hey, how do you guys winter your flock, my mom just asked me how I am supposed to do that and I told her I would take care of it.
I am new to this whole chicken thing to, but I will pass along what I have read. From what I understand, that is one of the big reasons you are supposed to figure 4' of space per bird when building your coop. The room is essential so you don't have over crowding in the winter inside of the coop. I have also heard of people throwing scratch on the floor of the coop when the birds can't go outside to keep them busy. Hope this helps! I'm sure all of the other smarties on here will give you more advice on the matter.
Ours have an inside access to there coop. It's connected to the barn. They have an indoor and outdoor run plus they get to free range. In the winter they pretty much stay close to the barn. They don't go free ranging as much during the winter I do keep a light in there coop during the winter. I know my mom lets her chickens out during the winter too. Her bids free range a little more than mine during the winter. But my dad also snowblows trails/paths for them to walk around a little better. During the heavy snowfalls or even the really cold weather though neither my birds or my parents seem to want to go outside..
gumpsgirl is exactly right. They need a coop thats draft free...and maybe on the coldest of nights....say under 20 degrees...you can put a heat lamp in the coop. I position mine just about in the middle of the coop...and about 4 ft from the floor. Doesnt keep them toasty warm...but keep them from getting frostbite.
I NEVER use a heat lamp, the fire hazard worries me too much. If you live in a cold climate, you might want to think about a water heater (I have heard of folks making them out of a light bulb and and an upside down pan, I worry about electrocution so I use a heater made for the purpose). For me they keep the water open down to 10-20 below, colder than that I need to bring it in to thaw.
