Winter & Chickens...?

[The Chicken Lady]

I live in Michigan. Here's an idea that may help you.

Assuming your run is covered by a roof...

Get a staple gun and a roll of clear plastic sheeting. Staple the plastic sheeting around the run starting in late October or mid-November, depending on your first snowfall. It will keep the run dry and will keep the cold winter winds out.

In the spring, you can rip the plastic sheeting off your run and throw it out, or remove it more carefully and save it for the next winter.

You could also zip-tie those nice big blue tarps to your run.

 

[Daycare Mom]

Wow! Thanks for all the great info. I was told that the heater that you buy for the waterer is nothing more than a bird bath heater. Seems to make sense, I will be getting one for each of my coops before the snow comes!

 

[Michigan Chickman]

Thank you Chicken Lady, covering the run is a great idea. Do you use supplemental lighting in the winter? I have a solar powered fluorescent set up in my coop, but I'm not sure if it’s enough light to make a difference as far as lengthening the day.

 

[EliteTempleton]

KrisRose are you talking about the flat panel heater like they sell here or is there a cheaper option?

http://www.shopthecoop.com/id82.html

Does it work any better or is it cheaper to run than light bulbs?

I was thinking along the lines of having a white light on for 14 hours a day to keep the eggs coming and the red light on for 11 hours at night (providing for an hour of overlap early in the am when its the coldest).

If its considerably cheaper to run the panel heater then I could only use a CFL light as that would be cheap and just set the timer to supplement the daylight.

 

[Wildsky]

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:
I suggest building a real slanted roof over your run, with shingles and everything, if you're able. If you can't, whatever you can rig up that will bear the weight of snow is fine. You don't want a ton of snow suddenly collapsing on your birds or you while you're out there. A roof will also make your coop even more predator-proof. Additionally, it will keep the rain out of your run (mostly) in the summer and will provide shade.

I didn't use additional light, and didn't worry so much about decreased egg production in the winter. It wasn't important to me at the time. If you want the same amount of egg production, you're right, you need some sort of lighting out there. I'm not experienced enough with lighting a chicken coop to give an opinion on specific types of bulbs and such.

Just be careful that whatever you use doesn't somehow set your coop on fire. In the coop and run construction area, you can ask what other people use and how they are set up. People can probably recommend good bulbs and timers.

As for heat and light, light will provide a little additional heat, but my birds just fluffed up their feathers and hung out together on the roost at night. I figure, if wild birds can do it, so could the chickens. They were fine. (I also used the "deep litter method" in the winter. It kept things a little warmer for them out there).

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Up here in Canada, winter & snow are something the chickens just have to adapt to.

Since summer lasts only about 3 weeks, I find getting the chooks used to the harsh conditions better than trying to keep them warm.

Find some winter activities that they enjoy, & this exercise will help tthem stay warm.

 

[vermontgal]

Hi folks in northern states - I'm here in Vermont where I find it's time to start thinking about winter... by the end of June.

There are several blog sites of folks in Vermont who have built straw-bale or hay-bale foundations for chickens, topped off by an insulated roof system. This looks interesting, if it sits OK with your security needs re: predators.

Some of these folks say they don't heat the coop at all (in -40F Vermont) and just layer in more hay all winter, so that the chicken poop/hay creates compost heat all winter... If you do have any interest in running a light bulb (for laying), then fire safety is a concern with hay or straw.

Do a google search on "chicken coop winter bales" and you will find a few examples.

The flat panel heater EliteTempleton posted a link to, is 650 watts. That is going to cost a heck of a lot more to run than a lightbulb. Even the fancy Infrared bulbs are typically only 250 watts.

There was an interesting article in Backyard Chicken magazine about building a hen heater with a ceramic flower pot with a 40 watt light bulb inside.

I'm planning to head into winter for my first year with chickens with:
1) ~40 watt light bulb in the coop for egg laying light + warmth, turned on middle of the night and into the AM. The typical coldest time is just before dawn, so an AM-on bulb is the most helpful.
2) heated water fount
3) max-min thermometer with two sensors - one outside and one in the chicken coop -- so that I can monitor how my chicken coop temperature is tracking vs. the outside temperature. I use my max-min thermometer to save energy in all sorts of ways -- to track outside temperature vs. inside temperature in the summer (decide when to turn on the fans or shut up the windows). To track actual temperature vs. forecast temperature for frost in the garden. A max-min remote sensor thermometer is a good investment. If the chickens are warm enough with a 25 watt bulb, why pay for a 40 watt bulb? The max-min thermometer is how you will know what is really happening in the coop in the middle of the night.

 

[Alaskan]

I suggest building a real slanted roof over your run, with shingles and everything, if you're able. If you can't, whatever you can rig up that will bear the weight of snow is fine. You don't want a ton of snow suddenly collapsing on your birds or you while you're out there. A roof will also make your coop even more predator-proof. Additionally, it will keep the rain out of your run (mostly) in the summer and will provide shade.

I vote for a metal roof since it tends to shed the snow more than a shingle roof. Better snow shedding means less worry about the heavy load making everything collapse.

I didn't use additional light, and didn't worry so much about decreased egg production in the winter. It wasn't important to me at the time. If you want the same amount of egg production, you're right, you need some sort of lighting out there. I'm not experienced enough with lighting a chicken coop to give an opinion on specific types of bulbs and such.

I was thinking I would go 'all natural' (no extra light) since I want them to use all extra energy to keep warm instead of for eggs. Especially since they will still be young this winter, I worry that having to keep warm, finish growing, and lay eggs would be too much stress and lead to illness or something else bad.​

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Mine were still babies last year when winter hit - well teenagers really.
I don't use added heat or light - and my girls started to lay in late Jan, when there was still snow - I had to run out and check for eggs often - I had one egg freeze

They do really well in the cold, afterall - they're covered in a nice fat down blanket!