How do you take care of your chickens in the winter?

[Ghostchick]

Silly question, but do you let your chickens outside in the winter? We live in Western NY and it gets chilly and snowy. We will have electricity in the coop for the heat lamp. I heard about putting vaseline on their comb. But how do they do? Mine are 4 weeks tomorrow (Happy Birthday Gals! lol).

 

[JennsPeeps]

There are tos of threads about frostbite, snow, hail, rain, heat bulbs, & the like. Do a search & see what you find.

We let ours out all winter, and it was a tough one here this year (for the region, anyway). They didn't like the snow but it was more because they were afraid to walk on it. Once they figured it out they were ok.

 

[Mahlzeit]

Hey Ghostchick I'm in NY too on Long Island. I let mine out all winter. They seem to do just fine I only turn a heat lamp on in the coop if it starts to get really really cold. What kind of chickens do you have? The single combed chickens can have a slight problem with frostbite but if you have a heatlamp on inside the coop for them they should be just fine.

 

[patandchickens]

Like practically everyone else, I open the door and if they go out they go out and if they don't then that's their decision. Last winter I left the E pen's popdoor closed on really horrible-nasty blizzards from the E (the side the popdoor's on) but now I have a new roofed run there that I'll partly wrap with plastic so next winter I should be able to open the door virtually every day.

You probably won't need heat if you have intelligently-chosen breeds and a well-managed coop (including adequate nondrafty ventilation, to prevent the high humidity that can cause frostbite at relatively nonsevere temperatures). But it is always nice to have it available as an option

good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Ghostchick]

We did choose breeds that do well in winter. We have 3 black austalorp, 3 buff rocks, 4 araucana, 3 speckled sussex. 3 sliver laced wyandottes, and one white crested black polish. We started out wanting 8, somehow it turned out more. Thats what happens when my husband orders!

 

[mzrea]

I live in So VT. I have 6 RIR and 6 BR that were hatched last June. They spent the winter in (and out) of their insulated coop without any added heat or lighting. I would open their pop door in the morning and let them choose to go out or not. I did have to shovel the run so they wouldn't get lost in the snow

. Sometime I would put hay down in the run just to keep their toes somewhat off the cold cold ground.

 

[Ghostchick]

good idea! thanks!

 

[CityChook]

My girls had every opportunity to go outside, but they didn't like the snow. Their run is covered, so we're not talking quantity here. Spoiled. Still, I opened their door every day and gave them the choice. I have Buff Orps and did not use any vaseline on their combs. I did provide heat (it ranged from -5F to 12F inside the coop most of the winter) and I had zero frostbite issues. More important than heat is making sure the coop is completely draft free and the ventilation is up high. Mine have two nice big windows for plenty of southern exposure sunshine inside the coop. I also went larger than the typical 4 ft. per chicken since I knew they'd be spending quite a bit of time inside during the bad weather. No regrets.

Here are a couple of winter care pages:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-seasonal-concerns
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=8650-winter-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

I'm sure there's more, but this should get you started. Good luck!

 

[Chickn chick 46]

I live in south eastern MA, our winters can get pretty harsh even here on the coast.

My chickens will go running for the door when I open it only to have the first in line come to a screetching (sp?) halt when she sees the snow. Which in turn causes a major disruption behind her

What I tend to do for them is shovel away some of the snow so they can see the ground, this along with a treat of bread or pizza crust usually coaxes them out.

I've never had a problem with frost bite. My coop isn't insulated and I don't use extra heat. They seem to do just fine.

The one thing I have to be diligent about in the winter is frozen water containers. I keep two and defrost one and replace with the other.

 

[LynneP]

Except for ten days of -41C chill factor last winter, we opened the pop door and let them choose. Some thoughts here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-seasonal-concerns