Thirty Below?

[Going Quackers]

Well i have never wintered the chickens.. now ducks i have, tips? whew.. well keep a shovel handy to clear up heavy snow, a hammer to chip off ice from sleet storms and i have also run a heat lamp and heated water bucket, i did the Vaseline trick with the ducks, being all 'scovies the flesh face parts get cracked, like chapped lips in the bitter cold. I also added some straw so they could hunker on down. My coop and barn however are not insulated.

I will likely practice similar for the chickens, albeit the Vaseline may not be needed as this chicken variety isn't heavy with fleshy parts. Really, i suffer more than they do lol it's cold, freezing fingers that get me.. ok and my feet.. yuck, i'd rather not think about it yet.

 

[SunnyAlberta]

LOL I'd rather not think about winter yet, either, but I do think its better to be prepared than to have to scramble when a storm hits.

 

[toofarout]

My little barn is insulated and has interior sheathing. The chickens have their own area with framing covered with hardware cloth and the goats have their own area. I use heat lamps for heat. Last year was my first year with chickens, somehow we made it through with no illness, no frostbite, and no loss of toes or combs. It was darn cold and I think this winter I will move a heat lamp closer to the chickens (but not too close of course). Keep everything as dry as you can, vents should be up as high as they can be, higher than the chickens when they are roosting. Avoid drafts. If you get a really cold spell, watch your birds and add fresh bedding, reduce the vents.
The further north you are the less light there is, as you know. The sunlight really helps warm things up *if* you get it. My area does not get enough sunlight to help warm anything up, so highs of -30 are common. You will probably get more than we do in Fairbanks I think. Take advantage of it if you can, sunlight coming through a window really helps and chickens love it.

 

[SunnyAlberta]

 

[armorfirelady]

One of my hens roosts in near the vents & its their fav roost.......about head level. I guess I am going to have to remove it for the winter. For now they are ok since temps have only got in the 50s at night & when I check on them before bed I like to pet each one just enough so they know me, and they are toasty warm.

They are so not going to be happy about the roost removal but that means they will have to use one of the 4 new ones I installed

 

[Mugs]

Just an idea for an alternative on the hooks you have on the last picture. This is the type of hook I put on my dogs tie out and it never freezes.

 

[Mugs]

Quote: Referring to this picture in my previous post.

 

[SunnyAlberta]

Thanks, those hooks are perfect.