Advice for chickens in winter ❄
1- Adult chickens do not need a heat source. In fact, it is detrimental to use heat because they will never fully acclimate to colder weather. Chickens body temps are between 105° & 107° all the time. You will also notice at night while roosting, it will be atleast 15° warmer where they are sleeping because of their collective body warmth. Even bantams do fine. I have a few in my flock.
2- All you have to do is block any drafts from their roosting areas at night and keep them dry. If you have an open coop, take steps to close it up especially around the roosting areas. Tarps work well as well as free tin from the marketplace.
3- You do not have to add any hay or shavings to the floor of the coop. Sand is a perfect insulator. I’ve never had an issue.
4- You will need to make sure now more than ever they have a balanced layer feed. Adding extra protein will also be crucial. Many of their natural grazing foods will not be available once winter hits. It’s also pertinent to make sure you provide grit for the same reasons. This one is especially important for areas that get alot of snow.
5- Warm foods do not bring up their body temps. Feeding a chicken a warm meal will do nothing to help them. Chickens don’t eat meals. They are foragers who graze constantly.
6- Make sure they are roosting on a wide flat surface. They need to lay on their toes at night to prevent frost bite.
7- In extreme low temps, apply raw coconut oil to their combs & wattles to prevent frostbite. Do not use Vaseline. There is water in the ingredients. Big no no!
8- To prevent frozen water, put ping pong balls in the waterers. The movement of the balls when water is taken by a chicken keeps the beginnings of ice from forming. If you live in SUPER low temps, there are water warmers you can purchase.
9- As you can see by the pic, they still love to go outside in cold temps! You don’t have to keep them locked up.
*Some people swear by giving them whole corn & cayenne/red pepper flakes in the winter to warm them up and keep them laying. There is no scientific evidence to support this & no studies showed it works. Just an FYI.
This advice is given from my current experience, my own experience growing up with chickens & tips/answers given to me over the years by my chicken vets and farmers in the family. This is all you need to do for your chickens. They are very hearty and will be fine through even the roughest winter! ❤
