Wyoming winters can be cold, snowy, and windy… it is not a season you want to catch you off guard and unprepared.
This means breaking out the tank heaters and hay bales for our larger livestock. But what about the chickens? A chicken coop can have its own list of different winter preparations and today I have invited Amy from the Vomiting Chicken Blog to help explain them.
Amy always shares such a wealth of information, and her posts always make me laugh, along with her fun sense of humor. Today I asked her to share her best tips for preparing chickens for winter. So get out your pen and paper and let’s learn!
Keeping Chickens Warm During Winter
During the bright sparkling golden fall months, the days get shorter and the temperatures tread inexorably downward. As you do your fall cleaning and sock away your harvest, don’t forget that your chickens need a bit of special preparation for winter, too.
Here in Nebraska (zone 5) it gets quite cold and we have frequent storms with ice, snow, and bitterly cold winds. Our winters, on average, last roughly 14 months. (Maybe just a tiny exaggeration. . .) We people-types–draped in wool quilts, wearing 23 layers of clothing apiece, and drinking cup after cup of steaming hot beverages–can huddle inside near our woodstoves to stay comfortable. Not so our chickens. Well. Not in my house, anyway.
Chickens are fairly tough critters as long as they have shelter, but there are a few very simple things that keep chickens warm and you can do them to make sure that they are as comfortable as possible through your long winter.
And you know that poem . . . the one that goes . . . “A comfortable chicken is a joy forever,” right? Isn’t that it . . . ?
12 Ways to Keep Chickens Warm this Winter
1. Fix Leaks and Damage
I replace storm windows and repair any problems which have cropped up over the summer. If the roof leaks, we fix it. If I’ve had trouble with varmints digging in, I fix that, too. And so on.
2. Keep Chickens Warm with a Well Ventilated Coop
By the way: it’s not necessary to have an airtight coop, even in very cold climates, so resist the urge to fill every crack and cranny with that cool puffy stuff in a can. Chickens produce gobs of moisture and if you trap it all inside the coop, you’ll create damp conditions that increase the likelihood of molds and respiratory diseases in your flock. Who knew, eh? So if your windows don’t fit so well, all the better. Your flock needs that air exchange.
And you know what they say . . . “A freely-breathing chicken is a . . . um . . . joy forever . . .” Wait. Is that it?
3. Try the Deep Litter Method
Have you heard of the deep litter method of chicken coop management? I’m a big fan. Huge fan. One reason I admire this method is that I like to put the microorganisms in the chicken coop to work.
I am a big fan of delegating, you see, when I can. Ask my kids. Huge fan. The nitrogen in the chicken droppings feeds these bitty bugs, breaking down the carbon and creating compost for your spring garden. Also, deep litter is cozy. And we all like a bit of cozy when it’s nasty outside, right?
Plus, it’s so easy to do. And easy, in my book, is always good.
Here’s how I do it: I pile straw, hay, woodchips, and/or dry leaves (whatever is available that’s cheap, or better yet, free) in the coop. I like a nice mixture, and the chickens seem to, also. (Hey–it’s aesthetically pleasing!) Once a week I turn the bedding with a pitchfork, paying special attention to the areas beneath the roosts. I add to the bedding occasionally, keeping it about a foot thick.
“Honey, would you take care of washing those dishes/vacuuming the floor/whatnot? I’ve got to go turn the chickens’ bedding—“
I scoop out wet areas and I also throw a couple of handfuls of cracked corn in the coop when I shut the chickens in every evening. My flock then turns the bedding in the early morning hours, as they scratch around for that bit of corn. (I believe in putting my chickens to work, also!)
4. Raise Roosting Space
Heat rises so raising the roosting bars just below the ceiling can help keep your chickens warm during winter resting hours. You will also want to be sure there is enough room on your roosting bars to get all your girls off the floor for the evening.
5. Cull Extra Roosters and Old Hens
When my Cornish Cross chickens are ready to go to the butcher in the summer, I round up all the older and non-productive hens (there are ways to discern which ones are laying) and take them, too. Feed is expensive and space is tight at our place. In the fall, I cull out any others that I might have missed.
For example, I took advantage of a special at the feed store this spring. (Beware, Gentle Readers, beware the amiable feed store clerk named Randy with the Dollar Special who says that he’s not sure if the chicks are pullets or cockerels . . . they will always be cockerels, trust me). Instead of ending up with three bargain pullets, I ended with three bargain roosters. If there’s one thing I don’t need in large quantities, it’s roosters. Here’s a post to help you decide if YOU need roosters on your homestead or not!
