I live in southeastern NC, where I can't ever recall winter temps dropping below about 15 degrees. Forecast is calling for temps as low as 0 to -5 (not accounting for wind chills) later this week.
I keep my flock on fenced-in pasture, with a coop that's made out of a 10x10 steel dog kennel (can be moved w/ 2 strong people), covered with tarps over the roof & 2 sides. In the winter we cover all 4 sides, including the door, which gets shut tight overnight. I may sound like a southern wimp compared to some of you, but this is record-breaking cold for us. I've stuffed the coop with extra straw, wrapped the roost bars in foam padding so their feet don't freeze, and triple-checked the tarps for tears or drafts.
What do you all think? Is this going to be enough for them on a zero-degree night? I've kept chickens for a long time, but don't have experience w/ this kind of cold.
Fire away; I don't upset easily; just looking for any useful information/suggestions.
I need to re-read and ponder but I would suggest joining a backyard chicken group on Facebook if you have an account and posting there for numerous and promo answers. There might even be one specifically in your state/area.
ReplyDeleteI've talked to a few experienced farmers & chicken keepers in my area...no one seems to be sure. We aren't experienced w/ this kind of cold. I can tell you how to keep birds cool on a humid 110 degree summer day...but this, we don't know. I still have a few days to prep before the worst of the weather hits.
ReplyDeleteI think that, as long as they're kept out of the wind, they should fare ok. There may be some frostbite to treat when the cold passes, though.
ReplyDeleteIf you can get an extension cord and lights out, it will help. We have done that with our pigs and chickens when needed. Make sure they have ample water [hard to keep unfrozen-but you can getn electric coil to put in water bucket, again, f you can get an extension cord out. I would-since it is not a stall-put straw out there in boxes too, or big baskets of straw. k.
ReplyDeleteBoxes or Rubbermaid type totes with a towel folded in the bottom and covered with straw will work well. You can also use a trouble or drop light and they will gather under it. The big thing is water and wind blocking. Sounds like you will be fine. We have temps like this all febuary long here in Illinois. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAuntie Mow
Look up how to make a cat house from totes...drill in a roost and you're in business.
DeleteHow big is the flock? Is there any way to move the coop into a shed or a garage (yours or a neighbors?). I honestly am not an expert, so don't hang your decision on me, but something about your post gives me pause.
ReplyDeleteI think I would try to rig something up with straw bales for windbreak and insulation. Let me Google... How many chickens do you have?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.squawkinghawk.com/chicken-coop-upgrade/ something like that with roosts. Google "straw bale coops" though...very interesting.
DeletePlease do NOT put a light or heat lamp in your coop--way too many people end up burning down their coops with the chickens inside by hastily rigging something like that up, and your other measures will be sufficient.
ReplyDeleteI live in Upstate SC where we hit 4* F last winter and our chickens were fine. Their coop is essentially a wooden shed on a trailer frame, and there are several vented sections covered with hardware cloth that mean the whole thing is pretty open to the air (useful in our summers, though not so great in the bitter cold!). I covered the vents with plastic and threw a few bales of straw down on the floor, and the girls were just fine--that's what I'm planning on doing this week as well.
That said, if you are very concerned I would second Meredith's suggestion of straw bales to insulate the coop. When we first got chickens many, many years ago we used the same dog kennel set-up for a coop. In the winter, we surrounded the kennel all four sides with square straw bales stacked to the top of the side panels, and it made quite a cozy shelter. That would be my best advice for further winterizing, if you're able to locate, purchase, and transport a fair number of straw bales on short notice. If you can't surround the whole thing, putting straw bales on the two sides of the kennel that form the corner that's most exposed to the wind would be a good start.
Good luck, and try not to worry too much--most chickens are quite capable of handling the cold, and it sounds like you've made excellent preparations already. And take a little time to pamper the girls in the mornings with some warm oatmeal and water!
Thanks for the suggestions and reassurance, all. To answer a few questions, I have about 25 chickens. The ground inside the coop is layered with a good 8-12 inches of straw, plus they have many nest boxes (old milk crates) lined with more straw if they choose to nest rather than roost at night. I like the straw bale idea! - I do have enough bales to build at least a low wall on the windward side of the coop. Anon 12:16 - I agree - heat lamps/lights and all that straw are a dangerous combination. The coop is currently @ 500' from the nearest available outlet anyway. I don't think I have any oatmeal on hand, but I bet they'd love a nice warm cornmeal mush in the morning?
ReplyDeleteWe calve here in Iowa in about a month. Invariably a new calf might need to get his body temp up; we've constructed a plywood condo, about 3' x 6' with a divider in the middle and each side has a heat lamp hanging down (in case of twins!). The lamps are way off the calf, even if he stands up and there is fresh straw on the bottom of the hut. This is a simple construction, but has saved countless calvies. Just figure out a fire-proof way (hang it high) and enough heat will be generated. The lamps we get from the farm store have a wire cage around them for some protection from breakage. If you can't do this kind of thing, your insulation and wind break will probably be sufficient. Wind is the killer, not cold. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteWisconsin chiming in. I have about 20 chickens, and we regularly hit -20F, occasionally worse. I've been very happy with these lamps:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=18266&cat_id=173
When the forecast is particularly bad, I throw down scoops of whole corn at night and leave the (red) lamp on in the coop until morning. Also, make sure there's always plenty of thawed water available. Dehydration kills! I use heated dog bowls, which seem to work better and last longer than the heated poultry waterers. A warm mash in the morning will be well received, and it will help keep them hydrated.
