keeping chickens safe in cold winter weather

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i thought with all the talk of cold weather lately on the boards it might be a good time to go over some stuff to help keep our flocks safe from the cold and blustery days ahead over the next months of late fall/winter/early spring. anyone can add to this list since i know mine won't be all that complete, and after nearly 5 years of chicken owning i'm still learning of better alternatives to keeping them happy during the cold months.

-ventilation while keeping drafts out is a key to keeping chickens from getting frost bite. not enough ventilation will keep moisture trapped in the structure and can cause the exposed flesh to become frost bitten.
-on really cold nights if there is a concern of frost bite i use petroleum jelly on combs and wattles to help insulate those areas from settling moisture. roosters or chicken breeds with over-sized combs and wattles can be prone to frostbite.
-feet can get frostbite if the roost is too small. the wider side of a 2x4 is best for them to roost on. if you have deep shelves this is best since they can cover their feet with their feathers.
-insulation is not needed in a coop since chickens carry their down jackets on them. but it is a nice comfort when you go out to the coop and it is cozy feeling when you have to get out of a storm! it also helps keep the eggs from cracking on those really cold nights. (some states might also require insulation in structures housing animals. i know ours does for dog houses now.)
-i keep scratch on hand to help get the birdies warmed up in the mornings. seems this stuff gets them going and is a high energy mix. i add black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) to the mix of mine for those birds going through molting this time of year. (my Faverolles will start molting in January every year i find )
-i don't suggest using a heat bulb in the coop because it is a fire hazard. heating a coop almost defeats the purpose of letting you chickens acclimate to the cold naturally. i do use low wattage LED x-mas lights to give them light-this does not heat the coop and is not intended to. it's mostly to help them lay by giving them a few extra hours of light in winter. i turn mine on around 4pm, if they are on a timer they go out around 8:30-9pm.

one area i could really use some help with:
-keeping the water from freezing can be tricky for me and i'm looking for a better solution to what i've been doing. i know chickens are more likely to drink extremely cold/frozen water than hot or warm water, so taking a pot of warm/hot water out is almost futile on really cold days or nights when it will just freeze again. i'll punch a hole in ice but when it gets cole enough to freeze solid is a big concern. i've used a birdbath deicer/heater but found this can be problematic with the one i've been using because it is a heating coil surrounded with a layer of foil that goes inside the water dish (i bought these at the local feed store so they are not a home made devise). the chickens can peck at the foil and then water has gotten to the coil and caused the circuit breaker to trip. i don't have a large flock and found the plastic water containers were never reliable at keeping the tiny trough clean of shavings since it would need to be raised up (i have a rambunctious bunch). so i use an open deep dish/dog dish with slanted sides to keep from tipping. i have heard using a fish tank airstone will work too since the idea is that it keeps the water moving enough to keep it from freezing up. does anyone know how well this method works on below freezing days/nights with more than one or two in a row?

 

[catjac1975]

Re: water. You are in a much colder zone than I. However, I think a good drink of water in the morning will keep them going. Another at night if you have the energy. There are also different types of fairly inexpensive heated waterers that you can get. They really do the trick. I have one that requires a funnel to refill so I would avoid that one-it's a pain though works well. I have a heated bowl that is nice but not that big. I use a 100 watt bulb on the worst cold days though with enough chickens they really do not need the extra heat.

 

[journey11]

Good topic! I think a lot of us enjoy talking chickens over here on TEG since we converse pretty easily within the familiarity of our group. Most of us here have chickens to go along with our gardens too.

I agree...2x4's really are the most comfy roost for them. Or a natural tree branch of equivalent size...something with a hard bark like hickory or debarked and smooth. A fella I know around here who sells eggs told me some time back to round off the top two corners of the 2x4 (laying on it's flat side, of course) to give them a comfortable grip on it so their toes can curl around it for stability.

That's a great idea...the LED light strand. I've got a 40 watt bulb in mine right now. I wanted a 25 watt incandescent, but couldn't find one. I don't trust the CFLs. I've had too many of them burn out at the base. Made in China...

