How do you get ready for winter?

[RodNTN]

Great tips and points everyone! Sounds like your poultry are in good hands for the winter.

 

[RodNTN]

We get brutally cold here most winters. I don't use a heated watered because my muscovy ducks dirty up the water. I also don't use any extra heat, they do okay.

I give fresh warm water 2x a day. I will feed a warm mash of oatmeal and ration on those really cold days, -20's. They get hay as needed.

Scratch in the morning and afternoon to get them moving and to feed them some extra fats and carbs, and any house food scraps are heated up before sharing.

Haha, I wouldn't bother with a heated waterer either if my ducks did that

I do the same thing, I feed cracked corn in the morning, because my chickens are usually a little slow when it comes to getting out of the coop when it is bitter outside. We also feed the chickens some table scraps, usually in the morning and evening.

I just have never had any luck feeding cornmeal mush, or oatmeal, it freezes solid in the cold weather, making it totally unaccessible. However, I have fed left over corn bread, or added dry cornmeal to the feed.

I will second the dry bedding. I use old waste grass hay. I have in inside my coop and in the run. Frequently I will rake it up into mini hay stacks, and flip it on top of fresh snow out in the run.

I do have a huddle box in the run, and I face it south and add an old window for a little solar warmth. Amazingly warmer in there, vs the outside on a sunny day.

I don't do the heated water, mine get warm water in the morning. I don't have electricity to the coop, and when I get home, they are roosted up. I do soak scratch in water so that it absorbs the moisture and swells. Even if it does freeze, the birds can peck at it and eat it, and it adds moisture to their body.

My pullets are still laying, I was getting 3 eggs a day from 3 pullets a week ago, now, they are about two a day, but shortly the days will be getting longer. Generally, my older birds will start back up in late January so I will have good eggs then.

Keep them dry, and out of the wind, and they can take some pretty brutal weather, negative 20 is not uncommon here for days at a time, but generally not more than a week. We have seen -33 last year, and mine did fine. I do not have heat in the coop either.

Mrs K

If we have leftover oatmeal, I reheat it and and it is gone in two minutes!

I know I cannot stress this enough, but dry bedding is so important year round; but it is vital in the winter, if you want to keep ill free chickens.

Good idea about moistening the scratch, btw! I've tried it, but my girls prefer dry corn!

 

[Bridger Davis]

SO speaking of warm weather, I know I've asked before, but I'd like to get some more opinions on the matter. Should you leave the duck pool out for the ducks to swim in the winter? Is there a certain temp. when ducks should not have pool water? I figure that they are going to swim in their drinking water so what's the difference? Anyone?

 

[jeepgrrl]

Hopefully this is the right thread to post my two questions since they are both related to winter. So here they are: #1) We recently added another 12" x 12" vent in the upper portion of the coop (in the peak of the roof). The vent is open to the run which faces west and the run is fully covered by a metal roof, with sun/windscreen on the west facing run wall. My leghorn has taken to roosting right in front of this vent at night. Is this OK, seeing how there could be some breeze/draft blowing in; temps are just now starting to drop in the upper teens/low 20s (F) at night. I really don't know what I can do about it if its not OK, except maybe place something up there to keep her from roosting but it would be blocking the new vent, to some degree. #2) My girls really love to free range. Is it still OK to let them outside during the day even if its cold out (20-30F on ave., can go lower) and snow on the ground, or should they be restricted to just the run and coop? I should mention that my girls are cold hardy, moreso than the leghorn.

 

[BantyChooks]

I clean out the coop, put plastic over the largest windows, and that's about it.

 

[BantyChooks]

SO speaking of warm weather, I know I've asked before, but I'd like to get some more opinions on the matter. Should you leave the duck pool out for the ducks to swim in the winter? Is there a certain temp. when ducks should not have pool water? I figure that they are going to swim in their drinking water so what's the difference? Anyone?

I stop providing swimming water when it freezes thick enough in the day that breaking it again and again is too much work. Or, when I unhook the hose for good, but that's purely because I am not hauling 20gal by hand. I know, not very specific.

Last winter my ducks got pool water until it was freezing solid in a matter of hours. Wild ducks will swim whenever they can find an unfrozen spot due to current or whatnot, I figure domestics can do the same.

 

[BantyChooks]

o help the birds bulk up a bit, you can also occasionally feed warm oatmeal.

Not a good idea. The steam encourages frostbite. Maybe if you're in a more southern clime... but even then, most birds I've had hated oatmeal.

 

[Josh0625]

This is my first winter with my flock and here in Eastern NC the lows dip into the mid to upper 20's some time but most nights stay above freezing. Form what im reading my birds shouldn't need any extra heat source with our temps. Am I accurate to assume they will be fine without a heat lamp. Should i close my 4 vents at night. The top is rafters with vents as well and I planned to leave those open and close the side vents. Any thoughts?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Not a good idea. The steam encourages frostbite. Maybe if you're in a more southern clime... but even then, most birds I've had hated oatmeal.

I haven't seen any ill effects from feeding a warm meal to them, mine love oatmeal, both dry and moistened. The moisture coming off the oatmeal is no different that the moisture coming off of the breath of my goats, donkeys or even me. Good air exchange keeps that moisture moving on. That's been my experiences.

 

[BantyChooks]

This is my first winter with my flock and here in Eastern NC the lows dip into the mid to upper 20's some time but most nights stay above freezing. Form what im reading my birds shouldn't need any extra heat source with our temps. Am I accurate to assume they will be fine without a heat lamp. Should i close my 4 vents at night. The top is rafters with vents as well and I planned to leave those open and close the side vents. Any thoughts?

Yes, you are accurate, and no, you don't need to close vents.