Winter is almost here!! Share your tips and tricks for coping the elements with your chickens!

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Most animals are more hardy than humans give credit to. They have feathers and fur, we are naked and often cold in anything under 50 degrees, so we put our feelings onto the critters we keep.

Nature provides them with a coat that if not messed with with thicken and grow for the climate they live in. Acclamation means letting your birds and animals get used to temperatures and allowing them to adjust.

We get -20, with -40's wind chills at time during the winter. My chickens do fine because they are not shut up tight in their coop or heated in any way. I even keep frizzles, I've kept silkies, all have been fine. I've never had a chicken freeze to death.

So there are lots of way prep and handle winters, but it's always best to remove your human feeling and provide the birds what they need.

Chickens become stressed when temperatures suddenly drop. You will see them huddle, and perhaps shiver, but if left alone they will be acclimated to the new temperatures in about a week. It's similar to how cold 30 degrees feels in the fall to us, but in spring it feels like a heat wave.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Frizzles and Silkies have the right kind of comb for Wisconsin. and yes even though their feathers are 'different' they seem to do great in the midwest

I agree --if you want to have outdoor time for your birds do not let your coop go above freezing unless mother nature (temp outside) is going that way. Frozen poop helps keep moisture down in the coop. Keeps your birds from having trouble with respiratory issues due to damp coop. That's why ventilation is important. Research air flow for certain coop roof designs (gabled vs. simple slant) to determine the best venting... and keep good amount of space above your birds heads. Roosts need to be kept low to avoid broken toes and feet.

I generally give a water additive (vitamins, electrolytes, probiotics) for stressful temperature drops (and spikes in the summer).

 

[PingoBags]

Pingobags-
I'm intrigued by your coop vent/fan.
Is it actually a fan? Or is it a vent with a fan placed inside?
Do you have a wire running out to a power source?
Did you make or buy it? If buy, where?
I think I want to copy you and put one in our coop.
Thanks!

It was a small vent but I made the hole bigger and added the box to the outside.

Its two 12cm pc fans I got off ebay, I put them together because I was limited on space and incase one failed during winter.
The blue/purple box is just a piece of scrap pine I had and made the box slightly bigger than the fans.
The fins are to stop rain from dripping in the box and i'm hoping to keep snow out too, it was some scrap aluminum flashing but plastic would work just as good.

I have an extension cable running to the coop and the fans use a 12 volt adapter (which I had already) but can also work off a solar panel or even a car battery.
I had a smaller fan running on solar all summer but that only works when the sun is out, I wanted something moving air 24/7.
I only used L brackets to attach it to the coop and sealed it with white silicone because that's what I had.

Pc fans work great even when really dusty but I'm unsure how they will hold up being outside like that.
If it stays dry, it should last years. I've had 12cm pc fans last 10 years but that was inside.
So far, the aluminum fins are keeping the rain out.

 

[crealbilly]

Last year I battled water freezing. I promised myself this winter I won't ever do that again. Im still undecided on what to do. I have three yards that need ouside water and was thinking about rigging up some kind of hillbilly heated pvc pipe nipple waterer. But I sure am interested what others are doing.

 

[wamtazlady]

Lat year I battled water freezing. I promised myself this winter I won't ever do that again. Im still undecided on what to do. I have three yards that need ouside water I was thinking about rigging up some kind of hillbilly heated pvc pipe nipple waterer. But i sure am interested what others are doing.

Vertical nipples don't hold up as well to cold weather as horizontal nipples. That's what I've read in these forums.

My watering system was easy and worked to -10 which is as cold as it got last year. Have read of others who use a similar system for even colder weather. It's a semi clear tote from Walmart with lid, about 15 gallons, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer that is okay to use in plastic. Mine never froze and due to its size it only needed filled once a week. Many who use this sort of system use a 5 gallon bucket instead of the tote.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I use the cheap 1 gallon founts on a home-made cookie tin heater with a 40 watt (regular not LED) light bulb in the tin. 25 watt is not enough. 60 watt will burn wattles and feet. The founts are rotated if we're on a cold streak. The frozen one comes up to the house to thaw while the other is on the cookie tin heater. The water will stay open to about -15F or -20F...then after that I need to rotate.

Edited to add using metal founts/feeders with water in the winter => think about Ralphie and sticking your tongue on the flag pole at school. LOL. You'll have sores.

 

[Hopperkiller]

Try finding small pumpkins and squash at the store and baked them in the oven or outdoor grill. After they cool cut them up and give these treats. Mine love the stringy mess inside the pumpkins before i heat them. You can do a large batch and parcel out into those seal a meal bags and freeze. Then warm them in hot water and serve later. I do this to add some winter variety for their enjoyment.

 

[Braxton Brigade]

Probably our best coop of the 4 we have.

My coops are all like this, more or less.


Those pictures demonstrate is what "winter" commonly looks like in the south.

How we cope with the winter time weather is basically the addition hay and stray in the run/yards.
Believe it or not the birds will bed down in the thick hay if some wind is bothering them.
I will have to try out one of those tin water heaters just for fun, last winter we carried out warm water and it was not too much trouble because it was only required twice a day to keep the large waterers from freezing.

All our coops and runs are covered with galvanized metal roofing, the coops are nothing special, the bird door stays open 24/7.
Our birds are early risers and they know better than I about going outdoors at 4 AM... especially when it is 20*F-30*F outside haha.

It rarely snows, and if/when it does snow we never get more than a foot or two of it.

 

[retiredtrooper]

that is an awesome idea!! We likely will not have chickens till next spring, late.....as we bought our homestead mid-summer and I frankly will not be able to have things in place till then. But I am learning a lot between now and then!! And look forward to learning more before the birds arrive! Perhaps do coops by class...small, med., and large? You would have to determine what each class is. Hoping to see some fun pictures!!

 

[Griffin6659]

hey guys I'm new to the page and its my first winter...i just started raising them Feb. i have 19 chickens from 3 leg horns 3 black and 2 red sex links 3 rhode island reds a white rock, 2 spekled sussex and 4 that are mix..that just my layers in 30×30 area of the yard with a 8×8 coop framed with 2×4...my main concern is I have three 6×6 lots with one having 1 roo 2 hen porcelain duccle...one with 5 hens 2 roo Seramas and the other has 3 Millie duccle hen and 1 roo. they all have lil 3×3 coops 3 foot off the ground with 2×2 legs...I'm really concerned with them staying warm...i breed them for sale...i have 3 amaricana hens and roo i also breed for sale...and 1 boy and girl Silkie...any ideals on my lil ones staying warm..i just live in harriman tn so the average lowest low is 35 at night it gets colder but not alot...