Winter weather preparations?

[HeatherKellyB]

Hilarious! Definitely not Canadian!

The crazy thing is that the folks that have no fear of it, will go out in their 4 wheel drive trucks and think they're safe to drive like normal at the maximum speed limit and want to "save the day" for cars that have slid off the road, only to end up in a ditch themselves or causing wrecks. 4WD's certainly have their places, but they need to be just as cautious as the next person and if someone doesn't know how to drive in icy snow (which is what we typically have), they're going to create more of a problem. Common sense really isn't so common after all

 

[Henry&Friends]

You shouldn’t close off the ventilation, just make sure it’s not too drafty. Does the snow go into your coop, and is your bedding dry? If my coop door is all the way open (if I don’t realize it’ll snow/rain today and forget to prop it halfway,) the rain and snow will go into the door and soil my bedding. If it’s dry, I try to keep it dry until the snow/rain is finished, and then I clean it out & put in fresh, dry bedding. My coop is a shed with a large door though, so thats why I have to do it that way.


(picture of shed coop for reference)

 

[aart]

Edited to add that this does not apply to our beloved Western NC folks.

Well, yes it does....that's where she lives, says most native folks freak when snow happens.

 

[Mtnboomer]

They will be fine. Keeping fresh dry litter in the coop will help on particularly cold nights but adult birds do just fine although some breeds are more cold hardy than others. In NC, you won't need to worry.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

You shouldn’t close off the ventilation, just make sure it’s not too drafty. Does the snow go into your coop, and is your bedding dry? If my coop door is all the way open (if I don’t realize it’ll snow/rain today and forget to prop it halfway,) the rain and snow will go into the door and soil my bedding. If it’s dry, I try to keep it dry until the snow/rain is finished, and then I clean it out & put in fresh, dry bedding. My coop is a shed with a large door though, so thats why I have to do it that way.


(picture of shed coop for reference)View attachment 2031306

This will be my first snow since having chickens and ducks (ducks are on the other side of property on the pond dam) but the coops remain dry during rainfall, which we've had an excessive amount of. The only time it gets wet is from me opening the side access door to check on them and that should be minimal during the snowfall if all goes according to the forecast. I believe they will be locked up in their coops/duck house before the snow begins to fall and apparently the temps won't get below anything we've seen before without problem. I wonder how often I need to be checking waterer? I have no idea how long it takes for their water to freeze. It looks like our low is going to be 19°, which we actually haven't experienced this far. We've dropped into the 20's, but not the teens.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Well, yes it does....that's where she lives, says most native folks freak when snow happens.

I lived in GA for a short while when the "snowpocalypse" hit. 1" of slush! I drove to work in a Corolla and was reprimanded by my boss for "risking my life." I just laughed.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

They will be fine. Keeping fresh dry litter in the coop will help on particularly cold nights but adult birds do just fine although some breeds are more cold hardy than others. In NC, you won't need to worry.

Thank you for your reply. The low is lower than we've had before but just from my experience here, so many folks have no problems with their flock with much lower temps for long periods of time. My worry is how quickly it's went from 60's on Monday, to a low of 19 in the morning. A more gradual change is normal for us, but that's a huge difference in a few days

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Well, yes it does....that's where she lives, says most native folks freak when snow happens.

It doesn't apply to our BYC members in the NC mountains

 

[Mtnboomer]

Thank you for your reply. The low is lower than we've had before but just from my experience here, so many folks have no problems with their flock with much lower temps for long periods of time. My worry is how quickly it's went from 60's on Monday, to a low of 19 in the morning. A more gradual change is normal for us, but that's a huge difference in a few days

Im in southwest VA. It was 58 here yesterday. Tonight's low is 12 with a windchill of 4. I have done nothing out of the ordinary to "prepare" for the drop. I have a very cold hardy breed (Brahmas). We've had a few nights this year that hit below 0 but it has also been very mild for us too

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Im in southwest VA. It was 58 here yesterday. Tonight's low is 12 with a windchill of 4. I have done nothing out of the ordinary to "prepare" for the drop. I have a very cold hardy breed (Brahmas). We've had a few nights this year that hit below 0 but it has also been very mild for us too

OH my! That's so cold. My bones hurt just thinking about that temp. I have mostly breeds that are cold hardy, but some of them might just hang out in the coop and hopefully my little silkies will know to get out of the cold, if it becomes too cold for them.