The best winter waterer set up I've used so far has been to take a gallon plastic juice jug and drill two holes into it on opposite sides one inch up from the bottom. Fill it up and put the lid on snug, then plug one hole with your finger as you carry it...the water won't leak out until both holes are released. I set this down into a heated dog water bowl. It will fill up to that one inch level and as they drink it down (exposing the holes) more water lets out.

The other thing I tried was putting their usual waterer into a corner and securely hanging a red heat bulb over it. You can put the bulb on a timer like you would for egg laying or leave it on continuously in terribly cold weather. It warms up the water and melts it. This worked, but wasn't my favorite because of the extra electricity usage and you really have to secure the light fixture so that you won't have a fire hazard.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Im a lot further south and I know it doesnt get that cold here compared to many people on the forum. The coldest I normally expect to see is a few degrees below zero Fahrenheit and thats just a few nights.

I dont heat the water dish. I use those black rubber bowls you can get at Tractor Supply. If they freeze, I turn them over and stomp the ice out or break the ice out by banging it in the ground, then refill it. If the sun is shining and I set that black bowl in the sun, it will stay thawed pretty well down into the lower 20s.

 

[digitS']

I do about the same as Ridgerunner but use a stainless steel bowl during the winter and give them fresh water twice a day. Sometimes, it just needs to be a cup or 2 of hot water in with the slush in the evening. By morning, it is probably frozen solid and I can just bang the can outside once or twice and refill with fresh water. I can get quite a collection of bowl-shaped chunks of ice outside of the coop.

I notice a real drop-off in the amount of water hens drink during the winter contrasted to the heat of summer. It isn't very difficult to keep up with their water needs as I'm willing to show up out there a couple of times each day. (The amount they can drink during the summer is really quite amazing! I wonder what percent of their body weight it amounts to . . ?)

The bowl sits on bricks & is wedged into a corner of the coop. It can still be tipped over so it would need greater support with young birds or in a crowd.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

Steve, this is how I stabilize the waterer. Cut a hole in a piece of plywood so the bowl can set down in it, then elevate that piece of plywood about 1-1/2 (width of a 2x4) Attach that to a wall. Just lift the bowl out to empty it.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i can't believe i forgot they sell heated dog bowls! duh

when we get nor'easters here they can keep us below freezing for many days. we have thaw periods in between, but they could last a day or two and the cold comes right back. as long as we have snow on the ground i will get one of the bowls and scoop some of the snow for them to eat in place of water. they seemed to love it that way. our thaw periods could completely melt what snow we got a few days before so sometimes the ground is barren till we get the next round. or sometimes the thaw just helps to turn it all to ice.

 

[thistlebloom]

I used to use a rubber feed bowl, and it really is easy to knock the frozen water out, but this year I picked up some heated pet bowls, (on sale) so now the dogs, the cats and the chickens all have their own bowls in their own areas. It's nice to know on those super cold days that they always have water available, even though as Steve pointed out, they don't drink all that much in the winter.

 

[so lucky]

A little off the watering topic: I had to be away last evening at the usual lock up time, so I entrusted my DH to close the chickens up for the night. When I went out to feed and let them out this morning, I found the smallest speckled Sussex wandering around in the chicken yard! She was left out all night, the coldest night so far, of her life. DH has to lock up for me occasionally, and does something wrong (deathly wrong) about half the time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The hen was perfectly fine wasnt she, after spending the night outside in that cold? How cold did you see? Our low was around 19. I understand the predator thing. Im only talking about the cold.

I learned long ago if I want something done the way I want it done, I have to do it myself. Even when I was the boss and gave explicit instructions with a lot of education, things were not always done as I wanted them done. Education and threats related to raises and evaluations did not always work. But you cant do everything yourself. You have to delegate and depend on others. It can be frustrating, really frustrating.

With my spouse Im not the boss for sure. We can discuss things and explain why we would prefer certain things be done a certain way, but occasionally either of us may stray from the desires of the other. My wife cleans the bathrooms. No matter what materials I use and how hard I scrub, I cannot meet her requirements so Ive given up even trying. If I make a mess Ill clean it up, but general cleaning, nope. I wash the dishes. The results after she washes them are generally not up to my standards. Thats plates and utensils, not just hard to clean pots and pans. It works both ways.

I dont have any great advice or suggestions for you, just when you deal with people you deal with people, the good and the bad.

I am glad the hen made it.