Winter Care for your birds

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Just because it is cold, does not mean chickens like to stay inside their coop. It is a good idea to always open your coop during the day and let your chickens decide whether or not they want to go out or not.

Not only do tightly insulated coops retain heat, they also retain moisture, which is very bad for your chickens.  Moisture in the air can condense, freeze, and contribute to frostbite.  Humidity also increases the risk of unhealthy conditions in the coop leading to respiratory and mold-related illnesses. Plus, poor ventilation can also cause ammonia gas to build up inside your coop, which is damaging to your chickens’ lungs. 

 Chickens adapt to lower temperatures over time. If the coop is heated, they’ll never get used to the cold winter temperatures outside. Then, if you lose power and their heat goes out, the sudden sharp drop in temperatures with no time to acclimate means you could lose your whole flock in incident.

 Eggs can freeze. While this in itself isn't harmful,  it is a risk for bacterial contamination. What happens is that the frozen egg contents expand, and create hairline cracks in the shell you might not see with the naked eye. The cracks can let bacteria into the shell.  

You need to provide unfrozen water for your flock you can do this by using a heated waterers, or by using multiple waterers and switching out buckets each time it freezes.

Because your chickens will be spending more time in the coop, there will be more dropping for you to clean and sooner than you would normally have had to in warmer months. New bedding also needs to be added often to make sure things stay dry and warm.

Bored birds may become mean and even hostile with one another if there isn’t anything to think about or do. Alleviate some of the boredom for your cold-weather chickens by adding treats to their area.

Grit acts like “teeth” to help chicken chew their food. In winter, however, the ground may be frozen and too hard for a bird to dislodge any pieces to pick up grit naturally. This is why it is important to have and distribute supplemental grit to all of your chickens.