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Keeping chickens and other poultry in winter isn’t difficult but it does require some preparation as repairing or setting up fences in 3ft deep snow or scrambling with extension cords and heat lamps to prevent frost bite in sub zero conditions isn’t easy. Each of the next 6 weeks, I’ll focus on one aspect of caring for chickens and ducks in winter The main things to prepare for are:
Managing Snow Load and Depth on Shelters and FencesLike most things, snow can be both a pleasure and a pain. Beautiful but difficult to deal with when it piles up. It’s fitting that I am late with writing this post because of heavy snowfall. This last few days we got almost 1.5 feet of snow with more falling for the next day, and for days after. To manage all this snow, you need more than a shovel, more than a plow; you need to plan for it, to have structures and fencing that can handle the weight and give you access to move the snow away if needed. Since chicken runs are usually covered to protect them from hawks and bobcats, having to shovel the snow out is not easy. No just throwing it over the fence. Instead you have to move it out the doorway. It’s better to keep the snow out in the first place. This can involve a tarp or sheet of plastic to cover the run, but if you expect more than just a dusting of snow, you need to support it from the weight of all that snow. And just like homes in snow-heavy regions don’t have flat roofs, its best to build your structures so that they shed the snow they accumulate on their own (or with a little help).
If you get a lot of snow, you will also want to consider the piles that accumulate next to the structures that were built to shed it. I keep each run about 4 feet apart so I have enough room to walk between and for the snow to shed off the run but not engulf them from the sides. Also, consider those sloped roofs. The snow can fall off quickly and can easily bury a tiny hen in an avalanche. Even if you saw it happen, they would probably be crushed (chicken bones are hollow as well) and even then they would suffocate in a few minutes. Tip: It's not only roofs that create 'avalanches' but also trees, especially conifers. Their wide branches and needles will collect snow until it is heavy enough to bend that branch and all the snow drops. Chickens will naturally want to shelter under them, but keep them away until heavy accumulations have cleared.
If your snow is going to stick around awhile, it is important to build doors and gates with a tall enough threshold to not get blocked by compacted snow. All of my runs are built on 2X4s on their side. The barn door is about 10” off the ground, and any exterior access to huts or coops is above ground level (sometimes I just raise a hut by putting it on some bricks).
Snow is heavy and takes time and energy to move, so limit how many paths you need to keep clear by carefully placing your structures. No matter what I have to keep a path to the barn, so I placed each coop and run along that path so I don’t have to loop through the field to clear the access to the chickens (& ducks) and can easily keep a path wide enough to pull the ‘tea trolley’ filled with water and food each morning.  The tea trolley in mid-delivery with at least one happy customer. The rest have hit the snooze button. With a little planning before the snow piles up, you can keep your chickens happy and your sanity. And don’t worry about keeping every speck of snow away from them. They love to eat it, just like every child, dog, and other animals.
Next week, I’ll describe how I keep their coops clean when everything is frozen, even their poop (and sometimes the eggs)! -Farmer Meg: chicken herder, cat wrangler, duck whisperer, dog walker, vegetable plucker, and flower buncher.