So, in the fall I will cull these fellows. I’ll either butcher them (How to Butcher Chickens) and put them into the freezer, or I will sell them. They would make excellent soup, but they are so beautiful . . . I’m leaning toward selling them.
6. Build A Winter Yard.
I do a fun thing to prepare my chickens’ yard for the winter, basically taking the deep litter method outside. First, I make the chickens’ yard as diverse as I can, to encourage them to spend plenty of time outside. It’s easy.
As we do our fall clean-up, I pile cornstalks, tomato vines, bark from our summer wood-cutting, and coarse brush into the chicken yard. I also add fall grass clippings, wood chips, and any other organic matter that I run across. I do this until there’s a thick pile for them to pick through.
If it’s thick enough–isn’t this exciting?–there’ll be bugs and worms and soil-line critters at the bottom for them to discover all winter long, and they’ll delight in the organic matter to pick through.
And you know what they say about a delighted chicken, don’t you?
The chickens spend all but the nastiest winter days in their yard, happily employed and getting plenty of fresh air and exercise, thereby staying much healthier than their pitiable couch-potato friends. A lesson for us all, eh?
7. Add a Sunroom to Keep Chickens Warm
If you don’t have an area that is large enough for a winterized yard then building a small chicken sunroom might be another option. This is simply a small run that is covered in clear plastic to allow the natural sunlight in and keep the bad weather out.
8. Add a Chicken Run to Your Greenhouse
This option isn’t for everyone, but if you have a sizable greenhouse you can build an area for your chickens in it. The greenhouse will keep your chickens out of the elements and in natural lighting while your chickens help produce body heat to add to your greenhouse.
Chicken power is just one of the many Ways to Heat Your Greenhouse in the Winter.
9. Let there be Light . . or not?
This is a controversial issue, so I will skip it. Not really. It’s a conundrum: do you supplement light during the darker months, or let nature take its course and allow your hens to molt? There are decent arguments on both sides.
That said. This is what I do: I hang a 60-watt bulb over the main roost, attached to a timer, which I set so the chickens have a 14-hour day. The light keeps my hens from going into a full molt. In especially cold weather (when the temps are in the teens, down to below zero) I’ll put in a heat bulb and this makes my chickens very happy.
(Jill: Here are my thoughts on supplemental lighting for the coop!)
10. Feed and Special Treats to Keep Chickens Warm
Except in the harshest weather, I keep the feeder out in the yard. This keeps the rodent population from growing inside the coop and encourages the chickens to eat–and poop–outside. I also put a 5-gallon bucket over the top of the feeder to keep ‘coons and rats and other nighttime marauders from cleaning out whatever feed the chickens might leave.
Now and then a winter storm will clamp down and flail away at us for days. Days. My chickens will not go outside the coop then (not that I blame them), so I move their feeder inside and toss a few treats into the coop, as well.
I save sunflower seed heads, overlarge squash, zucchini, pumpkins, forage radishes, and whatnot for these times. Your chickens will stay busy, and less prone to destructive habits, like feather picking or eating each other. (Gak. By the way.) Here’s how to make a Homemade DIY Flock Block Substitute for a chicken boredom buster and treat.
You know what they say, “Idle claws are the devil’s workshop.” Hmm . . .
11. Feed Your Chickens Just Before Roosting
Giving your chickens extra treats will help supplement calories during the winter to help your chickens produce heat. Feeding them their daily feed and these extra treats before bedtime can also help them stay warm through those cold winter nights.
Chickens create heat while they are digesting their food, so feeding before roosting will allow them to digest their food and keep warm while they are up on the roosting bars for the night.
12. Invest in a Heated Bucket
For years, for reasons of economy, I didn’t buy one of these heated buckets. Instead, I had two regular rubber buckets. Pity me, Gentle Reader. Or rather, think dark thoughts about my tightwaddery. I lugged those frozen buckets to the house to thaw every stinkin’ day, for years. Brutal, right? Then a friend gave me That Look (you know the one) and said “Amy–buy an electric bucket. Today. Now. Yesterday. Do it.”
And I did. And I’ve never, ever, not in a million years ever regretted it.
(If you keep smaller chickens, like bantams, be sure to put a small piece of hail screen in the bucket, though, to prevent the bitty chooks from falling into the water. And please don’t ask me how I know this.
