Chickens and Cold Weather

[boggybranch]

Err goes the old saying, "He's a tough old bird".

http://www.motherearthnews.com/ask-...mpaign=SLCS&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email

 

[Collector]

boggy T/Y for posting the link. I have been using heated dog bowls this winter. They work great havn't froze even down to -20, but the do get a lot of gunk in them and need to be cleaned often . This sounds like it will work great for that. We have one hen who got some minor frost bite on her comb when we had the real cold snap a few weeks ago. They didnt lay well during that time either. For the last week or so though they have been cranking out an egg per day each, even one of the polish that is over 30 weeks old gave us her first egg yesterday. I am goung to try this water dish cover to see if it might help.

 

[digitS']

I am inclined to agree with some of what Robert Plamondon has to say . . . on most any subject. But, only some of it -- however, I have been pleased that Mr. Plamondon has been willing to get out there, and say it. He can and does stimulate discussion.

First of all, any animal will need to consume more calories to stay warm in very cold weather - even if they are wearing a down coat. I notice increased feeding about when the temps begin to stay below freezing thru the day. And, the hens stay in their insulated coop a lot during those "days" because - there is only about 8 or 9 hours of sunlight during December and January here.

When I lived out in the country, my chickens decided that they would prefer to sleep in the barn rather than the coop one winter. The lower part of the barn was open to the outdoors and when temperatures dropped down to 10 below and lower, they were obviously suffering. They would spend their days huddling together in the loose hay on the floor.

My Hamburg rooster's comb froze during weather like this. Despite it being a cushion type comb the entire top of the comb froze, turned black and slowly peeled off later :/. It was obviously very painful and he lived out the remainder of his life with a very different and scarred look . . .

The chickens still seemed compelled to roost in sub-zero weather and will leave an insulated floor to perch up in the open air. I had a Cochin die in that open barn during that winter. One might have thought that a Cochin would be the last to go, not the first.

I became a believer in the need especially for protection against drafts. I also really shorten those long, dark nights by maintaining the same hours of light as they had during summer months. Actually, for awhile, I ran lights 24 hours a day during the coldest weeks but haven't done that for the last 6 or 7 years. It just seemed very important to me that they could EAT whenever and however much they want.

Now, if you want to keep feed costs low - do a little something to keep the especially frigid weather at bay. Still, a chicken only has so much capacity - probably about 30% to 50% more than in comfortable weather. And, there is a limit to their capacity to generate body heat and keep each other warm, also.

Open waterers - yep. Even in their insulated coop - the water will freeze when outdoor temps are low enuf. I recently found a real good place for the metal bowl. (You'd think that after 12 years, I'd have that coop figured out .) The hens have a very steep and narrow ladder to their nest box. I always thought that they'd poop on anything directly below their ladder. I finally noticed that they never do. They don't hang out on that ladder at all and the bowl is wedged in where it is difficult for them to turn it over.

Steve

 

[simple life]

I have never heated my coop for the chickens and they do just find here in New England.
As long as the coop is well ventilated but doesn't have any drafts blowing on them they do pretty well.
I was out in the coop the other night and I was surprised at how warm it was in there. They huddle together at night on the roosts and it keeps them comfortable.
I have an 8 and 10 gallon waterer and they don't really freeze much because of their size.
If they freeze at all its just around the lip of the waterer which is easy to remove.
I have a heated one as well but I haven't broke it out yet this year.
For the goats I use those big rubber pans you can get at the feedstore rather than the galvanized. If they freeze I just flip them over and the ice pops right out and I just refill them with a jug of water I bring out with me.

Collector, You can protect chickens from frostbite by coating their combs with petrolium jelly.
I have a rooster with a huge comb and I have to do that to protect it when its real cold.

When its really cold I make the chickens at hot mash just to put some hot food in their bellies and keep them happy and laying.
I use a galvanized pan and mix their layer pellets with some scratch, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds and any other type of grains I have handy and pour boiling water on it till it soaks through and they go nuts for it.
Depending on the weather they will get it in the morning or at night right before they go to sleep, sometimes both if its a spell of bad weather.

 

[beavis]

From the article:

The other problem with open pans is that the chickens can flip the water all over the place and soak their combs and wattles, which will get frostbite if this happens. One possible fix is to create a wooden float that floats on top of the water pan. Put a bunch of 1-inch holes in the float. This keeps the water-flipping to a minimum and helps insulate the pan. Ive never tried this personally, but its mentioned in several old-time poultry books as a proven trick.

I think I'm going to try this, my ducks make the chicken water tray messy all the time.

 

[Collector]

What I have done that seems to be working well, is leaving all the vents open during the day to filter out as much moisture as posibble. Also raking off the top layer of shavings once a week and putting fresh dry ones on top. It seems to keep the humidity down in the coop. I am not sure what I am going to do with all those shavings. It takes so long for them to compost. Maybe I should switch over to wheat straw, it seems fairly weed free and I might be able to scatter it right on the garden. What do you all think. Yae or nay??

 

[jojo54]

I feed my girls a hot meal nearly every day and they love it. We also have a water heater that my DH built (similar to the cookie can heaters) The water says thawed just with the heat of one light bulb. Last year some of the girls froze their combs a bit so this year on the colder windy days we keep them in. DH built an addition to the coop where we can feed them and they have more room.

 

[bid]

Wheat straw is what I use in the coop. Haven't had any problems with weeds or even wheat sprouting from it really. The chickens eat any seeds they can find. I add it to the compost or bury it in a bed or row in the garden. The compost in place DigitS has talked about.

 

[hoodat]

You can always use the wood shavings as mulch in your garden this Spring. With the chicken manure it will be mixed with it shouldn't take any nitrogen from the soil.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

I proudly blogged about how I was doing the all-natural chicken-in-winter thing after they made it through a cold spell. Then we had a nasty horizontal rain and hard freeze. One dead chicken later, I realized just how critical it was to keep the chickens "dry enough" and draft-free . Now I am less proud and more vigilant. The chickens are doing find with the current cold snap.