Chickens over winter

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Trev62
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Chickens over winter

Post by Trev62 »

This being our first winter looking after our chickens what sort of things should we be doing to help prepare for this time and any tips or advice to keep our feathered friends healthy through the coming cold months.

Being new to this we have probably not even thought of half the things everyone else does automatically at this time of year!
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Mo
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Mo »

Not sure how your weather differs from ours, but the general thought is that hens suffer more from heat than cold.
You do need to keep them supplied with water not ice though. I took the drinkers inside at night, so that at least they'd start the day unfrozen. Or give them a bowl of warm water with the thought that it would take a while to cool. But if it's really cold you need to keep checking (or rig up something with a night-light)
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bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi we are all starting to get ready for winter . Hopefully the girls will be fully feathered , that is why the moult this time of year so they are nice and warm. Plenty of perch room so they can huddle together . Make sure they have air holes in coop .Not draughts though. Straw I use also as keeps them warm .Watch out for frost bite as that does get at them as well combs in particular . vasoline /grease keeps it out I believe.
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KarenE
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by KarenE »

Hi

Yes ice is probably the biggest challenge, so you need to be a bit creative if there's nobody around to make sure their water stays unfrozen during a cold spell. I clad mine in bubble wrap and keep it Ina cardboard box but it depends on how big a cold spell we get

I also have cardboard around the coop walls and that cheap silver foil blanket stuff to add a bit of insulation in the coop, but make sure there is ventilation as you don't want ice forming inside.

A nice handful of corn before bed helps to keep them warm as they digest it, and you can also feed them warm mash too.

For us rather than them, rain & mud is the biggest pain so do yourself a favour and have a roofed run. They don't like it too much if there's nothing but a mud bath to play in

Apart from that they should be fine, they are warm little creatures )t'
Karen
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Freeranger »

Ours survived Scottish hillside winters with 2-3' of snow. At night they snuggle together, and we also added extra bedding but mostly there was no great issue. You need to give them some shelter from wind and snow - they won't go back to the coop during the day. Corn or warm mash before bed went down a treat, and we were more generous with calorific treats like a glug of veg oil and seeds in their mash - but ours free-ranged so take it easy if they're caged. We put their water down hot to keep it runny longer, and you could add a dash of apple cider vinegar (c. 5% solution). A nice varied diet will provide all they need, but of you had some poultry spice it wouldn't hurt.

Mud, though! Definitely think about this.
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Trev62 »

Many thanks for the replies:

Mo wrote:Not sure how your weather differs from ours.........


It varies, definitely colder, temperatures can easily drop down to -25 degrees with lots of deep white powdery snow or rain and then a sudden temperature drop that freezes everything in a coat of thick ice. Once our car was totally frozen like a block of ice, we literally had to chip the ice of the car to free it!

bikesandbirdsbob wrote:Watch out for frost bite as that does get at them as well combs in particular . vaseline /grease keeps it out I believe.
Bob


Do you apply Vaseline to their combs directly from the tub or do you mix it with an oil or something to thin it a bit first? I know it sounds like a daft question!! We use it on our dogs pads during the winter months and it works well.

KarenE and Freeranger - I have some old Fibran insulation sheets stored so will place some of these over the coops for extra warmth also we have been collecting hay all summer for them and the rabbit.

Both coops will be on concrete bases before the end of the month which should help the mud problem, it was not something I had thought of, like many things we are still discovering whilst keeping chickens!

Thanks again everyone )t'
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KarenE
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by KarenE »

Hi Trev

I've never done the Vaseline treatment but I think you apply it straight off. I haven't heard of anyone diluting it. Try and put it on their combs and wattles. Frost bite apparently shows up as black spots so keep an eye out for them. Not sure if they can get it on their feet?

Honestly, the mud Trev - it's like the Somme, and don't forget it's chicken poo mud! yike*

You might find yourself constantly replacing frozen water, it's only a problem really if you're not around. You could rig something up to keep it warmer - I wrap bubble wrap round the containers in winter, and put it in an upright cardboard box just for a bit more insulation. I've read about people putting candles underneath in a biscuit tin, hot water bottles etc. I'm sure you'll get some ideas if you google.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by chookmike »

My tuppenceworth is that warm water freezes more quickly than cold: true.

