Winter is Coming! Checklists, tips, advice for a newbie

[LadyCluck77]

Deep liter method can be done a few ways, most which utilize a sort of compost method in the coop that you just add dirt, clippings, and pine shavings to.
There is a really informative page on here that explains it all in great detail.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/643302/results-from-first-year-with-deep-litter-method

 

[fenwickchic]

On another thread, someone swore by NuStock, a salve to put on that will help rid them of any mites and help re-grow feathers. There are special feeds to promote feather growth as well- mostly very high in protein and amino acids. I think "Feather Builder" is the brand of one. They are usually used to quicken molt recovery. Both of these things should be available at a local feed store.

As for Greenie- she is probably fine for a while at least. If she's still alone in late November, do you have any extremely gentle hens you can put in with her? (Or can you borrow one or two from a neighbor) Someone who she can cuddle with but who won't hurt her? Bantam silkies come to mind, they tend to be very docile. Other than that, lots of bedding should be suffice for now- we still have at least a month before the really nasty cold hits. If she's still very badly injured, you could keep her in a basement in a dog crate for a while.

Good luck!

I agree with the dog crate idea. We swapped what we thought was a rooster (Barred Rock) for a Brahma from my nephew. Turned out it was not the rooster, the tiny black Bantam was making all that noise!! Anyway, my 2 BO's (Shirley Temple and Goldilocks) and my 2 Red Sex Link's (Henny and Penny) AND the Bantam rooster (Charlie Sheen) were attacking and pecking her at times but would not bother her at night. Thus, the term pecking order. The poor Brahma (Dagny) had a dime size bloody wound on her neck and I feared for her life. My husband put Neosporin on the wound but I insisted we keep her separate for a while but still visible and with the other chickens. [I always introduce a new cat (I have 5) into my house this way to make sure no one gets sick and they get used to the new cat while not being able to interact with it initially. It has always worked and I have never had a "spraying"/territory fight in the house]. We took out the wire dog crate and it just fit into the door area of our chicken tractor. I put food and water in for her and put a board through for a roost. Now she couldn't get pecked at by the other "girls". All were pullets about 15 weeks old. Imagine my surprise when every morning we would find her out of her dog crate because she had somehow gotten out to sleep/roost with the other chickens. The good thing was that the Neosporin healed the wound and more importantly concealed the red blood which I understand will incite them to continue to peck at the wounded one. For whatever reason, after trying the dog crating within the tractor for about 4 days, the others stopped trying to really harm her. They made sure she knew she was lowest on the totem pole, but she found comfort with Charlie Sheen. LOL Someone said that chickens are bigots and I must say that I agree. It is not good to have just one of any kind unless you have just one of another kind they can bond to. So yes, I agree with LadyCluck77. If need be get a docile Bantam to keep with her. Hope something here helps you. You can see the dog crate in the picture below. Henny and Penny are standing on top of it above Dagny. Don't ask me how Dagny got out of that crate. She has to be magical.

 

[hannahrachel]

Hi all.  Thanks for all the great advice!!  I will be biting the bullet this year and not provide heat to my girls.  I have in the past on really bitter cold nights but will not any more after watching my neighbors coop burn to the ground just a few weeks ago.  They had a heat lamp in their coop which caught the coop on fire.  All eight hens perished in the fire.  It was horrible!!  I would rather deal with frost bite than the horror of something like that.

So, I have reinsulated the coop, checked for good ventilation and will be adding tarps to the north facing side of their run.  The hanging water containers in their run are heated at the base and work pretty well most of the winter.  I provide them fresh water in their coop when it freezes.

After all, God made these creatures to survive in cold temperatures.  I constantly see wild turkeys at 10,000+ feet in elevation when hunting.  It is bitter cold in the Rocky Mountains and they do just fine.  And, so will my girls, especially since they have a coop to protect them from the wind and snow.

Yikes, how horrible! I wasn't planning on using heat lamps anyway, but now I certainly will not be! I keep my chickens next to my friend's barn--it has a windbreak on three sides of the coop and allows for great ventilation, which I LOVE--and even in late spring to early summer I know she keeps heat lamps plugged in the egg room 24-7. As an added bonus, the wiring in the barn hasn't been replaced since it was built, so maybe 40 years ago? I know, MAJOR fire hazard! I'm afraid for my chickens this winter. I spend a lot of time down there, so if I see any smoke I hopefully be able to put it out and save both my hens and my friend's 40+.

