Brrrr Cold

[walldanzig]

Afternoon all. I've noticed a bit of a morning chill in the air and know how cold winters can be here in the north. I was wondering if I would do anything extra to keep the chickens warm during the winter

[Hans Mum]

i give mine porrige for breakfast when the weather gets colder, sets em up for the day and they love it, other than that i dont do a lot, but am sure others will be along to advise soon

[kirsty b]

Thick layer of hemcore on shed floor, with layer of straw on top to keep shed warm. They get pretty warm huddled up tight at night, so may be making sure perches not too far apart would help?

In winter mine get hot mash every day to supplement normal food to help warm from inside out

I'm considering partitioning the shed so that the sleeping area is smaller and the air can get a bit warmer as a result. Will also give me a bit of extra storage space for the extra straw I'll get through over winter.

[TPeers]

Corn about half an hour or so befoe dusk - gives them lots of warmth through the night.

I've got a 'lovely' problem brewing - four of my girls roost on a perch in the open run and won't go into the hen house as the big girls bully them. Lord knows what I do when the weather really gets cold - I know they are walking duvets but....

[Bramble-Poultry]

Put them to bed with something warm in their tummys, warm mash, porridge, warm wheat corn anything like that. then keep them on a good quality feed during the daytime so they get their essentials.

A good layer of bedding in the coop for any that don't roost, save them getting a frost bitten bum and shut them up tight so tehre is no draughts.

main concern in cold weather is sufficient water, you can put down clean fresh water, go back and check an hour later and its frozen!! Glycerine in the water will stop it freezing but only down to -5 or so - over that it doesn't really stop it but usually in the depths of winter it is enough to keep it liquid during the day.

Empty water drinkers in the evening completely, saves time defrosting them in the morning and then fill them fresh in the morning. This is a total contrast to the summer when I fill all the drinkers at night so that they are there for when they get up in the morning!

[bluemoon]

I've noticed a definite chill in the air when we go to let them out in the mornings. Over the weekend you could see your breath in the air. It definitely feels like autumn, but it doesn't look like it. We've just nipped over to Mum's and the leaves are all still green on the trees, but I know that when I was a child the first day back at school after the summer holidays meant stomping through the first fallen leaves.

[Bramble-Poultry]

yes I rememebr that blue - and we used to walk through knee high snow too in Decmber - now if it snows at all around here its only and inch deep usually in february and all the schools are closed for days and days - we used to build igloos in the playground - when we were kids snow started in Decmber and went on until April, ok not constant we would have a break in between where it would thaw etc but we were guarenteed snow now the kids wish and wish for it and it never comes. Maybe you still get tonnes in Yorkshire I don't know!

Definatley colder now when I go to do my feed and water rounds, we have woken up to fog every day last week, sure sign its cold! It cheers up during the day though so no moans here

[bluemoon]

yes I rememebr that blue - and we used to walk through knee high snow too in Decmber - now if it snows at all around here its only and inch deep usually in february and all the schools are closed for days and days - we used to build igloos in the playground - when we were kids snow started in Decmber and went on until April, ok not constant we would have a break in between where it would thaw etc but we were guarenteed snow now the kids wish and wish for it and it never comes. Maybe you still get tonnes in Yorkshire I don't know!

Definatley colder now when I go to do my feed and water rounds, we have woken up to fog every day last week, sure sign its cold! It cheers up during the day though so no moans here

If I try and tell my kids that they don't believe me, or that our village could be cut off for weeks and that we'd have to WALK to school with snow so deep it reached our thighs and we were glad when it froze because at least then we could walk on top of it. And schools stayed open throughout. Our dog had surgery a couple of years ago, he wasn't due to be discharged until 4pm, but I had a tearful phone call from the vet's nurse at half past one, begging me to go and fetch him immediately as otherwise she'd never get home. A quick look out of the window and the 'snow' was so light it resembled the icing sugar on top of a Victoria sponge.

[Bramble-Poultry]

I actually have to say though I'm a bad mom - when it does snow I keep them off school fo rthe day so they can play in it otherwise they would never get the chance - its usually only 1 day anyway because it never snows and when it does it goes in around 4 hours - All kids have to play in teh snow - it should be law!

[Suechooks]

I put the water bucket inside a tyre which is lagged with straw inside and float a couple of plastic balls on the top. Kept under the covered area this keeps their water from freezing during the day except on the coldest days.

[Bramble-Poultry]

great trick sue - try that with the turkeys water theres is in a bucket in a tyre!!

[HayleyB]

We had a fire last night... is a pretty bitter wind out there.

My girls get porridge or something warm in the evenings in what we call chook pans and have a floor of easybed that they'll use for dustbathing before bedtime. There's also a grab light which is on a timer to switch off at 9pm, the girls enjoy huddling under it for the warmth.

[Hilary B]

When I had chooks, they never got any special attention because of the cold weather, nor were they ever actually shut in. I don't think they suffered from it. We had frosts, and occasional snow. They ALWAYS had ad-lib layers pellets. I did take care to provide water that wasn't frozen (one kettle-ful of top-up added first thing on a frosty morning, after removing the ice-disc from the bucket), the shed they roosted in was wide open, airy but DRY, and they had loads of choice about perches.
They did sometimes prefer to roost in the homes of other livestock (goats or pigs) but not so much for the cold as for access to extra feed early in the morning (feeding and milking came before OH went to work).

[RichmondHens]

A dry, draught-free house (but still with ventilation) is enough. They will huddle closer together if it's really cold. Mine don't get any special treatment during the winter months, apart from maybe an extra handful of corn pre-bedtime. I do shut the pops though, to keep predators out.

[di]

I'm of the thinking that they don't really need a lot of extra care in the winter.Their feathers & each other will do a pretty good job of keeping them warm.That said however,it makes me feel better giving them their warm mash in the mornings & some corn at bedtime.
I liked BP's tip on another thread about remembering to empty their water in the evenings...something so simple(& obvious!),yet I'd never thought to do it,just struggle each frosty morning to defreeze it when I've forgotten the flask of boiling water!