How to keep my chickens' combs from freezing

[Chickenbubble22]

Hello all!
I have owned chickens for a few years and currently have 22 chickens. It's been a fun adventure with a few bumps along the way (props to the chickens who have dealt with me and my undertakings for 5 years now). I have a large coop right now that was built about 2 years ago. It is big and has a loft area above it for storage. My chickens live on one half of it and I store their food, bedding, supplies, etc. on the other half. I really like this coop, but the way we built it has one major flaw: there are lots of cracks that allow the coop to get very cold in the winter, and I live in central MN, so temps often drop well below 0 during the coldest months. Admittedly, some of my chickens (particularly my roosters) have suffered from frostbite in years past, but my big goal for this winter is to keep the coop very warm. What has really spurred this on is that this year I have added 4 Leghorn hens to my flock as well as a Welsummer rooster, and they all have absolutely giant combs, and I'm afraid their combs will suffer badly from frostbite. I'm planning to insulate the coop and use the deep-litter method for bedding. However, I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to help keep the coop warm and especially what I can do to protect my Leghorns/Welsummer's combs. I would like to have a heat lamp but I worry about potentially starting a fire. What do all y'all chicken owners do for your big-combed chickens in winter?

Thanks in advance for the help!!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

We're in Wisconsin, where we'll have sub-zero temps for a month or so as well. We generally don't let them (silkies) out unless it's 20°F or above and not windy.

The key to preventing frostbite is humidity. I'd get a hygrometer for your coop to be sure your humidity is below 70% as above that's when mold grows and windows can start dripping/freezing over.

We battle high outdoor humidity here, due to the farmers' fields, and we're in proximity to the Great Lakes.

We use horse bedding pellets on the coop floor and in the hen boxes. We have a DIY 5-gallon nipple water bucket in each coop/pen. That way no open water inside the coops. The coops are all heated to 40°F with an oil-filled radiant heater in one, and an electric non-digital one installed in the wall in the other.

The horse bedding pellets absorb the poop, thus less moisture and ammonia. There is an exhaust fan in both coops. The outside humidity can often be 80% or higher, yet our coops are at 60% or so.

We have three outdoor growout pens with hutches/sheds. Inside the sheds, it's horse bedding pellets, and a Cozy Coop radiant heater. Those are safe as they aren't hot to the touch, but chicks/chickens can lean up to them if they're chilled. Their electric heated nipple bucket is out in their pens.

We ran short on a heated nipple bucket last year and tested a fishtank heater plugged into a thermo cube for an ice cream pail of water. It worked nicely.

 

[Skacha23]

I'm in WY and first got chickens in MT so we get down below -20° as well and have weeks of below 0. Though we are dryer. We've got wind!

Absolutly no heat for adult chickens. I followed this advice from the old timers in MT and I'm glad I did. It is a huge fire risk. On the poultry chat Facebook group for the state basically every storm someone was posting the next morning saying they wish they would have listened to the no heat advice because they lost all their birds. Sometimes to fire. Often to cold shock when they lost power in the night and their non-aclimated birds were suddenly in below zero temps. The actual cold isn't a problem IF they can be dry and out of the wind. I've got a thermometer in my coop and it's the same outdoor temp.

The big things for preventing frostbite is to have ventilation that let's moisture out, but isn't wind right on the chickens. So be thoughtful in how you seal drafts. Something like a 2 inch gap covered in hardware cloth that is under the overhang of the roof so the wind is blocked works. On my quarantine condo (a mini coop and run I built for sick or new chickens to be away from the flock) I used soffit vents. You'll have to weigh the cost benefit of deep litter. I use it in my run in the winter, but my coop isn't set up for it. I would be concerned that could be a source of moisture. I know a lot of people swear by it though.

Big combs are just hard in cold temps. It comes down to them tucking their heads under their wings and I don't have an answer on how to train them to do it. I've heard roosters are really hard because they want to stay alert to protect the flock. The first winter two of my girls got frostbite one just lost the very tips on her comb. The other poor girl lost most of her comb. Now they all tuck their heads in and we haven't had frostbite. You may need to evaluate your roosters and decide if they need an alternate sleeping arrangement for winter or very cold nights. Think a dog crate in an unheated attached garage that will retain a little more heat but won't be a huge temp swing. As Debbie suggested above, if you aren't already using frost free nipples and keeping your water in the run, do it. Keeps condensation out of the coop and keeps wattles dry when they drink (and heads, my neighbor in MT had silkies and polish that would dunk all their head feathers somehow when they drank and that lead to frozen combs).

 

[Folly's place]

Already good advice, and I'll add to the 'must have good ventilation' advice, closed coops with heat are a bad idea!
Also, open 'dog bowl' type water dishes are not good in freezing weather, two reasons: some birds will put a foot in the water, and freeze toes or feet, and those big rooster wattles will get in the water and then freeze.
Both issues have happened here, and we retire the dog bowls in freezing weather.
Chanteclers!!! Rather than birds with big single combs, learn to love Chanties, Buckeyes, Wyandottes, birds with small combs and wattles, meant for cold climates, not hot weather breeds. The single comb females do pretty well, but those roosters with huge combs and wattles shouldn't have to cope with frozen appendages.
Mary

 

[Skacha23]

Rather than birds with big single combs, learn to love Chanties, Buckeyes, Wyandottes, birds with small combs and wattles, meant for cold climates, not hot weather breeds. The single comb females do pretty well, but those roosters with huge combs and wattles shouldn't have to cope with frozen appendages.
Mary

100% agree! I have plymoth rocks (barred and saphire gems) that I adopted because they are a cold hardy heritage breed. And generally they are. For whatever reason some of my girls have (or had) big floppy combs. I've been saying if I get to choose, my next chickens will be buckeyes. I say if I get to choose, because the chicken distribution system often has other plans. I added another barred rock last winter when animal control picked her up in a county park.