Chicken bald back

[emmalou]

What do chicken owners do for Winter in their coops please? Ours is wood built, air tight and lined with straw and woodchip flooring which I change weekly and deepoop daily. It did have thin sliver insulation in it but removed it as it was harbouring ants. Any suggestions or ideas gratefully received. It is dry which is the important thing but it is just the temperatures as we can get -15 at night in the depths of winter and we will get snow for sure. How do you keep ground areas clear with snow? They are normally free range when I am at home but can they forage when the ground is snowy or frosty?

[Beantree]

Nothing wrong with ants Emmalou; they eat red mite and other bugs and don't harm the chickens. When you say air tight I presume you mean draught free, as they must have ventilation.

 

The temperature resistance of chickens depends a lot on the breed. Those with small combs are most resistant; larger combs may need a coating of vaseline which prevents the chilling effect of natural water loss through their skin. Blue combs are a thing to look for as that can lead to frostbite.

 

We used to clear paths with a snow shovel, but really bad Winters would need the birds inside a building or at least under cover. The thing to watch out for is hypothermia. If a chicken is shivering and standing on one leg it is cold but motionless and standing both legs down in the snow it must be brought into the warm. What can happen is the body temperature gets so low the gut flora die and they then can't digest anything. When they come in they must stay in for a week and be given Avipro Avian. A treat of wheat at the end of the day is good because is is a slow release food and fuels them over a long cold night. We mix ours 50:50 with chick mixed grain to make it look appetising and they go crazy for it. We have had one get so excited she had a heart attack! Clinical thermometer is useful. The minimum under wing temperature should be 37C.

 

Winters can be a difficult time, as can very hot Summers.

[emmalou]

OK thanks, so having scared myself to death over the winter should I then reinsulate the coop? It is draught proof yes, not air tight but do not want to create condensation.

[Chickabee]

I've never done any winter preparation. If the temperature goes below about minus 2 I will close the coop door at night. The girls don't like snow so will mainly stay in their covered runs

[Beantree]

Our leghorns suffer badly with the cold because they have very large combs and lose a lot of heat. In Winter, if it goes below -4C they all come inside at night. Below zero we put blankets outside on the roof, which does make a few degrees difference and doesn't cause condensation. We also increase the depth of the floor bedding. We can close the windward air vents on all the coops and partially close the other side to cut down on heat loss, but of course in Summer they have to be fully open. We used to put them in the greenhouse over Winter with a deep bedding of dry leaves, but it can be a problem if the sun comes out all day because they got too hot and now we have abandoned that routine.

 

Wipe the surfaces with kitchen roll if you think condensation is an issue Emmalou, but I think your wooden coop will 'breath' naturally as ours do, unless the surfaces have been gloss painted. We get condensation on the inside of some roofs, which are white glossed to increase light levels, but regular morning wiping stops the deadly black mould from forming.

[sjp]

if condensation is a really big problem then there isn't enough ventilation. you will get some condensation overnight do to them breathing but to be honest there's no real need to keep the coop warm at night for 90% of chicken breeds as their very good at conserving heat when the need arises (it's surprising how many full grown hens can fit on a 4foot perch on a cold winter night that only holds 3 or 4 in the summer) I've seen the inside of my coops frosted over inside and out on more than one occasion. if the weather gets to bad I'll close the slide window up fully normally it's open a couple of inch from the end of October till the end of March mainly to keep the driving rain out but the rest of the year it's fully open it's a 6 x 10 opening

[emmalou]

No, ventilation is good and no condensation but was not sure if some thin insulation was a help or hindrance. There was some previously. The coop is draft proof as far as we can see and the roof is just metal.

[Beantree]

You will certainly get condensation on a metal roof Emmalou; it will be very cold as well. I'd certainly truy to insulate that. Chickens can cope for short periods of cold below -5C, but gradually they get run down, so if the period is longer than a week they will need some respite from it. They also lose a lot of heat through their feet so it is important the ground is dry and they are not in mud or snow for long.

[Chickabee]

Beantree... I still learn so much from reading your posts. Thank you