a rooster for a few reasons: 1. I don't eat meat, so my hens are just for eggs and pets. If you're looking to supplement your food supply with chicken, having a rooster for breeding might be for you. 2. Roosters have larger combs, which are more susceptible to frostbite, which I didn't want to experiment with my first year. 3. My hens have an enclosed run, which has been predator proof (so far), so I don't feel I need a rooster for protection.

Sorry for the novel - I hope my answers are helpful! Good luck with your chicken journey

 

[PetitePlume]

Do not worry about adding heat to your coop. DRY is what you need and out of the wind.
A good windbreak, and good ventilation and your chickens will be fine. If you are going to raise chicks without electricity, check out the wooly hen. I did it last spring and had great results.

What is the wooly hen?

I think your primary struggle might be maintaining liquid water. It only takes our waterer an hour to freeze over when it's -15C, and if you aren't going to provide a heated waterer, you're going to be hauling fresh water to your birds every 30 mins, although they will only drink when it's 'daylight'. I have a cookie tin with a 60W lightbulb that sits under my chickens waterer to keep it from freezing in their run which works well.
For what I gave seen here, there is snow for the chickens... There is no way in the world I'll be going every half hour to make sure they have water since I already have 2 beautiful daughters who prevent me from sitting down

If you're concerned about getting year round eggs... With your lack of daylight hours in the winter up where you are, and the fact that you're off grid, you may consider solar powered lights to turn on a few hours before natural sunrise to keep egg production. This might also work for 'heating' their water. Just make sure to collect the eggs right away so they don't freeze. I don't provide supplemental lighting - we get a minimum of 8.5 daylight hours in the winter.
I have seen nesting boxes as the same height as the roosters since it's warmer. Jsut around the corner for winter solstice... I haven't seen the sun in over 3 weeks now, solar panels aren't an option between November and February. So yes I do expect the production to go down no matter the breed.

As far as heating goes, the coldest it ever gets here (without windchill) is -25 C. From my research/experience, it's more important to acclimatise your chickens to the cold than to heat the coop. I like your idea of putting sod over the roof, and putting it into the ground, but like another poster said, you'll need to line it with something to keep out critters. We use straw bales around the outside of the coop to provide some thermal mass/insulation, and I use the deep litter method for their bedding, but that's it for 'heat'. A major concern would be to ensure they have enough space, and LOTS of ventilation far above their roosts to allow the moisture to escape (while providing a draft-free environment).
I also thought they could get used to the cold. By being in the ground it should make a difference, but we could be for 2 weeks at -40°C. Luckily it isn't humid here, so it mos likely feels about the same as your -25°C. (Assuming that it's humid in PEI.)

I didn't bother with a rooster for a few reasons: 1. I don't eat meat, so my hens are just for eggs and pets. If you're looking to supplement your food supply with chicken, having a rooster for breeding might be for you. 2. Roosters have larger combs, which are more susceptible to frostbite, which I didn't want to experiment with my first year. 3. My hens have an enclosed run, which has been predator proof (so far), so I don't feel I need a rooster for protection.
No rooster on the good sake of my daughters I decided after the previous posts... Will have to do some reading since Emma, the older, wants to have chicks so bad. She'll be happy for the summer because I'm teaming up with a neighbor and should have 25 meets birds in the ward. All very helpful, thanks a lot!
N

Sorry for the novel - I hope my answers are helpful! Good luck with your chicken journey