Winter & Chickens...?

[Michigan Chickman]

Forgive me if this sounds silly or has been covered somewhere else. This is my first year with chickens and living in Michigan it's never to early to start thinking about winter (the best 6 months of the year

). What do I need to know about taking care of my girls when the snow flies? Do chickens go out in the snow? How cold is too cold, if the coop is tight and draft free do I need supplimental heating? Do I need a higher energy feed?

Thank you in advance for your help,

37 RIR Hens & 3 Roos

 

[MissPrissy]

They do go out in the snow. They do enjoy winter.

On those coldest of days and nights you'll want to make sure their house closes tight but has good ventilation and is draft free. Lock them in at roost time with some cracked corn for generating body heat and they will be fine.

If the weather is below 20 you can put a little vaseline on their combs to help keep them from getting frost bite.

Chickens are hearty. They do best when their needs are met and human attributes aren't fousted off on them.

You'll see. It will be a long but tolerable winter for you and your chickens.

 

[AllChookUp]

Well stated, as usual, Miss Prissy.

 

[Michigan Chickman]

Thank you MissPrissy. My coop is tight and has a good roof vent. I'm trying to picture myself putting vasoline on my rooster's comb, that'll be an America's Funniest Home Chickens moment

 

[mmajw]

You may want to get a water heater for your coop. You may also want to have wider roosts so they sit on their feet and keep themselves warm. If you have a round roost their toes go around and are exposed to the cold air and when you have a flat roost they are tucked right up under them. I use a 2x4 laying horizontal.

 

[Michigan Chickman]

Great suggestion on the roost. Right now I'm using 1" dowel between two 2x4s. It would be simple enought to do the same thing for this winter using all 2x4s. Thank you!

 

[KrisRose]

For the WORST (

) 6 months of the year I second what mmajw posted, you do want your 2x4 roost with wide side up and a heated water dish is great.
The best thing you can do to your coop (IMHO) is insulate. Also use the deep litter method to help insulate the floor. Besides, I'm not cleaning out the coop in the middle of winter.
I do use a flat paneled heater during the worst of the cold. It will help keep your coop in the teens when its below zero outside. If you only have hens then they seemed to handle the extreme cold better than the roos who are susceptible to frostbite on their combs. Vaseline did'nt help to prevent the frostbite on my roo's comb, but Bag Balm did help afterwards to help heal up the damage.
My chickens, when they have a choice, won't go out in the snow. I provided a dust bath for them and I throw down scratch in their shavings to keep them active and not pecking on each other. My coop is large enough , 10x12, that they have space to move about without tripping over each other. On sunny days with no wind they would go outside but just for short peroids of time. If we had a more mild season like they do further south then they probably would be out alot more.
This was my first winter with chickens and, as you know, it was a nasty one that did'nt want to end. Winds that got up to 50 mph and below zero temps were the worst. I'm hoping that this one is mild but I have a feeling it won't be. It was 48 Sunday morning when I headed to work. Sure don't want to even think about turning on a furance in August.

 

[Alaskan]

Oh, the only thing that wasn't really mentioned is the snow problem (I am currently fixated on the snow problem).

Try to plan for the least amount of shoveling, and see if you can figure out how to snow AND wind proof part of the run so that they have more space in the long winter and are less likely to resort to feather plucking and other nasties.

 

[keljonma]

Our hen house is part of our old barn. If there is no green showing anywhere and the wind is really howling, our flock refuses to leave the comfort of the hen house and barn.

For those days when its -15° beforethe wind chill and we have over 4' of snow on the ground...we keep bales of timothy, alfalfa, clover hay in the barn. The chickens love it.

 

[Michigan Chickman]

Sounds like I should increase the size of my coop. I want to make sure they have enough room to move around comfortably. If they decide they don't like to go out in the cold, they may be in there from 12/1 - 3/1