Tips for the Winter/Cold Weather?

[julesapple]

As the Summer (hah!) is drawing to a close, I was starting to think about my girlies in Winter or very cold weather.

Now, I could trawl through my chook books, but I think first-hand hints and tips would be much better, and who better to ask than the Rule-the-Roosters?

Any hints & tips on cold weather preparation or feeding, or whatever, would be much appreciated. This will be our first Chook Winter, so I'd like to think I was doing everything I can for my much-loved girls.

A friend has already suggested putting an old carpet over my henhouse door & roof to help drown out the noise of Bonfire Night (it's more WWIII here) which sounds like a plan to me.

Any hints & tips for the cold season?

Jules

[julesapple]

I've just spotted Walldanzig's Brr Cold thread...how can I delete this one?

Jules

PS Sorry Wall!

[chicken slave]

I was thinking of using straw bales to make a shelter to put the food and drinker in to try and prevent freezing of the water (but this is still in the thinking stage) A number of my chickens are in the stables already so they can rest/moult and then I can out the light on for longer days as I still need fertile eggs, as I want to hatch again into winter for POL birds for sale next easter.

[julesapple]

I was trying to think ahead too. Not sure where you are Chicken Slave, but we got quite a bit of snow in Somerset in January (or was it February?) this year so I wanted to be prepared.

I hadn't spotted Wall's thread though I've read it now

Jules

[chicken slave]

I'm near Taunton, I have just moved here from West Sussex but I remember the reports on the awful weather, so I thought I would prepare just in case. Also I have some rare birds so I have brought them in as I don't want the cold to get to them.

[walldanzig]

ha ha I like to disguise my threads with non discript titles

[RichmondHens]

They will be fine as long as their house is dry. Birds hatched this year won't have seen snow so may not want to go out in it, and those that are older have usually forgotten anyway (they are only birds after all). The cold itself won't harm them. They dislike wind and rain combined, so need somewhere to shelter from that, a cold frosty day will not harm them at all, they will just fluff their feathers up a bit and get on with it.

[Sue]

Hi
I've got mine in a covered run with henhouse inside. The roofed run keeps the ground from getting swamplike but driving rain/snow/sleet is a problem as it comes in the sides at an angle. I reckoned the ones sleeping in the henhouse were fine but have one daft old bird who sleeps on top of the henhouse and was worried about her in the very coldest spells.

Last winter I covered three sides of the run in heavy duty plastic, using a staple gun and this meant that the floor covering of megazorb and straw didn't get wet, the hens didn't get wet and of course it cut down the wind whipping through. You need to know which points of the compass you're on to work out best angle to position the house.

I add a little glycerine to their water which stopped it freezing except for 4 or 5 of the very coldest weather. It mostly stops the ice setting solid, you get some ice formation but rarely does the whole lot freeze and you get a slush effect. Although I did find that the girls did like to eat the ice bits and pulled them out of the water to eat.

And warm porridge in the mornings always goes down extremely well.

Sue