WINTERIZING WITH CHICKENS!!
- Donna Weekes
- Oct 5, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 22
Winter can bring challenges for backyard chickens keepers. As temperatures drop and snow covers the ground, ensuring your chickens receive the best care becomes crucial.
UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF CHICKENS IN WINTER
Chickens are surprisingly tough animals, but their needs transform significantly when winter arrives. Understanding their behaviors and physical requirements can help you provide the right care.
Chickens are warm-blooded and thrive in moderate conditions. They handle cold better than extreme heat but still require protection from harsh weather.
But don't confuse your comfort level with a chicken's comfort level. Chickens are anatomically very different from people and have unique attributes that allow them to regulate their body temperatures.
A properly winterizes chicken coop allows them to keep themselves warm.
There are only a few things that are critical to a backyard flock in cold temperatures, access to water, a nutritionally complete chicken feed and a dry, draft free living space.
insulating your coops is very beneficial, which is helpful in the Canadian winters.
We also use automatic chicken pop doors on our coop, so the chickens are closed in safely at night. We have 4 sectioned runs and each run has a automatic pop door. They are very reliable.
KEEP FOOD AND WATER OUT OF THE COOP
Freezing temperatures inside the coop in addition to moisture increases the risk of frostbite. Chickens generate a great deal of moisture from breathing as well as them pooping, as droppings consist of 85% water. If the windows of the coop have condensation on them in the morning, there is a problem. Either the litter type is ineffective, there is an unacceptable amount of poop in the coop, and/or a drinker being kept inside the coop.
NEVER KEEP FOOD AND WATER INSIDE THE COOP.
It is impossible to keep ahead of the moisture curve with the drinking water in the coop and the chickens coming in all day long to drink, drink and poop. As long as the chickens are given access to water within an hour of daybreak, there is no need for water inside the coop. Chickens do not drink water at night-they sleep. Given, that there is no light on all night long. (Which there should not be).
USE SAND FOR LITTER
The use of sand as litter inside the coop is an outstanding choice in the winter because it evaporates moisture more rapidly than other litter and stays drier as a result. Sand also retains warmth better than any other litter and given its high thermal mass, it will keep coop temperatures more stable than other litter types such as pine shavings.
Deep Litter Method: I do not recommend the deep litter method. There is a popular misconception that deep litter is the lazy man's way of managing waste and heating the coop, it is not. Deep litter requires careful management, which includes stirring and monitoring moisture content and temperatures. The deep litter method implemented improperly can be a serious health hazard to the flock. Most backyard flocks are not large enough to produce enough waste to reach the required temperatures in the middle of the litter to execute this method safely.
Roosts: The use of 2x4's boards is the better choice. The 4" side up to will help keep their feet warm from their bodies, in winter while roosting at night.
VENTILATION
Ventilation refers to the exchange of unhealthy air with clean air. Backyard coops should never have ammonia-laden air. Ventilation is more of a concern for birds kept in overcrowded, filthy commercial buildings 24/7 than backyard chickens overnight in a coop. Don't get caught up with this social media topic. Backyard chickens do not spend all day and night in the coop. The coop will be opened in the morning, the chickens will leave the coop and plenty of fresh air will enter throughout the day through its doors.
DO AVOID DRAFTS inside the coop.
POSSIBILITY OF FROSTBITE
Frostbite is a possibility. Excessive moisture in the coops or external windchill can lead to frostbite problems.
Choosing the right type of litter for the coop and covering your run with plastic will create a more pleasant and comfortable setting for your chickens.
We provide a product to help prevent frostbite.
Chick' N Swell is a natural product to help keep the skin of the legs, foot and comb soft and supple during cold periods by emolliating the skin.
Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Beeswax, Coconut Oil and Shea Butter.
Also aids in the treatment of Scaly Leg Mites
*Helps heal legs
*Prevents Frostbite
*Free of toxic products
*100% natural
WRAPPING THE CHICKEN RUN IN CONTRACTORS PLASTIC
Create Wind Breaks: I use contractors plastic (6ml) to cover the run walls. It provides the chickens with a warmer run by keeping rain, wind and snow out.
It acts like a greenhouse on the sunny days and can be up to 10 degrees warmer inside the run.
Same concept as keeping their coop draft free, the same goes for their run on cold, windy days in the winter months.