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Keeping chickens and other poultry in winter isn’t difficult but it does require some preparation as repairing or setting up fences in 3ft deep snow or scrambling with extension cords and heat lamps to prevent frost bite in sub zero conditions isn’t easy. Each of the next 6 weeks, I’ll focus on one aspect of caring for chickens and ducks in winter The main things to prepare for are:
Proper Shelter from Harsh ConditionsChickens (& especially Ducks) have a much larger range of temperature they are comfortable in than humans. Their smooth outer feathers and fluffy down keep them warm; a good thing for those chickens that live in area with cold winters. They actually tolerate cool to cold temperatures much better than they do high temperatures. The tiny daughters (& sons) of dinosaurs
Even with their greater tolerance range, they won’t like all weather. Rain. Wind. Hail. These are the main ones they would rather stay away from. Rain: While hens won’t mind a slow, gentle drizzle and will gladly stay out foraging, they don’t want to get soaked to the skin and neither do you because it is their feathers that keep them warm and pretty dry. They should always have a dry, covered place to go if they choose.  A small hut for sleeping and egg laying that keeps out the wind but has ventilation gaps and windows with a covered run to keep off heavy rain and hail but with plenty of air movement allowed. Wind: They literally don’t like their feathers being too ruffled. While it doesn’t need to be a completely sealed box (its actually better it isn’t since ventilation is very important for poultry), it should have enough solid walls, or partial walls, that they can hunker out of the wind and stay warm.  with the main coop getting the protection of being inside the barn, their run and tunnel to it get some cover as well. Only necessary in rainy or snowy months. Hail: I mention hail separate from rain because while you could use a tarp or sheet to keep rain away, you need more substantial roof to handle hail. Plus, they really don’t like hail, so all will want to be under the cover at once and it needs to be big enough for them to all shelter comfortably. While having the shelter big enough for them to all stay inside comfortably, it can be helpful to no make it too big, especially if you frequently get subzero temps. The larger the shelter, the more effort and energy to heat it. But too small and the hens can’t choose to self-regulate their own temps. Instead of heating the whole space, I like to hang a heat lamp above one half of the perches so the hens can sit right under it if they really wanna warm up or away to cool down. I sign that they are cold is if they all sit underneath it.
Ducks are pretty similar in their needs to chickens, just don’t be surprised to see them share a tub of water with tiny icebergs in frigid conditions.
Next week, I’ll describe how I keep the snow from swallowing them and frustrating me! -Farmer Meg: chicken herder, cat wrangler, duck whisperer, dog walker, vegetable plucker, and flower buncher. Keeping chickens and other poultry in winter isn’t difficult but it does require some preparation as repairing or setting up fences in 3ft deep snow or scrambling with extension cords and heat lamps to prevent frost bite in sub zero conditions isn’t easy. Each of the next 6 weeks, I’ll focus on one aspect of caring for chickens and ducks in winter. The main things to prepare for are:
How to Keep Water (& Food) from FreezingYou need a heated waterer and a power source. That is the basic, pretty obvious idea, but there are lots of choices. If you already keep chickens during the warmer months you probably also have your preferred type of waterer. A lot of people use a galvanized metal double walled fount. This was what I used but I switched to a plastic waterer since I started adding apple cider vinegar to their water.
The two basic options for heated waterers is to use a separate heated base to heat a normal waterer or to have a waterer with an integrated heater. In my shopping around, most heated bases cost the same as most integrated heated waterers, so I like to go with an integrated one since its one less piece of equipment. In general, I use the integrated heated waterers year-round (just unplugged in summer) and have a few normal waterers to add so everyone stays hydrated when the temps rise. The main difference between any waterer is how easily can the little shitters get the water dirty. I find this happens even quicker in winter when I have a sometimes daily freeze/thaw cycle and can’t rotate their space because of snow pack, thus everything is mud and all that mud is half poop. If you want them to never be able to get their water dirty, use a nipple waterer. They have to peck at a little metal nipple to get a drop or two of water at a time. Honestly, I hate these. I have a heated one in with my bachelor pad of only roosters but never use it with my laying hens (eggs are mostly water and laying hens need to drink a lot even in winter). For me it takes too long for them to drink a decent quantity and because it only has a few points to get water from they like to fight over it. Chickens will fight over everything. They are the most merciless creatures. Get used to it. Accept it. Learn to work with it. They have a hierarchy and enforce it at all times.
