Keeping chickens in the winter....

[Erin80]

.......is no fun

I feel SO BAD for my hens out there. They have a heated waterer, lots of food and tons of bedding....but man, everything is frozen, their poop is frozen, their roosts are cold, and it's just day after day of this cold snap. We are in Ontario Canada and I actually feel guilty sitting in my warm house while my girls are out in their coop. I know they're chickens and capable of adjusting to cold, but this just doesn't feel right! It is SO cold. It's normal for our area to experience cold snaps like this that last maybe 5 days or so, but we are going on weeks of negative double digits. NOT COOL.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have gone through many brutal winters with chickens. I have the guilt too, but my chickens do okay. The bright side is generally we don't get really hot here in summer, which is much more deadly to chickens than cold is.

 

[Peeps61]

I have gone through many brutal winters with chickens. I have the guilt too, but my chickens do okay. The bright side is generally we don't get really hot here in summer, which is much more deadly to chickens than cold is.

My husband comforted me by telling me that we use feathers in our coats to make them warm, so the chickens, with due care, would be fine. He was right - they are. They come running to see me when I open the door, expecting to be fed. We are in NW Florida and it's been getting down to 18 - 17 degrees at night here. I have to switch my waterers out - one in the house with fresh water to take out in the morning and then I bring in the semi-frozen other to thaw and be refilled for the next day. It works, but what a pain!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Well than you probably get really hot too being in Florida. That stinks. I wish it would warm up to 17 degrees here we got close today.

 

[Erin80]

I was doing that with my waterers as well until we really got into this deep freeze......that's when I had to invest in a heated waterer....lol. The crappy part is that it's putting a lot more humidity into the coop, so it's like one battle after another. Come on spring!!

 

[Peeps61]

Well than you probably get really hot too being in Florida. That stinks. I wish it would warm up to 17 degrees here we got close today.

LOL! When I left for work, it was a balmy 33 degrees outside! But, back down into the low 20's tonight and every night until Saturday when it's supposed to rain. They were even saying we might have a few flurries tonight. One good thing is that now I have time to really clean each of my waterers out before leaving them both outside when it warms up again. We do need some cold weather to kill off bugs. And, yes, the summers can be oppressive!

 

[Peeps61]

I was doing that with my waterers as well until we really got into this deep freeze......that's when I had to invest in a heated waterer....lol. The crappy part is that it's putting a lot more humidity into the coop, so it's like one battle after another. Come on spring!!

When we get this kind of weather, I often think, "Why don't I have a heated waterer?" But, then on the heels of that I think, "We usually only get this kind of weather for an extended period of time once or twice in a season, so.... I know what I'm going to ask my husband to get me for Christmas now! It'll save on my back!

 

[Foristers]

On the bright side, mites and pests should take a hard fall! I think the chickens will be OK.

 

[IvanK]

North Central Manitoba here and we just did 2 weeks of -30s and -40s. It definitely sucks but I make the most of it and keep the girls busy with veggies, fruits and things like straw bales to destroy. It'll improve to -10 this weekend and they'll like going out of the barn for a few hours a day. I use some space heaters/radiators in the barn but if I had a coop, I think I'd provide a heat lamp because these temps are pretty extreme. Something to consider perhaps?

 

[Erin80]

I have a heat lamp in the coop, I have been turning it on some days during the day just to provide a spot for them to warm up if they want. I turn it off at night though, and I feel like that’s when they need it most!