Preparing Your Flock & Coop for WINTER

[samantha LW]

I was going to turn it off and cover it just on the nights it gets really cold which doesn't happen much here . I figured as much as i clean it and it is seven feet tall that it would not get stuffy in there for them...but I can not do that if it is not needed. At the moment I leave the door open all the time as it is not cold but I thought shutting them in might keep them warmer on the few cold nights? I might be paranoid about my chickens.

 

[ShrekDawg]

There's people on here who have one whole wall that's mesh and live somewhere I think out west where it's cold and.snowy. Personally, I wouldn't have a whole mesh wall but my point is that as long as it is clean and not drafty, more ventilation is better. Especially with the ceiling being 7 feet tall and it not getting that cold there. Just don't have drafts blowing directly on the roost and they will be fine! I plan on installing plenty of windows and vents in my coop

 

[samantha LW]

OK, Thanks! That is less work for me.

 

[ShrekDawg]

No problem!!

 

[mainechicklet]

I wish I lived in Georgia with my domesticated chickens who love water year-round.


btw: Some of my chickens are molting to the point of having just a few flight feathers. One evening I noticed Daisy, a BR, roosting on the nesting box edge which she has never done. I put her on the roost and she cuddled up with her BFF. I figured out that she couldn't fly to the roost so I placed a temporary step-stool for her to use to reach the roost and she's much happier.

Something I always say: You don't know when something is wrong if you don't know what's right. Meaning, watch your hens or cats or fish or whatever. Note their normal activities and behaviors. That way you'll have a better feeling of when something is wrong.

 

[JackE]

OH, no! I am new to chickens (just got them this year in April) and I did not even think of winterizing! I live in Georgia and was told by the people around me that their free range chickens do fine in the winter, I have since noticed that my idea of animal care and my neighbor's are very different. My coop is a metal building but we put insulation, wooden walls covered in linoleum (for cleaning) in it. They have a ventilation fan that I was just planning on turning off and covering at night. I clean their coop once a week so no deep bedding method. They have a digital thermometer in there at what temp should I be worried? The coop is 8 x 10 and there are 17 chickens their run is 40 x 50. It has electricity but I don't want to start a fire.............

I'm the guy with the coop, with the wall of mesh. In the pic below, it's around 10F, and the birds are not having any problems at all with it. Don't put your limitations with the cold, on your chickens. They are built to handle it. High body temp (Average 105F), combined with a perfectly insulated suit of feathers, makes it so. What you want to do, is to make sure your coop is well ventilated, even on the coldest days. Chickens generate mass quanities of moisture, just from breathing. Which, if not gotten rid of, will cause high humidity in the coop, and even frostbite. They also, through their waste, generate ammonia gas, which, if not properly ventilated out of the coop, will cause respiratory problems. So make sure the coop is well ventilated. Do not shut it up tight, in some misguided attempt to keep the chickens warm.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thanks for coming back, and with much better info!

 

[samantha LW]

Thanks! Cute coop. Thanks to my husband I have an awesome ventilation fan and I leave the door (human door) open all the time now, their coop is under a tree for shade as heat is the biggest problem here and the trunk of the tree is in front of the door (about 2 1/2 feet out) so it blocks the wind. I remove the top layer of shavings under their roost daily and strip the whole thing out once a week. I think I will just continue leaving it as is unless I see that they are uncomfortable.

 

[lazy gardener]

What about predators? Is your coop in a Fort Knox run? Night time is the worst time for predators. Weasels, which can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter can wipe out an entire flock in a single night. They kill just for sport. They are found in every state in the lower 48.

 

[lazy gardener]

I wish I lived in Georgia with my domesticated chickens who love water year-round.


btw: Some of my chickens are molting to the point of having just a few flight feathers. One evening I noticed Daisy, a BR, roosting on the nesting box edge which she has never done. I put her on the roost and she cuddled up with her BFF. I figured out that she couldn't fly to the roost so I placed a temporary step-stool for her to use to reach the roost and she's much happier.

Something I always say: You don't know when something is wrong if you don't know what's right. Meaning, watch your hens or cats or fish or whatever. Note their normal activities and behaviors. That way you'll have a better feeling of when something is wrong.

How true. You gotta learn to be able to think like the animal. It blows my mind when I see the problems some people run into b/c they don't know how to think like an animal. Ever tried to catch a Kuhli Loach? Amazing to watch a witless employee chasing, thrashing and banging around in an aquarium at a pet store trying to catch one with a little 3" net. Seriously... all they'd have to do is set that net down in a corner, with some hidey things in the net for the loach to bury into to feel safe. Quick run around with an other net, loach hides in first net, bingo... you can catch half a dozen at once, without injuring a single one! Think like the animal. Same goes for catching a chicken that don't want to be caught. They'll run the fence line... set up a barrier, and they can be herded to where they need to be... or lure with food. No chasing involved.