Keep Chickens Warm in the Winter
That’s it, Gentle Reader! A good couple of hours spent out in the deliciousness of a fall afternoon, and you can make sure that you keep chickens warm and as happy and comfortable as possible through the winter. It’s worth it to take these extra measures. You’ll have peace during winter storms, and your chickens will be assured of your love for them.
And you know what they say about a well-loved chicken, do you not?
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.”(With sheepish apologies to John Keats.)
Amy Young Miller is an artist, a writer, a mama of six and grandma of two (so far!) and wife of Bryan and child of a merciful and loving God, who has showered her with more abundance than she deserves, and certainly more than she can handle. She lives in Nebraska and writes a blog about her family and her country life at http://vomitingchicken.com. – See more at: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/07/my-five-best-new-garden-tools-and-one-secret-weapon-shhh.html#sthash.3M6YAnFB.dpufAmy Young Miller is Mama to six, Amma to two, wife of Bryan, and grateful child of a loving Father who has showered on her more than she deserves. She’s an artist and a writer and writes a blog at http://vomitingchicken.com.
More Winter Tips for the Homestead:
- Managing Homestead Livestock in Winter
- Best Winter Chore Clothes for Homesteaders
- 9 Greens You Can Grow All Winter Long
- Rustic Homemade Christmas Decorations
Amy Young Miller is an artist, a writer, a mama of six and grandma of two (so far!) and wife of Bryan and child of a merciful and loving God, who has showered her with more abundance than she deserves, and certainly more than she can handle. She lives in Nebraska and writes a blog about her family and her country life at http://vomitingchicken.com. – See more at: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/07/my-five-best-new-garden-tools-and-one-secret-weapon-shhh.html#sthash.3M6YAnFB.dpuf
Great article, Amy! I’ll be sharing it. One question: Do your chickens perch on the heated bucket and drink directly out of it, or do you use it to haul water to fill another waterer?
Thanks Marie! That’s exactly how my chickens drink out of the heated bucket: they jump up on the edge to get their drinks. I’ve never had problems with them roosting on the bucket edge, thankfully. Thanks for sharing!
I was of the thought WE were lazy by putting all the yard trash (leaves, grass clipping, etc. in the hen yard for them to break down. NOW I find we have been smart to do just that. GREAT. We don’t need extra light in NM. If a girl or two starts to molt in Winter most days the sun comes out so strong they eventually need shade before the sun starts to go down. It’s not unusual to get high 50’s in the Winter so the girls are good to go ‘au natural! Love these ‘Chicken posts’!
Definitely not lazy– just smart! 😉
Great reads all packed with great info…im still on tbe fence about keeping chickens….we’ve on tbe hi line of NE Montana. It gets below zero during the winter…this winter as been mild with Temps at -20 and wind chill making that even colder. Fortunately we have had a lot of very sunny days…I can deal with building a snug enough coup and protection from wind…it’s windy here a lot….but would chickens be warm enough when its 30 below ?? It also gets hot in tbe summer 100+ but I can deal with that too….just worried about chickens being warm enough…I’m not crazy about heat lamps or safe coup heaters I’ve seen on Amazon. Any tips for those really cold days and nights. Thank you, Marilyn
Thanks Karen! How nice that you don’t need any extra light where you are!! I’m on the verge of installing special lights in my bedroom, just to have more light here in NE. We do have lots of dark grey days through the winter, causing this mama to grow sluggish and grouchy!
I used to live in western Pennsylvania and suffered from lack of sunlight in the winter. A friend told me about full spectrum lighting available in lamps or just bulbs for existing lamps. I would sit under it for several hours a day writing my grocery list, paying bills, eating lunch, or whatever. It helped a LOT! Gone was the sluggish depression and I felt much better all around. Just don’t sit under it at night as it will keep you awake when you should be sleeping! It does play with your circadian rhythms. Good luck!
Thanks for a great article! We are new to keeping chickens and ours seem happy and healthy but it will be our 1st winter with them and I am scared to do something wrong for them. We live in Colorado so it gets cold. We have been putting a heat bulb/lamp for them for a couple of weeks since it has been colder at night. We have a timer on it and run it at night. Is this not the right time? We run it at night because it is the coldest but I worry that it might throw them off in terms of how long the days are. Should I not run it at night?
Thanks for all the tips and extra info!