-25 is a different league to us so perhaps local knowledge worth seeking out?

Birds keep their legs warm by the warm blood going down warming up the cooler blood coming up. Wading birds are unfazed by 'freezing' slat water even with long very skinny legs.

I think drafts might be the biggest danger and yes, perhaps some form of very slight heating might be an idea. I used to worry about the cold but then thought of the little wrens and robins outside taking the full brunt of it...

Cheers

Mike
Trev62
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Trev62 »

Well winter has started here and it is a voyage of discovery with these little feathery critters! >eas1< >eas1< >eas1<

What have we discovered so far................

They refuse to leave their coop in the cold of the morning so we have to send Percy the rabbit :bun: out to ruffle their feathers and get them moving!

The snow has turned them into flamingos, they all like to stand on one leg keeping the other warm held up in their feathers.

They no longer walk but do a fast "goose step" so their feet spend as little time on ground as possible.

They eat twice as much but lay half as many eggs.

They all protest loudly when having vaseline rubbed on to their combs etc.

We have to make countless trips outside to break the ice that forms on their water.

Given the opportunity they make dash for the porch door and have to be evicted from said area on a regular basis!

Apart from that, so far, we are all bearing up well )t(


We have been warned by our neighbours that they always lose some of theirs to the cold/frostbite or they have just keeled over for an unknown reason but fingers crossed this guy )reap( does not come calling for any of ours!
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Richard
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Richard »

I always worried more about them in hot weather, certainly I lost more in the warmer months than the colder ones.

Just keep them cosy, they huddle up together in their natural feather duvets, the snow never worried mine.

Just the water supply which needs keeping an eye on, even then they usually prefer a slushy muddy puddle :-D

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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Grannyof4 »

When I had a lot of hens and we got snow, I would clear an area immediately adjacent to their house and put a thick layer of straw down and they loved it. I am sure there has been talk of heated water containers on here in past winters.
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Trev62 »

We clear all the snow of the concrete base a couple of times a day but at present ours have taken to "goose stepping" over to the new chicken area that is still being finished where the ground is sand and the covered area within has logs and a couple of old car tyres in it which are filled with hay, they happily make use of these as perches.

Eventually the tyres will be planted up with herbs etc and some left filled with straw for them and the rabbit to enjoy.

Being in all day makes it easy to keep breaking the ice on the water containers also to keep a check on them and collect any eggs before they freeze!!!

We are learning as we go and probably worry to much.
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Mo
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Mo »

I think your conditions are harsher, so your neighbours may know more than we do.
Good luck.
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Trev62
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Trev62 »

Mo wrote:I think your conditions are harsher, so your neighbours may know more than we do.


Problem we have is that the "local" knowledge is summed up by the phrase "if in doubt snuff it out!". Where as we tend to nurse our animals back to full health they would just dispatch and replace, I understand their reasoning as if something is not producing and benefiting them why waste your time and feed on it but we enjoy our livestock as characters as well.

They find it amusing that we have a rabbit living in the house for a pet, to them rabbits are just food! They are baffled why we have chickens roaming freely and often wandering into the house and when we recently nursed an injured one back to full health they were totally baffled as they would have "necked" it and fed it to their dogs.

As with the garden we use local knowledge together with knowledge gained from other people, the internet and our own experiences to improve our productivity along side our animals/birds well being, even our vets told us to rig up a light to keep our broiler chickens feeding 24 hours a day to maximize their potential at minimal cost, they were baffled to see them free ranging with our other chickens.

This is one reason I enjoy this forum, there is a lot of useful information and ideas posted on here and every little bit of it helps, )t'
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Mo
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Re: Chickens over winter

Post by Mo »

It's an odd balance to strike. To decide how long a non-productive non-layer occupies an expensive hen house and eats expensive pellets. Cull it ...... and yet .....
I too see both sides.
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