I thought I’d repost this article today as a friendly little reminder to those of you with feathered friends. We may not be able to have chickens in our new neighborhood, but I hope to have them again someday. ~Mavis
Now that it is getting colder outside, it’s time to change the way I take care of the backyard ladies.
Some of my chickens are a little more cold-tolerant than others, but since they all provide me eggs and hours of entertainment, I like to make sure they are comfortable.
As the days grow shorter, you can expect egg production to drop way off.
Chickens need 12-14 hours of light each day to be on top of their egg-laying game. If you want them to lay steadily through the winter, you’ll need to add light. You can combine the light with a heat lamp function and kill two birds with one stone {it feels wrong to use that phrase in light of the topic, but you get what I mean}. You can also put the light on a timer, so you won’t waste electricity if you forget to go turn it off.
November is a good time to make sure that your coop is free from drafts too. Your chickens basically have a premium down coat on, but wind can chill them to the bone. Don’t confuse a coop with drafts with an airtight coop, though. The heat from multiple roosting chickens and steamy chicken manure can create humidity, which needs some level of ventilation. So, free from drafts, but still provide ventilation. Got it?
Chickens need plenty of fresh water to survive the cold winter {and continue laying}, so unless you want to schlep out to the coop several times a day, I recommend a heated waterer.
If you live in an area where predators are a concern, winter is the worst. Predators are hungry, cold, and see your little chickens as an easy meal, so sure up the perimeter of your coop, making it harder for the critters to get in and nab your birds. A live animal trap might not be a bad idea either.
As for daily maintenance, changing bedding or laying out fresh bedding more regularly is essential. I like to use natural pine shavings.
Their bedding can harbor moisture, which can lead to frostbite. Frostbitten feet is a really good way to lose a chicken pretty fast. In general, checking on your chickens a little more regularly, to ensure that they aren’t wet, cold, sick, etc. will guide you on how often you need to change bedding.
Also, if your ground is truly frozen solid, it may be a good idea to lay out some scratch grains or a flock block periodically. They will not be able to scratch as easily as they can when the ground is frozen solid, so the scratch grains will not only provide a little additional nutrients, but also satisfy their primal need to scratch. Happy chickens = more eggs.
I think that about covers it. Did I miss anything?
~Mavis
Betty AD says
Were do you get a chicken coop like that one. Like all your tips for caring for them in the winter. Your a very caring person. We’ve mostly lived in the south and winters are as bad as the northern types.
Heather says
Hi Betty, DId you get a reply regarding where to get those chicken coops from? They look great!
Cecily says
That is an Eglu chicken coop. Nice if you only have a small flock and want to keep things clean. Not so nice for those with more than a dozen chickens or a small pocket book (they cost $1500).
Heidi P says
Thank you for the reminder to make sure our feathered friends are warm and cozy 🙂
We have 14 chickens and their egg production has greatly reduced to about 3 or 4 eggs a day. Seems earlier then in the past but nature knows best. I’m trying to avoid adding extra light. I think they need a break. Kinda like we all need a vacation every once in awhile.
julie says
some of our girls are molting, do you have some suggestions of what to feed them to encourage their feather growth?
Madam Chow says
Here is some advice on molting hens: http://hencam.com/henblog/2013/11/pearls-two-molts/
julie says
Madam Chow and Lisa,
Thank you both. They look so awful and I worry about them. It is finally getting cold just as they are half naked.Thanks again.
Lisa says
Julie, increase their protein intake. You can do it with either a feed higher in corn or by adding things like black oil sunflower seed.
Lisa says
Hey Mavis, I have to disagree with one of your comments about lighting. It can be detrimental to the birds to put a heat lamp in their coop. After the molt many birds will grow a few extra feathers to insulate them in the winter. If you add a heat lamp that can cause them to lose that downy under layer making them more susceptible to cold. I always teach people to just use a good old fashioned incandescent bulb. It adds enough warmth to keep the birds from freezing, but doesn’t effect the down.
Mavis Butterfield says
Lisa, I didn’t know that heat lamps were more detrimental than helpful…thanks for the info!
kcb says
We used the live trap in AL to try to help w/our armadillo problem. We caught one and gave him a ride in the car (still in the cage) to the wildlife area. We released him there. We brought the trap back home & never caught another critter!
Cheralee says
One thing I found to be helpful is giving them old vegetables, etc not just for nutrients, but for entertainment. Here in western PA, we have days that stay in the teens or single digits the entire day. I don’t let my girls out those days, so heads of cabbage or pumpkin and watermelon rinds keep them occupied. My 20 chickens free range and they get a bit of cabin fever after 36 hours of being in their coop. I also have a few old snow sleds from when the kids were little that I turn upside down when the forecast calls for snow. After the storm, I shovel paths to our plowed driveway for them so they don’t get frozen feet. (If the surface they are on is too cold, you will see them standing on one foot and switching back and forth.). I overturn the sleds to expose patches of ground that they can still scratch at. I periodically move the sleds. I had Australorps last year and I was able to get an egg from each one a day for the entire winter.
Lisa says
I am all for spoiling chickens! 🙂 We don’t get snow, altho its cold wet and frosty… our girls didn’t skip a beat on laying all through winter!! (We are just finished the winter here in Tasmania) We didn’t think to add a light or anything special Just cleaned as normal when needed. We give ours a lot of scraps, and I also make what I call “Chicken Smash” every few days, which consists of an old pot on the fire that slowly cooks a mixture of wheat, rolled oats and powdered milk! they LOVED that!!
Kristen says
Been chicken-keeping for a year and a half now and need some advice! Our dog (a very naughty boxer) “played” a little rough with one of our rhode island reds. She’s doing okay recuperating in our extra bathroom with electrolyte water and a heat lamp. One cut on her head that I’m treating with a spray from the feed store. I thought she was a goner, but she’s doing okay except for one thing: she cannot/will not open one eye. Can she live with one eye? How can I make life easier for her?
Mavis Butterfield says
Oh how sad. 🙁 Yes, your chicken can live with one eye. She might be a little wobbly for a few days but she will adjust.