Lynn,
My flock right now goes to bed by around 7:30. Because I want to extend their daylight to 14 hours, I only let them sleep until about 5:00 a.m. So I set the timer to flip their light on by then, and it goes off when the sun is up, around 7:30. I do adjust this timing, as the days grow shorter (alas!). It gets cold here in Nebraska, too, but you know that domesticated chickens are pretty tough. The only times I really feel like they need additional heat is when the temps are down in the single-digits or below-zeros (double alas!), and at that time I install a heat bulb and let it burn day and night. I should ask you how many chickens you have. We have around 50+ chickens, in a fairly small coop, so they keep each other quite warm. If you only have a few chickens, of course you’ll have to be more careful about their getting chilled. You can see by your chickens’ behavior when they are uncomfortably cold: when they huddle on their perches, or refuse to go out in the yard during the daylight hours. Generally mine will go out even when it’s very cold. They are like me. They know that outside is best. If I were you, I’d not run the heat lamp on them except during the coldest days/weeks. If you have a fairly sturdy coop, they should be fine without additional heat except during those times.
Wonderful, beautiful, useful blog. I have chicken envy. I like to live vicariously through blogs like this. Someday I’ll be back out in the country. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for reading, Dawn, and hopefully you’ll realize your chicken dream soon!
Thank you for this article, and the reminders. The older I get the more reminding I need. 🙂 Mary and I like using a product called “Best Cob” that we are able to get at our local Tractor Supply. It is a pelleted corn cob, that absorbs moisture up to 30 times its volume. The biggest drawback that we have seen is that it can get too dry and dusty in the coop. Another plus is that it stirs and decomposes in our compost pile very well.
That sounds wonderful, Doyle! Perhaps mixing the “Best Cob” with straw or hay would help with the dryness.
Amy, we use to use straw and hay, but found that it matted up so much that it was hard to clean out in small fork loads. At our age the dryness was easier to deal with than the large mats of straw and manure. 🙂 I do like the idea of putting the leaves in the coop for the girls to scratch through, and might give that a try.
BTW I enjoy your blog.
Your girls are beautiful, Amy. 🙂
We don’t have chickens :(, but I will still be a part of the commenting community since I do have dogs. A Rhode Island Red … a red Doberman. They’re practically the same.
Cozy Coop. Our dogs have a window air-conditioner for the high-temp summer days.
Winter Lighting. My grandpa had chickens, and, if I recall, when I mentioned to him awhile back about getting them he, too, mentioned their lighting/heat needs. I didn’t realize it was a controversial subject, but there’s so much I don’t know about chickens. (Our dogs have a heated dog house and a light.)
Heated Bucket. I TOTALLY agree. They’re worth every penny!! We’re gone about 13 hours/day during the week, so it’s impossible for our dogs to have anything other than a giant, bucket popsickle after about 2 hours during the winter.
Thanks for all the tips. If we do get chickens I know another place to look for helpful tips.
I love your blog! I have had chickens for 3-4 years now. I am a semi-city, girl who now lives in the country. I have about 15 chickens, right now, along with 2 roosters. I have a question though, I love to let my girls run in the yard. They love it too! But, the dad-burned hawks keep getting them!! We are able to keep raccoons, possums, dogs and things away from them but I feel like I am subjecting them to murder whenever I let them out! When I do let them out, I have to stay out there with them all the time. Do you know of anything else I can do to protect them?
We live in Quebec and it’s our first winter with hens. We have 12 hens 2 ducks in the coop. Separated right now because our hens are big meanies to the 5 week old ducks. We don’t have electricity running to our coop so no extra lighting, heat lamps or heated water bowl. A seasoned bird farmer here told us that if we added a heat lamp and lost electricity the hens would most certainly not make it as the temperature change would be too drastic but they would adjust to the colder weather accordingly.
Great post! Thanks for the entertainment 🙂
We live in WA state os we don’t get quite so cold but to prevent our chicken waterer, it is galvanized 3 (I think) gallon standard chicken waterer, from freezing we wrap the outside with that heated tape for waterlines and hold it on with black electric tape.
Back when we had chickens, many years ago, we had a waterer like you describe. Since our bedding was rather deep, we’d hang it in the summer, but in the winter we sat it up on bricks and ran a conduit to it along the floor and installed a plain old ceramic light bulb fixture (like you might find in a closet in an old house). The heat from the light bulb under the waterer was plenty to keep the water from freezing all winter. We were in Kansas where winter temps dropped below zero for weeks at a time. I’m thinking now that with the changes in light bulbs these days, our old way may not work anymore, though. Gee, we loved raising chickens (and Guineas)!
My chickens must be wimpy. They don’t go outside if it is windy or even in the 40’s. That makes for a messy coop.
