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Welcome to all the new members!

I have a question about winter. This is my first winter with chickens. I'm in Greenwood, the southern part of the upstate. What do you all do in the winter? Do you leave the windows and pop doors open? I know last winter was a bad one and we had colder than normal weather. Do you use a heat light in the coops at night? If so, what temperature do you do it? I'm just trying to prepare and figure people in my own area would be a great place to ask. Thanks!
 
Best to have a vented coop but not a draft. Because high humidity in cold can cause damage to your chickens. Depending on size of your coops. What I do if it gets below 30 I use 100w bulb for a small coop use the 250w heat lamp in a large coop. Do not heat your coop to quickly just to keep them warm, they need to grow feathers so they can keep warm. Say for example when the electric goes out. Be careful that you have your heat source in a safe area, you don't want to have a fire. Chickens like cold weather better than hot.
 
I always coop my Frizzles, Sizzles and Silkies where they are pretty snug but the Cochins and other birds are usually fine in an almost open area.
You can see a few of my tractors on my personal page but I have many more in different designs, as well. My birds have all done very well. I just don't like my funny feathered birds to get any sort of draft so they stay in a shed with not much air flow except through vents at the top of the shed and it has insulation in the walls and a bit on the roof. When there were only Cochins in that shed I would crack open all three windows in the winter.
My laying flock has an open fenced wall on the south side and they sleep up against it in the winter with only a thin tarp to keep the rain and sleet out. However, there are about 45 chickens or more in there so they can snuggle if the need arises and there is plenty of room to move to the back of the coop if they want away from the drafts.

Most birds do well in the cold but just take care with your Silkies and Frizzles.
 
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I am in the upper part of the state....near the NC Foothills......
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This is our first winter with Silkies. We have never done anything special for any birds....neither did hubby's grandparents.
We just started with chickens again after having none for 5-6 years. We both have really missed them. Him especially since he
learned so much about chickens from his grandpa and his dad

We have kept chickens in all sorts of coops....as his grandparents did... as long as the chicken has it's feathers (older chicks or after moult) we provided an enclosed dry area with access outside, clean dry bedding and the usual fresh food & water.

This winter our laying hens on the farm will have access as they do now to their own stall in the barn - but they are never closed in - they can always access outside through an opening in the side of the stall...(too big to be called a pop door - heck I think I can crawl through it LOL)...It seems the standard size chickens do well in cold weather.

We are building my silkies a coop that I can adjust ventilation/lamp/& control their outside time too. We are slowly getting that built.
When it gets colder I plan on using one of my brooder lamps with a 75-100 watt bulb in the coop when needed. But then again, these are my babies. I plan on cooping my couple of cochins during icy/snowy/freezing weather.
 
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Very cold tempertures can be stressful to chickens mostly on the old ones. We got chickens last year in NC when a young man did not figure to the fact very cold weather can kill chickens. We took home what he had left and got them back to health. Maybe the strong one's can do ok but it still stressful for them. You can go to Lowes get OSB board 4x8 sheets for $6.00 they will cut it for you; first cut free then 25 cents per cut after that to close up any large opening around the coop for the winter if needed. That would help. The 20's degree tempertures is were I do what I can to help the chickens stay warm. When I say warm I don't mean 78 degree, but above freezing temperture. Were you are at you don't get as much cold as some of us get.
 
Thanks! I'm mostly worried about the pop doors. We don't live at the farm full-time so it is difficult to shut them in at night. I have wooden playhouses with windows. I think if I only leave one pop door open, they can snuggle in the opposite corner if need be. But all three have electricity so I might just screw a heat light into the socket at the top for the coldest nights. And we can certainly stay out there if it's super cold so I can check on them. Hopefully we'll have a mild winter!
 
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We don't live at our farm with the layers, either. Our barn is wired for electric - we have used heat lamps there for goats born during icy/snowy days so if it will be below freezing I still have the option of putting a bulb in for them.
We have never lost a hen/rooster/chick due to cold weather... I hope we never do. If it gets too cold - I told hubby I will be bringing the silkies inside
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My kids would love to bring the silkies inside! They are always asking for that. Haven't quite convinced them that chickens do not use a litter box! I think we'll be okay. If it's super cold, I can stay out at the farm and coop them up. Isn't the weather awesome right now??
 

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