Hello from Vermont

[Daisey56]

This will be my first winter in Vermont with three chickens. I am still trying to figure out if they will need heat. Will a light bulb work? Don't they need extra light to lay? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. What breeds do you have? If you have cold hardy breeds, they will be fine without supplimentary heat as long as their coop is draft free, dry, and well ventilated to keep moisture from building up in it. Feathers are wonderful insulators and moisture is a much greater danger than cold. A light bulb can be useful for increased laying as it is light striking their pineal gland which stimulates laying. Just make sure that you have it on a timer so that it doesn't shine all night. If you want to set them timer so the light comes on well before the sun is up that will work fine but make sure that it goes off before flock returns to the coop at sunset or you will mess up their roosting cycle. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

 

[drumstick diva]

Michael has given you good advice. You may want to join your state thread to find out how others "overwinter " their birds, and which breeds do best in your climate. As a rule chickens can tolerate cold much better than heat. Welcome to the Backyard chickens flock. Hope you enjoy BYC as much as we do.

 

[Daisey56]

Thank you. That was so helpful. I have red sexlinks

 

[Daisey56]

Good idea. How do I find my state thread?

 

[drumstick diva]

Put "Vermont state thread." in the search box above. easy peasy.

 

[Daisey56]

Thanks

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Michael OShay]

Thank you. That was so helpful. I have red sexlinks

You're welcome. I had Red Sex Links for years and they are very cold hardy. They are good layers during the shorter, colder winter days as well. With a light set on a timer to go off before sunrise, they should hardly miss a beat in laying. )

 

[N F C]

We have 3 RSL girls in our mixed flock and nothing has slowed them down yet. Of course, winter here in FL is a bit different than yours in VT, lol. The members on your state thread will be a good source of info for you.

Good luck with your flock, if you have questions always feel free to ask. There's a ton of information available here on BYC and lots of friendly, helpful members.

Thanks for joining us!