We all know that winter can be a particularly challenging time for chickens.
What with the snow, howling cold winds and hungry predators, winter can be a pretty rotten time. Whilst you can’t change the weather, there are several things you can do to make your chickens’ lives easier.
Step One: Keep Their Coop Warm
The first thing you need to do to keep your chickens warm is to make sure you eliminate any drafts inside the coop. This is the number one thing you can do to keep your chickens warm. Imagine the scenario: your chickens are all huddled together and producing barely enough heat to keep the flock warm and then there is a chilling breeze blowing through the coop and taking with it their heat!
It isn’t just obvious things like large visible holes in the coop; small cracks in-between the panels near the roosts can do just as much damage. You should visually inspect the coop and use a sealant to fill any holes/cracks in the coop.
Step Two: Add Heat
Once you have made sure that your coop can retain the warmth, you can consider adding heat to your coop.
Welcome to one of the most contentious issues with backyard chicken keepers. You will find people on both sides of this argument with some people preferring to add no heat to their coop and others adding heaters to their coop.
I would say here that there is no right or wrong approach, just whatever works for your chickens and coop. As people’s coops and flock vary hugely, there isn’t a one size fits all rule here. Generally, old-timers agree that chickens can huddle together and their body heat alone with keeping them warm; this is generally the case.
However, if their coop is drafty, you live in an exceptionally cold area, or you have exotic breeds that don’t tolerate the cold, you will likely need to add a heater to the coop. At a bare minimum, your chickens should not be suffering from chill or being put at risk of frostbite. You can learn all about chicken coop heaters here.
Step Three: Individual Chicken Care
Even after you’ve tackled the coop heating problem, there are still several things you need to consider during the winter to keep your chickens healthy. One of the largest problems is chickens getting frostbite whilst they are roaming outside away from the warmth of the coop.
As hens tend to have much smaller combs you don’t need to worry about them as much, but roosters can have problems. You will need to apply petroleum gel to their combs; this will help prevent water from staying on their comb and freezing.
Step Four: Feeding Them Warm
A lot of people don’t consider the role of diet when trying to keep chickens warm. But did you know you can literally feed your chickens warm if you give them the right food?
I like to give them scratch in the evening (just before they go inside to roost). This scratch takes time for their body to digest and as it goes through their body, it switches on their digestive system and produces warmth.
I hope these four tips help to keep your chickens warm during the winter. Remember if any of your chickens get sick because of the cold, bring them inside and gradually warm them up. You don’t want to shock their bodies by moving them from the bitter cold to the warmth too quickly!
5 Comments
What is scratch made of ?
“Scratch” is usually a combination of cracked, rolled, or whole grains such as corn, barley, oats, or wheat. The birds like to scratch for it, and because the grains haven’t been ground into powder or crumbles, it takes the birds longer to digest.
I live in snow country, and have vicious winds as well. As a year around protection, I added that aluminum puff insulation that come in rolls and can be stapled, to the underside of the coop roof and around any doors, etc, to keep out drafts. Works equally well against 100 degree heat and below freezing. Some sealants just don’t work well, and some have chemicals that can harm the chickens. I keep a heated dog water bowl for my girls, and have a 250 w heat light. There are pros and cons about heat lights, but kept at a safe distance above both chickens and bedding, it has worked for me for 20 years. There are new wattage lights available now, as in 125 w, and other heaters, many found on Amazon. I also attach clear corrugated roofing panels around the bottom of the chicken yard, against chilly winds. Remove them in summer.
We have winters down to -30C, and a heat lamp along with lots of Wheat for scratch is sufficient to keep egg production up and everybody happy. Chicken metabolism is different, and cold is well tolerated by the standard breeds.
One thing I do in the winter that my hens go crazy over is bring down a goodie bag of oats, flaxseed, chia seed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, & mix that in a couple dish feeders with some food mixed in and hot tap water. It cools off enough by the time they eat it, but is good on a cold morning to warm them up.