Winter!?!?

[lissalicious]

This is my first time owning chickens. Here in Utah the winters can get pretty cold and ugly. Do the chickens stay in their coop all winter long or will they venture out into the snow? What should I expect when it comes to winter time and my hens?

 

[TheChips]

Im in Michigan and we had a terrible cold and VERY long winter. We had temps in the -0s. Most days were 10-18 degrees.

What I did for my chickens is I kept them inside with the doors shut. If it got to be 10 degrees I put a heat lamp in there. If it was 34 degrees or warmer I would open the doors wide enough for them to walk out. I kept their run snow free as much as I could so for those day they were out, they would have dirt. I keep my hens in a 10x14 shed so if they felt stir crazy, they had enough space to not be stressed out.

 

[Bethel3330]

If you have breeds that are cold hardy they'll do fine. They adjust to the cold and do better than in the heat so long as their coop is well ventilated to avoid frostbite. Breeds with smaller combs do better too.
They will come out in the snow but it makes them more susceptible to attack if all they have are paths to run around in. A covered run is ideal.
Be sure you have some way to keep fresh water. Experts don't recommend added heat because if you lose power or a bulb blows you could lose your entire flock overnight, never mind the risk of fire. I'm using the deep litter method which helps produce some heat in the coop. Hope that helps. I'm still relatively new but everyone I've consulted says they don't use supplemental heat.

 

[JackE]

We can get temps into the single digits around here during the winter. Unless there is some fresh deep snow, my birds come out everyday. If I clear the snow away from their front door/ramp, they'll come out. Big thing during the winter is to keep their water from freezing up. I use a cookie tin heater for that, but there are other methods available. No need to worry about adding any heat, chickens are built for the cold. Unless you have some kind of thinly feathered, exotic breed, they'll do fine.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Usually mine take a day or two to get used to the idea of snow before they go out in it, but this snow fell during the day. They were already out so they stayed out.

It was 4 degrees above zero when I took this photo. I always open the pop door unless it is frozen shut and let them decide what to do. As long as a cold wind is not hitting them, they go outside. Cold temperature does not bother them but a cold wind does.

I provide absolutely no extra heat. It's a fire risk and they don't need it.

 

[RonP]

We had an unusually harsh winter last season.

Snow and ice remained in their run for weeks at a time.

Although allowed access to their run 24/7, the birds remained in their coop for weeks at a time.

They did not like to walk in the snow at all.

 

[aart]

It was a harsh winter in Michigan...and lots of other places too, places that aren't used to the cold and snow.

Ditto that adding heat is not a good idea....ventilation most important, good article link in my signature about that. I had frostbite when the temps hit nearer to 32 than the colder times because warmer air holds more moisture...temps would rise and so would humidity. Frostbite was mostly mild gray colored, had some larger black patches on rooster wattles...it all healed up with no infection using no treatments or preventatives.

Keeping water thawed and eggs collected can be time consuming. I have two plastic gallon waterers that I rotate...take the fresh one out and pick up the frozen/dirty one, one trip to coop, that worked well.

Mine didn't like to walk on the snow much either, kept part of the run shoveled and part is under coop so they did venture out when the weather wasn't raging.
A bit of straw thrown on top of the snow, and some scratch grain, can entice them to wander a bit more.

Space is always important, but especially for harsh winters when they might have to stay in the coop....Ridgerunner has an excellent article on space needs, link in my signature.

 

[nao57]

But even if they can come out in the winter they probably don't stay out as long right? How long do you keep them out for?

And how much should you increase their food, to burn calories and be warmer?

And is that pretty much the same for ducks?

 

[Ridgerunner]

But even if they can come out in the winter they probably don't stay out as long right? How long do you keep them out for?

I let them decide. They know what they are doing better than I do.

And how much should you increase their food, to burn calories and be warmer?

I don't measure the feed or feed them anything special. I let them decide how much they want to eat. They know what they are doing better than I do.

And is that pretty much the same for ducks?

I don't do ducks.

If you put your location in your profile or signature we'd be able to better tell what kind of climate you are dealing with. I see you are relatively new to the forum, glad you joined. You'll find that location is often a good piece of information to have when we discuss things. Location is often relevant.