Any thoughts on which is better for supplemental lighting? I have always used it to extend the evenings, rather than on earlier in the morning. (I so dislike getting up on those cold dark, frosty mornings, figure my girls would be if the same mind….) So just curious if one is better than the other for the chooks, or if it just a matter of hooman preference.
Great article! Love the humor too! We also use lighting to lay and to heat with. We live in N. WI, and over the next few days, we are expecting temps -25 – -45 below wind chill.
We were given a free heated waterer- boy are we lucky! We also, give our hens and 1 rooster plenty of kitchen scraps and a few cabbages a week, plus meal worms. They are spoiled, but they seem happy, which makes us happy! We love our eggs!!!
help. been sick and not at all prepared for the cold snap. suppose to hit 30-40 below with wind chill. went to put more bedding down and almost out. no way to get more. any suggestions.
Ok, This will be the first time I buy Chickens. I have wanted to do it for years, but always afraid I would do something wrong. So, I am a newbie “chick”.. what kind to buy? How to start! I need all the help I can get!
Thanks
Mary
I haven’t had chickens since I was a small boy in Cuba. I’m vegetarian but I love fresh eggs and I especially love chickens. We’re aloud 6 in the city of Pensacola and that’s my goal. ( no roosters aloud). I’m just getting started and I’m really excited. I’m checking out coops and feed and anything that would make the chickens and me happy. I’m looking forward to hearing from others on how to get started. I’m as excited as I have ever been. Thanks for any suggestions that might come my way. PEACE, Tony
Good stuff! We are slowly getting the process of getting chickens for the yard. I don’t want to make any gross mistakes that could cause discomfort or death for the birds.
The biggest hesitant fir me/us is going somewhere for several days. Do I need to train someone to come into the process so they can effectively feed and care for the birds or can I just use a friend that daily can/will feed and water, turn the soil etc.?
If you have a semi-competent friend that can fill feeders and waterers while you’re gone, you should be fine!
I have an aluminum tractor with one end solid aluminumand 4 roost boxes. The other is perforated all over for great ventilation. I keep the roost boxes full of wood shavings and if it is particularly windy or raining / snowing I put a tarp over the whole thing to block water and wind. If possible I will raise the sides of the tarp during the day they do get to free range.
My question is will they be ok in very cold Indiana weather?
Best thing we have done for our Chickens (raised from chicks) is to give them spouts regularly. None have been sick and none have died (well except for the two stepped on by the ducks early on, but that is another novice story) and they seem very happy and healthy. They will start laying any day now and we are excited!
We had the exactly opposite problem with feed store employees! We WANTED two roosters and ended up either two hens…we call them the “bargain hens” because they were a dollar less apiece than the rest of the pulletts!??
Question: you talked about being a foot-deep person, which I totally agree with, but when you shared the items you toss in the pile, you did not mention herbs. We grow many varieties for fresh summer usage and some for drying, but always have the main plants and extras left over. Is it OK to toss those in the mix for the chickens, too? Are there any that are not safe? Thanx!
It is impossible to read your article because all the ads keep the page jumping around. I am unsubscribing because of this and sorry. It would be a great newsletter if I could read it.
I can’t even post a comment. Please look at your own keeping chickens warm. Hope you get this post this time
D Seigler – what adds? I could read all of this this just fine! I suspect that you have allowed those adds pop ups on your computer yourself.
Oh thank you for this post to remind me why I shouldn’t ever get chickens again! Last winter was the first year with out critters of any type and my old bones sure enjoyed not having to go outside 2 or 3 times a day to take care of everyone! I really miss my chickens but sure don’t miss taking care of them all winter long! I too live on the open prairie and winters can be brutal! As I knock on 70 I am glad to stay inside!
I know this is an older post but question about the heat lamp, do you leave it on all the time when it gets really cold out? We are getting ready for some record lows in central Illinois and my husband and I were talking about getting one but we are afraid that if there is a power outage that they would have been too dependent on having that heat and freeze.
Hi Jill! Great article because it completely resonates with my winter routine with my chickens. I value my chickens for their beautiful eggs and I like to help them out in the winter by giving them something to scratch around in. They also run from the coop to the barn (unless there’s a blizzard) and they root around in the hay and llama and sheep piles. They like to lay their eggs in the hay loft so I keep their nesting boxes up there. This year I’m trying out a large tarp covered tractor surrounded by straw as an extra space outside the coop. I’m planning to fill it with leaves, garden vines etc.