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

[aart]

Quote: No Chit!!

@aart I should know better to post wind chills for cooped birds. But it is an impressive cold out there nonetheless.

Indeed...ya just never know. Y'all on the east coast are getting it as bad as us Michiganians did last year.



It's balmy 20F or so out there now, had to unzip my coat while shoveling the 4 inches of snow we got this morning, and some left from the blizzard this weekend...
....I've just come in and the wind just picked up, so it's colder out now

and I'm glad to be inside for awhile.

 

[LadyCluck77]

I'd love some 20f temps right now! The kids are on February break. We took out the sleds today and stayed out as long as we could. Even all bundled up, it was cold!


Brownie the hen with prolapsed organ/ovary is still alive in the dog crate. She seems a little lonely but I don't dare put her back out in the coop yet. The vent inspection this morning looked good though.
I highly recommend honey as an anti-swelling ointment. We had no preparation H in the house.
Wish I lived closer to my in laws. My MIL has every possible remedy, medicine and ointment you could think of.

 

[Alaskan]

I'd love some 20f temps right now! The kids are on February break. We took out the sleds today and stayed out as long as we could. Even all bundled up, it was cold!


Brownie the hen with prolapsed organ/ovary is still alive in the dog crate. She seems a little lonely but I don't dare put her back out in the coop yet. The vent inspection this morning looked good though.
I highly recommend honey as an anti-swelling ointment. We had no preparation H in the house.
Wish I lived closer to my in laws. My MIL has every possible remedy, medicine and ointment you could think of.

sure am glad it is looking good so far

 

[Shabana]

Heya ! Yes Hull is about an hour or two away from me. It's situated half way down the country. We are in South Yorkshire and hull is East Yorkshire
So glad to hear the chickens are doing well with the cold over there.
Yes you're quite right we do use celcius here.

Wishing you all an early spring x

 

[Achap-henrow]

Heya ! Yes Hull is about an hour or two away from me. It's situated half way down the country. We are in South Yorkshire and hull is East Yorkshire

So glad to hear the chickens are doing well with the cold over there.
Yes you're quite right we do use celcius here.

Wishing you all an early spring x

cool, I have a Yorkshire sweatshirt she gave me several years ago...she is old now..was a British soldier in WW 2.

 

[bigmrg74]

Looking to be the coldest night of the year here in SE Michigan. Down to -4 F here (-20 C) and its not even close to where they're predicting it to drop to. Keep your fluffy butts warm out there.

 

[aart]

Looking to be the coldest night of the year here in SE Michigan. Down to -4 F here (-20 C) and its not even close to where they're predicting it to drop to. Keep your fluffy butts warm out there.

I was hoping the forecast would be wrong in the warmer direction like they were the night before.......
.......but nope,watching it drop from -10F at 5am to -12F at 6am here and anxiously awaiting the rise in temps with the south wind and promised of 33F tomorrow.

 

[cafrhe]

Ok, so this is my 1st winter in NJ with chickens. I have a pretty tight coop and they are either pastured or free range during the day. I did build them a small plastic covered hoop house and filled it with straw. It can get a little warmer than ambient temp. They dont like the crackling of the plastic though when it is windy, though I have noticed them using it more so I guess they are getting used to it. I throw scratch in there as well.

I dont add heat, I decided to trust that if people in N Dakota dont add heat, NJ chickens would be ok. I did insulate the walls and did add plastic to the roof rafters to cut the ventilation a little (no direct breeze on them).

Most days they have come outside and huddle next to the house (southern side against my brick house--I put straw there too). It is currently 1 degree out. I have noticed that in the morning when I open the pop door, it is a bit warmer in the coop than outside. I think that by opening the pop door, I end up cooling the coop. Today they were not even off the roosts. I put their water inside and closed the coop back up. I guess if they seem restless later, I will open them up.

Is there a way to not lose heat with a pop door? I do have a feed bag partially across the door on the inside.

My rooster has a few spots of frost bite on the tips of his comb, but other than that, the chickens are ok. But, darn...I feel bad for them. I am so tempted to take the oil filled space heater in there just to give them a little relief....

 

[aart]

......Is there a way to not lose heat with a pop door?....

You could lean a board up outside the pop door to block the wind if it's blowing right into the coop from there...but I wouldn't worry about a few degrees.
If you have enough ventilation, the temp inside and outside the coop will be about the same...except on very sunny days with no wind.
As long as there's no drafts strong enough to literally ruffle their feathers while on the roost, they will be fine.

I built a 'Glass Foyer' in front of my pop door with some old window panels, because the pop faces west where our prevailing winds come from.

 

[LadyCluck77]

Ok, so this is my 1st winter in NJ with chickens. I have a pretty tight coop and they are either pastured or free range during the day. I did build them a small plastic covered hoop house and filled it with straw. It can get a little warmer than ambient temp. They dont like the crackling of the plastic though when it is windy, though I have noticed them using it more so I guess they are getting used to it. I throw scratch in there as well.

I dont add heat, I decided to trust that if people in N Dakota dont add heat, NJ chickens would be ok. I did insulate the walls and did add plastic to the roof rafters to cut the ventilation a little (no direct breeze on them).

Most days they have come outside and huddle next to the house (southern side against my brick house--I put straw there too). It is currently 1 degree out. I have noticed that in the morning when I open the pop door, it is a bit warmer in the coop than outside. I think that by opening the pop door, I end up cooling the coop. Today they were not even off the roosts. I put their water inside and closed the coop back up. I guess if they seem restless later, I will open them up.

Is there a way to not lose heat with a pop door? I do have a feed bag partially across the door on the inside.

My rooster has a few spots of frost bite on the tips of his comb, but other than that, the chickens are ok. But, darn...I feel bad for them. I am so tempted to take the oil filled space heater in there just to give them a little relief....

Hi there!
I work with a fellow originally from NJ. He still drives down to see his parents once a month- about eight hours of driving!
It sounds like you're doing everything right- no need to bring a heater in there- the scratch will help ease their reluctance to use the hoop house- just watch for snow collection on top of the hoop. I sometimes need to brush off my greenhouses if it's a sticky snow or the weight can be too much for them. It's great that you're giving them that space to move around.

My roosters both have frostbite on their combs too. It may take some of the points off the comb, but it will heal up pretty well, and it doesn't seem to hurt them.
I tend to leave the pop door open during the daylight hours, the fenced area around the run is shielded up with plastic and burlap so that tends to block the winds. It's the sharp winds/drafts that you really want to block, but they can do alright in pretty cold temperatures. When it gets to -10 and below mine do tend to roost most of the day, venturing out just for a quick drink of water from the outdoor heated waterer. It sounds like you're doing great with you flock. Hang in there! Spring will be here in a matter of weeks- I hope.....