chicken in the cold

[ninedeer]

been so cold that my laying hens won't even come out of the coop.they don't like the snow I shovel out there yard and they still coop up.man 30 hens sure can poop up a coop :)What do you swam per do to help out the ladies in the frigged cold?

[nytrapper23]

I don't do much,coop is open for them to go out if they want. When it's really cold they don't venture out to far . But I only have three.

[Admin]

My hens stopped going out once it got cold out so I stopped opening their door. The coop is insulated so it stays at a decent temp with the door closed. If I change the frozen waterer out in the morning it'll stay liquid all day, even today with a windchill of -33.

They like to eat the snow off my boots but they don't want to go out and play in it

[cbul]

Its cold here too! Plenty of straw base and keep drafts minimized. The ladies will be ok.
Despite my best efforts when its super cold sometimes I get frost bite on the combs. Again attention to drafts and good roosting will limit that.
Water every day and plenty of feed. I use a hog feeder. That is a rubberized feeder pan for water. When it is all iced up you can knock the ice out with out shattering the container. I figure a well fed bird will be warmer than a hungry one.
Negative temps are no place for chickens to range around in. I would keep them "cooped up" til spring or warmer weather.
i did read somewhere that the biomass of straw and chicken sh#t will oxidize producing a mild heat that will aid in the coop temp. I'm not convinced of this but I will confirm that spring time coop cleaning is nasty as things are defiantly decomposing.
I can confirm pyrolysis does occur and have seen a few barns burn as a result. Chicken coop fires always involve grow lights in my experience thus I'm super reluctant to ever put a grow light near adult birds. Bad stuff happens plus if my my coop burns I'll never hear the end of it as my work is the Fire Service.

[farmertrappe]

Four inches of snow and 40 mile hr winds last night are not common in my area of Maryland, but we got it last night. My layers are happy and I still have 60 or so meat birds to process. I turned my pens to help with the wind and the snow insulates well. A few insulated panels helped with the wind. I agree, keep um well feed and watered is half the battle. A little hay or greens from the kitchen are always appreciated this time of the year. Should be 50 or so this weekend with rain, 15 meat birds will meet the picker.
I'm still able to move my pens most days, but in a few weeks I will leave them in the garden for the rest of the winter with wood chips to mix in with the droppings and for insulation. Come spring I spread it all out with the tractor and turn it under. Till then keep the wood stove stoked up.