How can I keep my chickens warm this winter?

[douglas08]

This will be my first winter keeping chickens. I was wondering if there is anything I can do to help keep the warm? Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[thebanthams]

No sure how cold it gets, if they are sleeping inside coop, they should be fine, My chickens huddle together and survived 0 degrees. keep windows close or cover some draft. I do not suggest heat lamps, because they could die if you have a power outages. if you must have it get a generator.

 

[NovaAman]

Yup... wide roosts so they can keep their toes covered. Draft free, but good ventilation. Deeper litter... Yup... thats about it. Good fresh water daily, keep it from freezing... They'll do the rest.

 

[donrae]

Actually, they don't need wide roosts. I had birds roosting in a tree on smallish branches. When I'd go stand under them and shine the flashlight, you couldn't see their feet at all. They fluff their feathers out and cover all the toes.

Chickens have been around a lot longer that coops and electricity. Make sure they have some place out of the worst of the wind, not air tight to keep moisture from waste and respiration down, a decent food and you're good to go. Experiencing changes in temps as the seasons change is natural and normal for the bird, and I feel it keeps them healthier than being at a more constant, artificial temp.

 

[Ashburnham]

Move to Australia?

 

[douglas08]

My coop is pretty well air tight. I have ventilation in the roof. All of the windows have covers. And I just ordered a heater for the water fountain's. I don't use any kind of litter in the coop. What would be the best thing to use as litter? The roost's are quite wide and I think they should be able to cover there feet very easily. I am also going to cover the open sides of the run with tarps to protect them from the wind when they are in there rather than out free ranging. Thanks for all the information and suggestion. If you guys can think of anything else please let me know. A if I could I would move to Australia in a heart beat. Thanks!!!!!

 

[dink74]

I was thinking about using a good layer of straw in the run to keep them up off the ground, a few bales of straw piled around the windy side of the coop for insulation and a 3 to 4 inch layer of mulch in the bottom of the hen house to create its own heat due to the composting action. I figure this would take care of them for the winter here in MD and should keep my egg production at a good level.

Donovan

 

[douglas08]

I just added mulch to my run. I didn't really think about putting it in the coop, but that sounds like a great idea. I never thought about the heat that mulch produces. Thanks for the tips.



Josh

 

[Folly's place]

Air tight is a really bad idea. They need lots of ventilation to keep the coop air and bedding dry. I cover the windows that are at roost height, have vents covered in hardware cloth at each end of the building near the roof peaks, and open doors most days. Here in Michigan pine shavings are easy to get and make excellent deep bedding. I have a heated waterer in freezing weather also. The birds only want to stay in during freezing rain and snow. Mary

 

[douglas08]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to keep the floor vents and the vents near the nest box's open or atleast half way opened. And I have already put pine shaving down in the coop. I found a local saw mill that sales pine shaving for five dollars a ton. I bought four tons. So I should have enough to last through the winter. Thanks everyone.