By Wendy E. N. Thomas
We’re heading into the colder months and new-time chicken owners are already starting to have anxiety attacks. “How, oh how will I be able to keep my babies warm?” they fret as they look into expensive heaters and even sweaters knit for chickens.
Chickens have always known what to do in cold weather, as the owner you simply need to provide the basics (and nope, a sweater is not a basic.)
I had one reader contact me to ask about winter preparation, she wanted to use hay on the floor of the outdoor run and she wanted to put tarps up to protect her flock from wind and snow in the run (the birds all had access to a fully enclosed coop from the run.)
Before you do anything, I told her, just take a deep breath. I live in New Hampshire where we also have very cold winters. Your chickens will be able to figure out how to survive even the coldest winter on their own.
That is *if * you make sure they have a well-ventilated coop with plenty of space for your birds to roost. I know that, especially when you think of your chickens as pets, it can be difficult to remember that chickens are and always have been outdoor birds. They already have this winter thing down.
With regard to the hay, I wouldn’t use it on the floor of a run (or coop) and this is why. Hay has a high water content (and if it’s dry it quickly absorbs water) this can lead to mold and fungal growth and if you have chickens standing on moldy material, it can sometimes cause foot problems.
In our coop we use wood chips and just spread them out. It seems to work fine and it protects our flock’s feet from direct contact with the snow.
In the winter, we also use the layering method which means we don’t clean out the coop or the run, we simply add more layers to it. This adds to general insulation and the natural composting that can occur gives the coop a little bit of heat. This, of course, means that you need to muck out a pretty rank coop early in the Spring, but it’s a relatively small price for comfort.
Be careful with using a tarp, I warned my reader. Again, if you trap water on a warm day, you are setting up perfect conditions for mold and fungus to grow. Instead, don’t worry too much about the outdoor run (it should have a roof or some kind of covering) if the chickens get too cold, they will roost together in the coop and they’ll be fine. Just make sure that there is a small amount of ventilation at the top of the coop for moisture (from breathing and poop) to escape.
Oh and as it was her first winter, I told her that her flock will not need any heating unit in the coop. I always tell my chicken class students that a heater is more for the owner’s guilt than it is for the chickens, if you don’t believe me, go out to the coop some night and slide your hand between two roosting chickens – it will be as warm as any feather bed.
In preparation for winter, do the prep work for your flock:
- Make sure the coop is secure and windproof
- Inspect the roost bars and replace any that may have splintered
- Make sure your flock has access to melted (not warm water) at all times
- And throw in a few sources of high fat every other week (seed blocks, suet, chicken treats) to give them a nutritional boost
If you have those bases covered, trust me on this one, your chickens will be able to take it from there.
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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons. Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences and lessons learned living with chickens (yes, chickens). Visit her blog at www.simplethrift.wordpress.com
2 Comments
This is more of a question than a comment. I’m in Massachusetts and the weather has been fluctuating quite a bit. Today was upper 50’s and tonight it will snow and be almost 30 degrees colder tomorrow. And some nights coming up will be in the teens. I have 3 chickens in a small 3×4 coop. One is going through a hard molt and is bare from her back end to up under her wings. She has not wanted to come out of the coop when it is cold and the others will stay in the coop with her. I put a Cozy Coop flat panel heater on the wall in the coop in case she would like to get close to it when it’s in the 30’s and below. It really doesn’t heat the inside of the coop – recently on a very cold night it was only about 5-8 degrees warmer in the coop than outside when I checked the thermometers in the morning. Do you think it is helpful to have the Cozy Coop in the coop while the chicken is going through this hard molt? I’m not sure what else to do for her and I can only imagine she is feeling cold without all her feathers.
She probably is a bit chilly, but she’s also doing things to stay warm… staying inside, and snuggling with the other girls. Also remember that chickens generate a lot of body heat. You could feed her a little extra protein to help her as she grows new feathers. Meal worms work. You can also wet down pellets or crumbles into a mash and add some whey powder. The Cozy Coop won’t hurt, but making sure she has good nutrition is also important.
Thanks for sharing about your chickens!!!