Tips on keeping chickens warm in the winter

[Sunshine Coop]

It’s starting to get cold where I live and I’m afraid my chickens are gonna get cold. I’ve started giving them more fatty treats every so often to try and bulk them up. I’ve also changed their bedding from pine shavings to hay to keep them warmer. On REALLY cold nights I have their old brooder that has a heater function and I put it in the coop to keep them warm. Does anyone have any other tips? Thank you!

 

[Aapomp831]

You do not want to give them extra fat, you want to give them extra carbs (within reason) as digesting them helps to generate heat. Extra fat will just give them health problems.
Focus on ventilation - up above where they roost so they are not in a direct draft. The ventilation moves the moisture in the air from their breath so it doesn’t settle on their combs and cause frostbite. You can insulate with hay or straw, but remember chickens survived winters long before humans started building them coops. Keeping them dry and out of wind / drafts is key.
And no fat - carbs. Preferably corn over oatmeal.

 

[3KillerBs]

A dry chicken is a warm chicken.

They're wearing cozy down coats so, except in the most extreme conditions, they should be fine as long as the coop is draft free but generously ventilated.

 

[Callender Girl]

It's hard to believe that your chickens will be okay when it is frigid outside. When I start to panic that they're all gonna die, I look outside and see tiny sparrows who survive Iowa's crappy winters with much less food and shelter than my birds.

I do put pine shavings on the floor and tack up additional wind breaks around the runs. But even last winter, when the wind chill was frightening and the actual temp dropped to the minus 20's, everyone in the dry, ventilated coops was fine.

I do sometimes serve a little warm oatmeal in the winter and SMALL amounts of scratch along with their regular feed. I also make sure everybody has water all the time.

 

[BowCHICKawowwow2]

It's hard to believe that your chickens will be okay when it is frigid outside. When I start to panic that they're all gonna die, I look outside and see tiny sparrows who survive Iowa's crappy winters with much less food and shelter than my birds.

I do put pine shavings on the floor and tack up additional wind breaks around the runs. But even last winter, when the wind chill was frightening and the actual temp dropped to the minus 20's, everyone in the dry, ventilated coops was fine.

I do sometimes serve a little warm oatmeal in the winter and SMALL amounts of scratch along with their regular feed. I also make sure everybody has water all the time.

I've been giving my girls oatmeal with cracked corn in it in the morning as a treat. Not a lot but enough to maybe warm them up in our zero degree weather. They seem to be doing fine. Only problem I have is sometimes my eggs are frozen by the time I get out of work. Any ideas how to stop that from happening?

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/keeping-chickens-warm-during-winter/

 

[Aapomp831]

Chickens are barnyard animals - they have evolved to withstand the cold. They are like little waking furnaces. Don’t worry about cold, worry about moisture. Keep you coop well ventilated and DO NOT heat it. You can inhibit their bodies from growing essential warming feathers. Like the above poster said, limit their fat and give them more carbs (in moderation - we throw scratch once a day). It was 15 here the other day and my girls were perfectly fine.

 

[WindingRoad]

Chickens are barnyard animals - they have evolved to withstand the cold. They are like little waking furnaces. Don’t worry about cold, worry about moisture. Keep you coop well ventilated and DO NOT heat it. You can inhibit their bodies from growing essential warming feathers. Like the above poster said, limit their fat and give them more carbs (in moderation - we throw scratch once a day). It was 15 here the other day and my girls were perfectly fine.

Yes... This morning it was 9F. NNW of 10mph , My birds are in and uninsulated well ventilated coop and they were fine. They even came out side and had their morning meal worms. Because I feed 18% protein, scratch, and mealworms I don't consider meal worms a treat. At around 50% protein I consider them part of their daily diet. And scratch also. I up the scratch in the winter time because it is high in calories and helps them keep warm. I lower the amount in summer. It was hot and humid here in Maine last summer. We were in a drought many dry wells.

If anyone believes their chickens are cold just reach under a wing or under a nesting bird. Warm under the wind warmer under the nesting bird. They need to be warm to incubate eggs. Chickens run around 106F. Two coats One down one feathers they puff up to trap warm air from their bodies. When someone asks me if I heat my coop I say, "I have 12 mini heaters in there." And then I start with the names. LOL. If you heat they may lose their down coat and when you have a prolonged lapse in electricity then they are at risk of being too cold. Let them be chickens. Good luck

 

[Aapomp831]

Yes... This morning it was 9F. NNW of 10mph , My birds are in and uninsulated well ventilated coop and they were fine. They even came out side and had their morning meal worms. Because I feed 18% protein, scratch, and mealworms I don't consider meal worms a treat. At around 50% protein I consider them part of their daily diet. And scratch also. I up the scratch in the winter time because it is high in calories and helps them keep warm. I lower the amount in summer. It was hot and humid here in Maine last summer. We were in a drought many dry wells.

If anyone believes their chickens are cold just reach under a wing or under a nesting bird. Warm under the wind warmer under the nesting bird. They need to be warm to incubate eggs. Chickens run around 106F. Two coats One down one feathers they puff up to trap warm air from their bodies. When someone asks me if I heat my coop I say, "I have 12 mini heaters in there." And then I start with the names. LOL. If you heat they may lose their down coat and when you have a prolonged lapse in electricity then they are at risk of being too cold. Let them be chickens. Good luck

Great post!