Preparing for Winter in Central Ontario

[FlosRdChicks]

Can anyone point me in the right direction in terms of
specific temperatures inside and out -
for Rhode Island Reds or similar hardy breeds? ​

We're "newbies". We have 6 hens, HOWEVER 3 of them are "meaties" so they won't be roomies for much longer (they came from my son's classroom hatch, and we had no idea what we were bringing home in June).

All 6 have been free-range through the summer from 8am-dusk, but we're back to our normal school/work routine next week.

INSIDE THE COOP:

Do we need a heat source in January
if our small coop is very well insulated? ​

This might sound crazy but my husband used "structural insulated panels" left over from a home-build project for the walls of the coop, with a thin sheet of mahogany on the inside. The panels keep out the HOT and COLD.

In July, we noticed the inside of the coop was just above normal room temperature in the afternoon, even on the hottest day of the year!

I'm thinking water will never freeze in there! ​

OUTSIDE IN WINTER? EVER?

Do their feet freeze? Dos and Don'ts?

We don't know if chickens like to flit about in the snow, or not. I'm thinking they would just sink into a snow-drift around here, but they do have a run that we can shovel out now and again. There are also lots of low branches to roost in and pockets at the base of tree trunks. One of them loves to "escape" over the fence, just because she can. She might get herself into some trouble in deep snow.

The coop is raised so we could put chicken wire around the bottom as a more confined area in winter. The large run is too big for a mesh top.

I will try to post photos tomorrow. . .

Location | CENTRAL ONTARIO | Springwater Township
Just south of GEORGIAN BAY (lots of storms!)​

 

[NightHawk123]

I'm sure it gets good and cold up there. I live in the south so I my not be much help. However, a good fenced in roofed run in the winter isn't a bad idea. Its not crazy sounding to me as for the insulation. I have no idea what extremes a RIR can handle but if your coop has room for your ladies to move away from the heat then a heat lamp or just a 100 watt bulb should be fine. If they don't have room to get away from the heat you can use a much smaller wattage bulb in the coop. The main thing is having room for them to get out of the heat if you have a heat source. I think they can handle cold better than heat to a degree.

 

[Fred's Hens]

We're directly west of you, at virtually the same parallel and same climate.

We don't heat at all. There are really, honestly only a few nights a year that get down to -32C, with most of the nights around -5C and birds do just fine. That would be true of you as well. The barn is dry, very well insulated and they are very secure in there. The chicken is covered, by nature, with a thick down coat. They sleep, covering the bare feet to warm them. The only area that is exposed is their combs, so if you have super, uber large combed varieties, I do not recommend them. But the smaller combed birds, and rose combed birds, there is nothing to be concerned about. We use nice, deep straw. Chickens have been kept in New England, and in Canada for centuries, even before electricity.

As for going outside, different birds act differently. Some don't mind walking in snow, while other detest it. You'll just have to see how that goes.
As for water, yes, you'll need to either carry water twice a day, or install a water heating device of some kind. Lots of choices. I use a heated, oversize dog dish. Into that dish, I just set a small, short bucket of water. It works very well for us.