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

[PingoBags]

Yikes!!! That is expensive. I just got new nipples from ebay. There were 10 in the package for $20 and free shipping. I'm sharing them with a couple friends who have chickens. Mine from last year are still good but like having some on hand just in case. Not sure how many birds you have but there were 15 in my coop last winter and they used 2 nipples for water.

Heated dog bowls also work well and stay thawed to pretty low. Just raise the bowl so they can't get too much dirt in it. If you use a bowl you might consider covering all but one place for them to drink so they don't make a mess of it.

I figure anything is better than having to haul water. I have bad lungs and don't do well in the cold let alone carrying a bucket of water. The system I have means they only need watered once a week. Last year the house sitter carried water out. This year we're staying in Montana so it's up to me. Since I put in the frost free faucet that means I can water with a hose.

I really wouldn't want to haul water but if I have no choice, I will.
I'll keep searching around and see if I can find a deal on nipples. At the moment, they
have 4 but could easily get away with 2.
I could probably even replace the metal parts for plastic, that alone would help a lot.

I thought about using a heated dog bowl but I already had heat tape.
Got it for 90% off from a store that was closing.

 

[wamtazlady]

Im in the south....NC mountians. This will be my first winter here. I moved a whole 25 miles from Sc lol. However im at a higher altitude and they get way more snow here. My question....we converted a childs wooden play house into our coop. I have room for 12 nesting boxes but only have 6 rught now. To roosting sticks and plenty of floor space. The play house came with a vent in the back and a small one in the front. Both are up high. We have no windows because thats whT leads out the to runs on either side. Should i devise a zystem to cover those this winter? The door isnt full size, its a child door. I can however walk in and stand all the way up. The door is wooden with a plexi glass window. We have no power out there. Do i meed more vents? Do i need to cover the 2 windows? How do i keep water from freezing? I have 10 hens and a roo. I have another play house coming to keep bantams and silkies in. Just want to make sure everyone stays healthy and warm.

Wow. You have a lot of nesting boxes for your hens. For 10 hens, 3 boxes would be plenty. You need one box for every 4 hens.

As for roosting sticks, 2 by 4's with the 4 inch side up works better than a thin stick. Unlike many birds, chickens can't grip a narrow perch. They need a wide area. The advantage of the 2 by 4 is that they can cover their feet with their body at night and keep their toes warm. You want the chickens to be roosting lower than the vents. You do not want breeze blowing on the birds. Breezes could fluff up their feathers and the birds would lose the heat they have trapped under the feathers.

Whether you need more vents depends on the size of the vents you have. I have an 8' by 6' coop which is just right for 12 birds allowing for 4 square feet per bird. I have two 1' by 3' vents under the eaves. In addition I have a 2' by 2' vent in the back where there is no wind. I also keep their pop door open year round. I do cover my run with a tarp to keep the snow out and cover 3 sides of the run with plastic so no wind blows in the pop door. As I have said before, a warm chicken is a dry chicken. They don't require heat. They do need a dry place. With breathing and pooing they make a lot of moisture in a coop. Your vents have to be large enough to let all that moisture out. If your windows are covered in glass, there is no reason to cover them. Having light in the coop is good.

Since you have no power to your coop you'll need to carry out water 2 times a day when it's freezing. A black rubber bowl works great for that. You can literally turn the bowl over, stomp on it until the ice falls out, and refill it. I have an extension cord out to my coop so use a stock tank deicer to keep my water thawed.

 

[CuzChickens]

I am loving all these great tips and chat!!! Let's keep it up!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I use rubber bucket and bowls for water. Knock them out twice a day and replace with warm water.

Mine get slabs of hay to provide greens and something to stand on outside over the snow.

No extra heat ever provided, chickens go outside most every day. Collect eggs often before they freeze.

They get scratch for an extra boost of calories and fats, as well as a higher protein ration which keeps their protein intake up with the lower protein scratch being added to their diet.

Really cold days they get some warm oatmeal mixed with their all flock ration for a warm moist breakfast.