In the past years with putting up contractors plastic, I have learned to do it around the end of October. After that, it gets cold on the hands (and some days windy) which makes it a little more challenging.
Let me briefly explain why being draft-free is crucial for keeping chickens warm. Chickens have an internal body temperature of 107°F. In winter, you'll notice chickens with their feathers fluffed up; this is because they are trapping warm air from their body heat between their skin and feathers. If a cold draft hits them, it removes the heat they've built up in that space. It's similar to being under a duvet and someone lifting it, causing the warmth beneath to escape.
Provide the essential living area for your chickens during winter, and they will handle keeping themselves warm.
Below this blog, you'll find a few pictures of my coops and runs, which have been winterized using contractor's plastic. It's important to secure it with wood strapping and screws, as staples won't withstand the stronger winter winds.
I purchase my contractors plastic at Home Depot in the insulation section. I find it's the best price at $37 a roll.
A NUTRITIONALLY COMPLETE DIET
A nutritionally complete chicken feed is the healthiest choice for them to consume, particularly during the colder months, as it assists in keeping them warm. They generate heat by burning calories from their feed, which in turn warms their bodies. Cracked corn offers no benefit as it consists of empty calories that can lead to weight gain. Overweight chickens may face additional health issues such as a prolapsed vent.
The overweight chicken will struggle to pass their egg through the vent due to the additional fat accumulation, not to mention the risk of Fatty Liver Disease. The initial area in a chicken's body where fat will accumulate is around their liver.
In the intense summer heat, if chickens are exposed to extremely high temperatures (which is more likely to occur in a hot chicken coop at night without open windows), their livers can burst from being in such a hot environment.
In the morning, when you go out to check on them and do your chores, you might discover a chicken has died. This could be due to Fatty Liver Disease.
NEVER FEED YOUR CHICKENS WILD BIRD SUET- Refer to my Blog "Why You Should Never Feed Wild Bird Suet to Your Backyard Chickens"
WATER IS ESSENTIAL
Keeping water is essential, ironically, water is also the enemy of chickens in winter.
Water is a crucial nutrient in a chicken's diet. It is necessary for controlling body temperature, aiding digestion, promoting growth, and producing eggs. Frozen water equates to water deprivation, and snow is insufficient because it doesn't meet their needs in quantity.
Even a brief period without water can stop egg production for weeks. In winter, chickens naturally consume more food to maintain their body temperature and need water to digest it.
There are a few options for heated drinkers, but they all need electricity. There aren't any tricks to prevent the water from freezing. Without electricity, you'll need to make several trips daily to provide them with water, which can become tiresome quickly.
In our experience, we prefer Poultry Nipple Waterers over open drinkers a better option for ease of cleaning and healthier for the chickens, the water stays cleaner as the chickens are unable to get food and their waste in the water. Cleaner drinking water means heathier chickens. The chickens drinking water can easily turn to sewage water very quickly when using open drinkers.
First Option:
Our preferred Heated Drinker based on trying different types is the Premier One Heated Poultry Nipple Drinker
This particular heated drinker is not inexpensive. It is a bit higher priced than the average drinker, but we own 4 of them as we have separate chicken coops and runs. This drinker by far is the best one out there. we have tried others and nothing compares to this model.
*It holds 3 gallons of water
*It's Insulated
*Has a 16 ft electrical cord which allows for more flexibility in placement and detaches for easy storage in summer
*It has a built-in thermostat turns heating element on at 40F, off at 60F
*Water is clean 100% of the time
*Lid shape prevents birds from perching on waterer
*Never any algae, ever and sooo easy to keep clean. we literally clean ours out twice a year, as it stays that clean it is all that is necessary. One less chore in chicken keeping.
Second Option:
Make Your Own-
A 5 gallon bucket-the best colour to use would be black or any dark colour. The darker colour will keep out the light which will prohibit the growth of algae.
Drill at least 4 holes in the bottom sides of the bucket. Make sure the holes are the same size as the poultry nipple drinkers purchased.
In colder months when there is risk of freezing temperatures, use an aquarium heater submersed in the bucket to keep water from freezing.
BOREDOM BUSTERS IN WINTER WITH CHICKENS- Refer to my Blog "Chicken Winter Enrichment Activities"
You may also be interested in other items we have listed in our ROSLIN RECOMMENDATIONS | Roslin Poultry Ranch-Amazon Affiliate Shop for all your chicken care needs.
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