If you live in a mild climate, you probably don't need to do anything special to your chicken coop in the winter. But, if you live in a harsher climate, there are a few steps you can take to safeguard the health of your flock, and ensure continued production through the winter months.
Free range chickens are obviously exposed to more weather than those who are kept in controlled housing. Although I feel the benefits of free-ranging your chickens far outweigh the risks, it does generally result in lower production and in extreme weather can be dangerous for your flock. Even free-range chickens need some type of shelter at night -- both for warmth in harsh weather, and for protection from predators. By taking a few precautions, you can minimize the dangers and keep your flock healthy and happy through the winter.
If you are raising chickens for eggs and want to continue to have a good supply throughout the winter, you will need to provide additional lighting during the winter months when daylight hours are shorter. Chickens need approximately 14 hours of light a day, or their egg production begins to fall off. Your best bet is to wire your chicken coop so that you can install a light on a timer. If you set the light to come on early in the morning before dawn, you will increase the "daylight" hours for your chickens, and also provide some additional warmth during the coldest hours of the night. Be sure to set the light to shut off after sunrise, so that you aren't running alight unnecessarily during the day.
If you live in a very cold area, you may want to consider using insulation in the walls and the ceiling. This will also have the extra benefit of keeping the chicken coop cooler in the summer if you live in an area where the temperatures go to both extremes.
If you can't afford insulation, another good source of temporary insulation is to nail heavy cardboard to the inside walls and ceiling of your coop when the cold weather begins to set in. This will provide additional warmth and product your chickens from drafts.
You will need to still provide plenty of ventilation for your chickens during the winter. Having proper ventilation is not only important for your chickens' health, but it also helps to lower the humidity inside the coop. If your chicken coop has an adjustable window to provide some fresh air, you should do fine. Be careful to not let the coop get too drafty, however.
I usually place plenty of extra hay bedding in the coop during the winter months. As the bedding condenses, I add more. Hay is high in carbon which helps to control the smell inside the coop. As the bedding decomposes, it also provides extra warmth in the coop for the chickens. Another benefit of this is that the manure mixed with the hay bedding provides excellent fertilizer for your garden.
You will need to make sure your chickens have plenty of fresh, unfrozen water during the winter months. You can either change their water out frequently, or purchase warmers to keep the water from freezing. Our winters aren't terribly harsh, so I usually don't have to heat the water pans for the chickens, although I do have to break the ice some mornings during the winter.
The good news is, mature chickens are very resilient and can withstand low temperatures well. In fact, you are probably more in danger of losing chickens due to extreme heat than you are cold, as long as you provide them with basic shelter. Their feathers and body heat will often be sufficient to keep them warm and toasty throughout the cold winter months.
Free range chickens are obviously exposed to more weather than those who are kept in controlled housing. Although I feel the benefits of free-ranging your chickens far outweigh the risks, it does generally result in lower production and in extreme weather can be dangerous for your flock. Even free-range chickens need some type of shelter at night -- both for warmth in harsh weather, and for protection from predators. By taking a few precautions, you can minimize the dangers and keep your flock healthy and happy through the winter.
If you are raising chickens for eggs and want to continue to have a good supply throughout the winter, you will need to provide additional lighting during the winter months when daylight hours are shorter. Chickens need approximately 14 hours of light a day, or their egg production begins to fall off. Your best bet is to wire your chicken coop so that you can install a light on a timer. If you set the light to come on early in the morning before dawn, you will increase the "daylight" hours for your chickens, and also provide some additional warmth during the coldest hours of the night. Be sure to set the light to shut off after sunrise, so that you aren't running alight unnecessarily during the day.
If you live in a very cold area, you may want to consider using insulation in the walls and the ceiling. This will also have the extra benefit of keeping the chicken coop cooler in the summer if you live in an area where the temperatures go to both extremes.
If you can't afford insulation, another good source of temporary insulation is to nail heavy cardboard to the inside walls and ceiling of your coop when the cold weather begins to set in. This will provide additional warmth and product your chickens from drafts.
You will need to still provide plenty of ventilation for your chickens during the winter. Having proper ventilation is not only important for your chickens' health, but it also helps to lower the humidity inside the coop. If your chicken coop has an adjustable window to provide some fresh air, you should do fine. Be careful to not let the coop get too drafty, however.
I usually place plenty of extra hay bedding in the coop during the winter months. As the bedding condenses, I add more. Hay is high in carbon which helps to control the smell inside the coop. As the bedding decomposes, it also provides extra warmth in the coop for the chickens. Another benefit of this is that the manure mixed with the hay bedding provides excellent fertilizer for your garden.
You will need to make sure your chickens have plenty of fresh, unfrozen water during the winter months. You can either change their water out frequently, or purchase warmers to keep the water from freezing. Our winters aren't terribly harsh, so I usually don't have to heat the water pans for the chickens, although I do have to break the ice some mornings during the winter.
The good news is, mature chickens are very resilient and can withstand low temperatures well. In fact, you are probably more in danger of losing chickens due to extreme heat than you are cold, as long as you provide them with basic shelter. Their feathers and body heat will often be sufficient to keep them warm and toasty throughout the cold winter months.
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