My hens never get frostbite but many years it's unavoidable on my roosters. Here in the upper Midwest all our weather comes straight out of Canada, so we can get quite cold. I still have an open west facing door that never closes, so good ventilation is very important, closing up a coop too tightly can cause respiratory issues and frostbite on your hens.

A bit of frostbite on combs will heal up fine without intervention, so don't become too concerned if it happens. Messing with the tissue can cause more damage than good, so it best to let them be to heal up.

 

[Flock Master64]

This is my 3rd winter one great way to help prevent/cure forstbite is vassaline, it moisturises the infected area and helps trap in body heat on the area that it's aplllied to.

 

[MollySunshine]

Quote: Ummm, because I thought I should, is the only answer I have

My thought process went along the lines of to avoid frostbite on their little feet they probably shouldn't be romping in the snow/cold weather. Now I know it is ok. I have to quite babying these guys. I will hopefully avoid the snow in their run by placing a tarp over the tented mesh cover. But if by chance if happens, I now know to throw some hay over the snow. I learn so much from everyone here! I am now rethinking the carpenters plastic and may copy your idea of using the shower liner. It will definately be more cost effective and less time consuming. I can probably pick up some very inexpensive liners at Job Lot. I'm assuming it's merely stapled in place? Now for what may be a silly question....I'm almost embarrassed to ask but what the heck....which side would be the least windy? Also, if this side is left uncovered would it therefore be unnecessary to keep an upper portion of the coop uncovered. I'm thinking since the construction already has gaps within the wooden structure, if it is left uncovered it would allow for ventilation(?). My best educated guess would be the west side? I know we have northern clippers coming from Canada, and winds coming off the ocean (southern).

Would it be prudent when the weather begins to get very cold to be proactive and place the vaseline on the boys waddles and combs, also on the few girls whose are larger in size, to avoid these problems?

 

[Flock Master64]

I've only gotten frostbite once in two winters on my rooster, after I learned that vassaline helps with frostbite i put it on them ever night when I lock them up and I have had frostbite since

 

[Bogtown Chick]

In All truthfulness, I do like these threads about wintering chickens. Tons of information/help. Here's the big "But":

I think these threads really become confusing for new folks because there is so much information and adaptions for climate. Mild winters. Nasty Humid (coastal) Cold? Midwest Dry and Cold? I find even that the design of a chicken coop roof can throw a monkey wrench into how to ventilate your coop properly.

And the other variable is are you a Pet Owner, Show person, or chickens are purely livestock, what breeds do you have? Large comb varieties with extended periods of cold will become dubbed with frostbite. And yep. Even with excellent ventilation.

So if a person comes on here and says this is the end all, answer to everything, the gospel for chickens...please know it may absolutely be right for them but totally wrong for your own set up. It's always good to check in with experience people on the threads that are for your state or location. When you visit on these threads your climate and location is EVERYTHING.

 

[Flock Master64]

I'm in the Midwest, Mi

 

[wamtazlady]

In All truthfulness, I do like these threads about wintering chickens. Tons of information/help. Here's the big "But":

I think these threads really become confusing for new folks because there is so much information and adaptions for climate. Mild winters. Nasty Humid (coastal) Cold? Midwest Dry and Cold? I find even that the design of a chicken coop roof can throw a monkey wrench into how to ventilate your coop properly.

And the other variable is are you a Pet Owner, Show person, or chickens are purely livestock, what breeds do you have? Large comb varieties with extended periods of cold will become dubbed with frostbite. And yep. Even with excellent ventilation.

So if a person comes on here and says this is the end all, answer to everything, the gospel for chickens...please know it may absolutely be right for them but totally wrong for your own set up. It's always good to check in with experience people on the threads that are for your state or location. When you visit on these threads your climate and location is EVERYTHING.

I fully agree with this. Everyone's circumstances are different. You have to do whatever works for you. As I have said before, I don't have the same waterers, feeders, coop, or run that I had several years ago. The original stuff just didn't work well for me and was all replaced. However, by reading what other people were doing I finally figured out a system that works well for me. It's just a matter of trial and error. I cringe when I think of the way too small coop I had with almost no ventilation. I didn't know better. Joining BYC certainly taught me a lot.