Winterizing Chickens
Hi folks!
Welcome to another chicken blog by yours truly. I was honestly going to save this topic for a bit later down the road, but considering winter is just around the corner I wanted to go ahead release it now so those of you who are about to experience your first winter with chickens can refer to this. Instead of a typical ramble on the subject, I'm gonna do something different and just break the topic down into questions we're usually asked.
Should I heat my chicken coop
Photo by Alex Rusin
NO! ... but kinda. Let me explain.
I would personally NEVER... EVER... EVER recommend installing a heat lamp into your coop. This is an incredibly huge fire hazard. And hypothetically, even if you were to iron clad fasten it, its still not a good idea. Chickens can adapt to the cold winter temperatures... even to -30 C. However if you're providing them with a heat source and the power suddenly goes out, well now your chickens that are used to temperatures above zero are going to die from the drastic major drop in temperatures. Keep in mind, chickens cannot regulate body temperatures the same ways that humans can. That being said, you CAN include a heat plate and mount it on the coop wall to have in case temperatures drop into the -30 C and colder nights. This wont provide enough heat to heat the coop, but it will keep them slightly toasty when they roost up at night. Mind you, this can still potentially be a fire hazard. Anything electric in your coop will pose that risk, however these are MUCH safer than a heat lamp. There are a couple of cheaper options on amazon, however we find that the reason is just because of that... they're made cheaper and have had many issues. What we like aout the one linked below is that its sturdey, doesn't burn when touched and comes with a remote, making it unnecessary to climb into the coop if you want to change the settings.
Here is a Heat Plate we recommend using in your coop.
Should I wrap my coop?
If you are in a region where the temperatures are going to drop lower than -10 C, I definitely would. There are loads of options for materials you can use to wrap your coop. This will totally depend on your budget. Some folks use plexiglass, which is a great investment as you can reuse it year after year. Alternatively you can use Clear Poly Sheeting which works really well.
What I like about this option is its fairly inexpensive and easy to cut pieces to fit your run and any windows.
IMPORTANT: Make sure when you're covering your run, windows or doors that you leave a space at the top to allow for airflow. You guys, I cannot stress this enough... you do not want humidity to be trapped in your coop in the winter. Humidity in cold temperatures is what kills chickens NOT the cold. If you start to see condensation on the inside of the wraping of your coop, you need more ventilation.
Deep litter or no?
If you're using hemp bedding, yes! Absolutely. I've tried to do deep litter with other beddings in the past and I would never recommend doing it with beddings like straw or shavings. A lot of people swear by the shavings, but with the dust and the amount of bedding you go through, I just cannot. To be honest I still found that it had a smell... even with the added composte. With hemp bedding, I would recommend deep litter 100%. Especially if you dont like dragging your butt out into the snow for maintenance. The deep litter method with our hemp bedding will not only reduce humidity, insulate and keep your coop dust free, but it also has amazing odor control. Face it, your birds are probably not gonna be super thrilled to go outside so its a good idea to keep their space smelling fresh and clean.
Should I supplement their feed with anything?
I love this question! Because the answer is anything really. Chickens love scraps... BUT in the winter you want to be giving them lower protein and higher fats. So if you have a feed thats between 10-15% make sure you're adding things like cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds, whole wheat, and black soldier fly larvae. Those egg shells you've been collecting all year you were gonna throw in your gardens but never got around to it (yeah I did that too), you can now put in a bowl and allow your girls to peck at it all winter long. I like to bake and crush it so its easier for them to consume for extra calcium if needed.
Here are some great treats you can mix together:
Pampered Chicken Mama Treats
Black Soldier Fly Larvae
Should I keep their water in the coop?
Generally speaking, no. But I'm not one to judge. One of my coops doesn't have a run, and on really cold days they're not gonna want to go outside. So my feeder does stay in the coop on those days, HOWEVER... because we use hemp bedding it avtually reduces humidity up to 30% dryer than the outside temperatures. In our case, it doesn't hard our birds at all. Not a single chicken got frost bite.
What do I do of my chicken gets frostbite?
First things first, treat them with Bag Balm or a salve. Next, figure out why they're getting frostbite. Is it the ventilation? Water feeder? Draft? One way to keep track of the humidity in your coop or run is to use one of these Humidity Readers. If the frostbite is severe, I strongly recommend bringing them to a vet.
Do I need a heated water feeder?
I would strongly suggest one. Changing their water in the can be a b****, so make your life easier and get a heated water feeder. There are 2 types that we've used and would recommend. Theres this one which has drinking nipples and this one which is an open recevoir. There are pros and cons to both.
Farm Innovators 2 Gallon Heated Waterer
Pros:
*Less risk of leaking
*Stays clean
*Minimal humidity change if kept in the coop
*Easier to refill
Cons:
*Risk of nipples freezing, but unlikely.
*Chickens must be taught how to use them
Farm Innovators 3 Gallon Heated Round Hanging Water Fountain
Pros:
*Easy for chickens to drink (no learning curve necessary)
*No risk of freezing
Cons:
*Can be a pain to change/refill as you have to flip it around after filling it. I've had it happen several times where it didn't screw on properly and it opened up after flipping, spilling all the water. Which let me tell you in the winter.. sucks.
*Over time has a higher risk of the base cracking.
There you have it folks, our quick tips for raising chickens in a Canadian winter. Feel free to send us an email if you have any questions
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