Think it's too cold for your chickens? Think again...

[saym]

I have been following this thread for the last week and as usually I learn so much from all of you here on BYC! I am in Elko County, in the northeastern part of the state...This is my first year with my 'girls" and this is their first winter. Reading other forum threads I have held off on heating the coop as, up until a week ago, it has been a very mild winter.. I have been constrctive though and put together a cookie tin water heater and insulated the shipping crate sans chicken house, plus the egg box,,, They have a shelter out side in the run for when they want to get out pf the coop...on and on..so when we got the minus 11 degree nights and mornings I was pretty sure I was ready...They had a pretty tough time of things the first night it got down to 0 so I turned the light on..100 watt in the house..the cookie time heater did not hold it's own and the water in the house under the light froze, too. so I took a cooler out with warm water for the next few days. For two days they showed signs of being uncomfortable..mainly their feet, and they didn't like the snow..so they eagerly stayed in the house with the light..but came in and out..Today they were all outside this morning..like they had enough of that darn light..and they are totally stress free (or it seems to me anyway!) and happy...They aren't wolfing down the food and back up to 90% egg production..so tonight I am leaving the light off
Maybe its a good idea to have the resources available, but use them if you really think they need it. I would rather promote a better feather cover and have them be comfortable naturally...but aint it nice when you can lend a hand sometimes? Maybe as humans we take that way too far sometimes!

 

[Crazyland]

This has been a great thread. lol
Mine all roost on top of a metal dog kennel which is under a carport. Darn birds won't use their coop!
We have had several nights drop down to freezing. None of them have frostbite on their combs or injured toes from where they choose to roost at night. I swore it was a miracle until I read this thread. I am determined that they will be using the next coop I build them and not the kennel! They only use the coop to lay their eggs.

 

[vtgirls]

16 degrees this morning and first bit of snow on the ground - water frozen solid. This is the first year for us with turkeys and chickens. Here is our turkey coop set up - we plan to put the chickens here next year when we have a bigger area for the turkeys. For now the turkeys can't roam free and are tractored each day. There is a trap door on the side of the coop which opens into the tractor so they can come and go. Downstairs is open in the coop, there is an upstairs too. Its filled with hay up top so the turkeys nestle down in it each night. Once the snow gets heavy we plan to leave the tractor hoop where it is in this picture, giving them some snow free ground.

Treasure the roo in the new snow - for our 5 hens and 1 roo we have a 10x10 dog kennel as a run with a small 4x4 wooden coop inside it. We wrapped the lower sides of the kennel with plastic to break the wind and to keep the snow out. (it is not uncommon to have 3 or so feet on the ground here) The snow you see in the picture is because it has no roof yet -we are making a sloped roof structure to put over the top - our hope is to keep the run area mostly free of snow as well (and escape shoveling out the run).

Neither coop is insulated but both are nearly draft free. So far all of our birds seem comfortable with the weather.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Quote:
Lovely coops! I love the turkey tractor!

 

[slynng]

This is all so reassuring. I live in northern Vermont and had 6 hens last winter in a small, pretty well insulated coop with a light (initially more for laying than for heat). This year we expanded our flock to 10 and have a 10'x10' chicken "palace", mostly open (screened) on the front, with thick bedding. No lights, no heat, no insulation (but tried to seal all the drafts). So far it's been below freezing a handful of days and they don't seem to mind at all. I share the chickens with my next door neighbor...he doesn't believe they will survive the winter this way, but their feathers on the older ones are already much thicker than they were last year and the only thing I really worry about it their water freezing. But I feel better hearing these stories...I'll still keep an eye on them, though, to make sure they don't seem cold and miserable as it starts to get even colder!

Thanks!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Block those drafts and they'll do fine.

You could probably use a heated dog bowl for the water, if you have a way of getting electricity out there. I just take a jug of water out to fill it up a couple of times a day. Mine have not had heat down to -7F already, and I'm looking forward to seeing how cold it needs to get before they start complaining. Of course, the humidity makes a big difference.

More humid, more chances of frostbite.

We battened down last night expecting temps in the 0 to -5F range since it was clear, and was pleasantly surprised to see +16F this morning! Water's frozen, but all the chooks are out in the yard scratching around already. (We have a covered run, so no snow in the run).

 

[t4dbirds]

Question about covered run to keep the snow out. What do you use and is it clear so the sun can come through? My only worry is that if I cover their run they would never get any sunlight. Also at this time I don't have any windows in the coup so they don't get much if any light in there. During the cold days I'm worried about leaving their coup top open a bit for light because that's the direction the cold wind is always blowing. Do they really need some light in their coup? I don't think much gets in even with the door open on the side during the day since it's up against the house and covered.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
If you're not concerned about egg production, then they don't really need much light. We were fortunate to come upon some recycled metal roofing at no cost, so we used it to cover the run. It DOES block the light, but then, we only have about 4-5 hours of actual daylight in the winter anyway.

I have a low-watt bulb on a timer in the coop and in the run, more so I can see and not trip over the birds (falling on frozen poo is painful!). The best thing would probably to put a full-spectrum bulb on a timer in their area to give them some light during the day, but I wouldn't worry about it too much.
The clear corrugated plastic is not as strong as the metal, but perhaps if you alternated clear and solid, it would allow some light. Though, if you live where it snows, you're not going to get any light in after a good snowfall anyway, so what's the point?

 

[t4dbirds]

LOL Mrs. AK.. At least I can't fit to walk in my run or coup so don't have to worry about slipping of frozen poop. It rains here, lots, with some snow during the winter and my run is mostly mud. Can't grow grass in my yard to save my life due to too much shade and rain. I'll put a full spectrum light in there to help them with light in their coup so I don't have to leave the lid open to cold drafts. Luckily we get more daylight hours down here but mostly overcast so doesn't really make a difference.

Thanks again!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
I would definitely cover the run, then... helps keep the mud down.