Thank you for sharing! I hope your friend will be able to rebuild, and I'll keep her in my prayers

 

[girlburd]

I'm also very new to raising chickens. This will be my second winter with "my girls" and my biggest concern was how to keep thier water from freezing. They have a nice 12' x 6' outdoor run that conects to my storage shed which we turned one side into an indoor coop. I found that just using one heat lamp (with the red bulb) over the water worked wonders. It kept the water from freezing and my best guess is that the shed stayed at about 35*. That was a bonus because it also kept all my paint and horse spray and such from freezing! I did find that it was a good idea to always keep a back up bulb on hand though. On the super cold and windy days I would just shut their sliding door to the outside world just to keep the draft out. For the most part though the still free ranged all winter as long as they could find a path through the snow!

 

[girlburd]

just a note as I see a lot of heat lamp horror stories....I made sure mine was hung securely from the ceiling far enough down so not to create too much heat build up on top and far enough off floor for the same reason. As heat lamps do tend to wiggle we also attached guide wires to it to make sure it didn't move

 

[lovechickenswis]

Thanks so much everyone!

Today the weather is actually rather warm, but I know it's just temporary.

Yesterday I had to patch a gap in my fence because I came home to four birds wandering around my neighbors houses.
At first I thought they must have flown over, as the leghorns take a notion to do sometimes. But after putting them all back in, I saw the fattest bird (Dodo the Marans) squeeze right back out through a gap. Patched the gap temporarily with some wires and wood.

I'll be busy this weekend.

I should have noticed this sooner!

So from what I can gather, it's wise to start early and plan for your birds needs.
1. Water, either bringing water out a few times a day or having a heated-water method via electricity or solar power
2. Keeping the wind off- by determining the orientation of the coop and making decisions about drafts and ventilation
3. Offering plenty of food to maintain energy and warmth in the bird. (Already my ladies love suet and BOSS)
4. Frequently checking on the birds and adjusting to their needs
5. Creatively (but fiscally responsibly) altering run space to a winter-hardy set up (outdoor roosting areas, plastic covers, tarps, etc)
6. Using wider roosts when possible, so they keep their feet warmer

Did I miss anything?
I'm going to be looking into the small aquarium water heaters, and the Avian heated waterers. I'm also pricing out simple, inexpensive solar power panels and kits. (I figure just for the water system, since I work such long days I can't bring the water out often enough) I have found some that look pretty easy to install and are not that expensive. Whichever seems to work best for my set-up is what I'll go with.

Keep the stories and experiences coming everyone! Now I know never to put styrofoam around those chickens, thanks to some anecdotes. I love the pictures as well!

-Lady

Please let me know how the solar power works out! I have been told that it would be expensive and would not work, although I can not see why not. I live 10 miles from my birds and this would be very useful info!

 

[Kaela23]

Thank you for all the excellent cold weather tips!
I am fortunate that my father built a sturdy chicken house (coop) for us. Dad is no longer with us but I often tell him that I am taking care of his chickens We do use a small ceramic heater to keep the coop at 40 degrees. This probably costs more than the worth of the eggs, but it is a hobby and all the hens have names and are more like pets.

Does anyone know why chickens will not go out in the snow? I live in NE Ohio and sometimes if the chickens who are free range go outside in the morning when there is no snow on the ground, and it snows hard during the day, I come home to chicken "statues". They simply stop where they are in the yard and I go around picking them up and taking them back to the coop.

Are they unable to determine the depth?, feet too cold? why do chickens have such fear of the snow? Thanks for your insights!

 

[K Epp]

Okay its 28* here in the south. Just thought I would share that. Go ahead and laugh because the Southern Girl thinks its cold.

 

[aart]

Okay its 28* here in the south. Just thought I would share that. Go ahead and laugh because the Southern Girl thinks its cold.

That is cold, you must be up in the mountains....or have a Celsius thermometer

 

[K Epp]

Yes I'm in the mountains on the GA, TN, NC line. it is cold for us this early, but everyone says we will have bad winter for the south. Of course its supposed to be back in the 70's next week. lol