We also volunteer to take "used" Christmas trees from our neighbors, and pile them on either side of the coop door (almost like making an evergreen entrance hallway, if you can picture that), which cuts the wind and prevents gusts from blowing in. Cheap, efficient, and green!
Stay warm, take care.
~A
As long as the chickens have a wind break, they'll be fine. It sounds like your coop is pretty protected from the wind by the tarps. I live in Maryland and temps drop pretty low during the winter. I've never used a heat lamp for my chickens...they handle winter just fine. They do have a wooden coop, but there is about a 6" gap all around the roof for ventilation. They are protected from wind, but it's not insulated at all, and they do just fine.
ReplyDeleteThe only added suggestion I would make is to add some cracked corn to their feeding. The energy it takes to digest it helps keep them warm.
ReplyDeleteWe used heat lamps on the newborn lambs for 30 years with no problem. I think people get into trouble when they use the non-ag one's and place them too close to the straw. If you use a heat lamp hang it a few feet off the straw, and use a red bulb, as the white one's are hard on their eyes. Also, the red one's are for heating.
Good luck and please keep us posted on how you're doing.
Jenn
Forget to mention that coating vasoline on the combs will help prevent frostbite.
ReplyDeleteJenn
I second (third?) the NO hastily rigged heater, heat lamp, etc. If it wasn't set up properly in the first place, it's not a good idea to throw something together. (I'm not much for heat lamps anyway. In bitter cold I set up an oil-filled space heater. They are very safe. There's no exposed heat element to catch anything on fire, as long as you cordon it off so the birds can't sit on it.)
ReplyDeleteThe straw bale wall is an excellent idea. Also, chickens generate a lot of body heat. With 25 birds in there, they should be absolutely fine. Just be careful when you let them out, that it has some straw and wind protection, too.
Frostbite is cause by humidity. So sealing up the coop does create a lot of humidity from the birds' bodies/breath. So some sort of ventilation would be helpful. Just make sure a draft is not blowing on them.
It's been well below zero here in Vermont for days now. My flock lives in a wooden coop (used to be a maple sugaring shack) without any lamps and no insulation. I leave both doors open for ventilation, and they go outside if they want to. They do just fine.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow!! I'm not sure a southern chicken is tough enough to take on what a Vermonter chicken can (insert Foghorn Leghorn jokes here).
Delete-Anne
SO - HOW ARE THEY DOING??????? IT ISSSSS COLD HERE (I'm just outside Charlotte, NC)
ReplyDeleteTell me about it!! Built a straw bale wall on the NW side of the coop 2 days ago. Obsessively checking coops for drafts yet still trying to maintain good ventilation. 12 degrees last night, supposed to get down to 0 tonight. And WINDY!!! Fresh layer of straw in the coop this afternoon. Bucket of cornmeal in the kitchen, pot of water ready to boil early tomorrow am for a hot breakfast mash at sunrise. So far so good. Will let y'all know tomorrow how it plays out.
DeleteI think my winter market veg (the bread & butter @ here) may be done for though, putting me on an involuntary vacation til April.
-Anne
Welll????? Eager to hear how it went. I had a pipe freeze last night, but not burst b/c I got after it quickly - which NEVER happens in the south. I really hope your girls are okay. What is the winter market? Kale? Spinach? Mine froze awhile back when we had that week of 20s, but it was just a small container garden so no monetary loss. It was my own stupid fault. I really like and admire how conscientious you are with your livestock.
ReplyDeleteThe girls are fine!! Up at 5am this morning to stir up a chicken porridge on the stove of cornmeal & oatmeal (been iced in since Monday night, twas all I had). They gobbled it up, if I was capable of clear thinking before 3 cups of coffee, I would have taken photos this morning.
ReplyDeleteStill don't know on the veg. Most winter vegetables can take a fair amount of frozen, but I've never farmed through a spell anywhere near this cold. I use row covers, cold frames, high tunnels, greenhouses. Most winters here can produce a good variety of salad & cooking greens, leeks, beets, turnips, storage radishes, carrots, cabbage, & more for the farmers market .
Everything's been frozen solid for 7 days. I won't be able to tell what's what until things thaw out - maybe sometime late Sat. or Sun. I'm betting on collards (queen of the winter garden), the mulched carrots, & maybe spinach out of the greenhouse. And there's still tons of sweet potatoes in storage. We'll see. If nothing else, it's always a learning experience.
Thank you all so much for all your advice & encouragement.
Now my crazy half-frozen butt wants chicken jokes to decompress. C'mon, find your sense of humor! I'll start with my favorite Foghorn Leghorn: “That, I say that dog’s busier than a centipede at a toe countin’ contest”
-Anne
What did the chicken do when he saw a bucket of fried chicken?
ReplyDeleteShe kicked the bucket !