Thus, I like the more open, trough-style waterers. Only so many can drink at a time, but one more can always sneak its head under, over, or around the others. They get them dirty daily, but can be cleaned easily with a sponge. Most of these are the fount-style that have a top and a bottom that work together to let only enough water out to fill the trough at any time. They do need to be kept level and upright or they will empty completely within minutes. There are different designs and some suck and some are fine, but I’ve only ever found which is which by trying them out. Look for ones where the top and bottom separate easily (consider that you may be wearing winter gloves while trying to do this), that don’t have lots of tiny nooks and crannies (it will be annoying to clean), that can be carried easily while full of water (no hoses in winter so you gotta either bring that waterer to the water or the water to that waterer by hand without sloshing or spilling). These are the kind I use in summer and with baby chicks. Which do I use with my laying hens & ducks? None of the above. I use heated dog water bowls. The big farm kind. Do they get them dirty? Yep, pretty much immediately. But they wipe clean easily with a sponge and every few weeks I bring them inside for a soapy, super clean out. I have to empty and clean them more often and thus use more water, but every fount-style one has grown algae inside before they have finished the water (even in winter). They don’t tip over, even if the hens stand on the edge. It is super deep so all that bedding or dirt they kick in sinks wayyyyy to the bottom and stays out of their way until I clean/refill the next day.
Plus, they are super important for the ducks. They can stick their heads all the way in (which is a must) and can even jump in for a full splash around (which is a BIG perk in winter and keeps my from trying to heat a whole kiddy pool or stock tank). Tip: If you wanna give the ducks a fun, full-size bath use the rubber tubs. I don’t bother heating them as it’s just for a fun pool party during the day. They won’t break when frozen and since you can bend them, the ice breaks away easily. I just take them outside the run and drop them on the ground upside down until the ice block comes out. Just do it in a place you don’t mind having gallon bricks of ice in the way until spring (like not the walkway, oops). I first ‘discovered’ them as a way to keep their moist, fermented whole-grain feed unfrozen and then started using them as waterers (even in summer, since the cords coil up outta the way inside the walls). I liked them so much that I only use them for water now and use the shallower (more residential size) heated bowls for the feed. They are also either the same price as similar sized ‘chicken’ waterers or cheaper. Almost every winter I end up breaking one as the plastic will crack in sub zero temps if you are too impatient with it or they will get ‘submerged’ by a fast snow melt or by ducks splashing out all the water (if possible, keep it on a ~½’ thick riser, like a scrap of plywood, if it is getting to wet outside as they are not fully sealed from the underside and sitting in too much water will destroy the heater), so the cost of replacing one doesn’t give me a headache. I fill them in the field, using repurposed 1 gallon milk or water jugs to cart out as much water as I need when bringing out the feed in the morning. I call it the tea trolley as I go from coop to coop dropping off feeders and refilling waterers, turning on lights, and letting the chickens into their run. After you have your heated waterer, you gotta plug it in. Most only come with a 2-4ft cord attached so get ready to play with extension cords. If your winter stays well below freezing and/or you gotta run that cord across a lot of ground, get the blue, winter-rated cords that don’t get super stiff. They cost more but the plastic won’t crack when bent, are usually grounded (3 prong), and are high enough amps to handle the heaters. The dog water bowl manufacturers suggest to not use with extension cords. The main concern is the heater not getting enough juice to keep the water unfrozen, but I got them on multiple 50ft + cords running at least 4 heated waterers, 4+ LED bulbs, and (as needed) 2 250W heat lamps. I only ever notice a problem in sub-zero temps (~ -15F) and if the water level is low. Keep the bowls out of the wind, full, and use the higher amp extension cords and you should be golden. I keep the connections (cord to cord, or cords in a power strip) either outside of the animal area in a covered space or keep it in a waterproof connector box. I’m not worried about the chickens electrocuting themselves (maybe a little bit) as much as once they get their dirt and poop in the female ends of the cords or power strips, it will be hell to get it out and a little baby saver cover won’t cut it, it will just become a new thing to rip off and peck at. Tip: keep an extra laying around. They will always break when its the coldest. You will always drop it during the worst blizzard of the season. Unless you wanna bring out fresh water every hour or two, keep an extra. Even though some waterers are easier or more convenient to use, none eradicate basic farm labor and animals need proper care and management to stay healthy and thrive. No matter which style waterer you use, just keep those chickies and quackers hydrated so they can keep dropping those golden-yolk yummies. Next week, I’ll describe how I keep the winter weather from ruffling their feathers and freezing their toes! -Farmer Megan: chicken herder, cat wrangler, duck whisperer, dog walker, vegetable plucker, and flower buncher. |
AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. ArchivesCategories |
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