Multiple feet of snow.

[Silkielove1944]

I have a flock of chickens, finally adults. However, this is my first time with my flock in winter. We are expecting to have piles of snow. I feel my little flock would freeze without warning.

What are your suggestions to keep your chickens all bundled up? They're mainly silkies, so I'm not too worried about that part. But still...it drops below 20 to the teens at night.

Recommendations?

HAy?
Sand?
Lights?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Keep them dry with good ventilation and block any winds from hitting them. Since they are adults and you are only talking the teens Fahrenheit that should do it.

 

[aesch]

I use straw outside for my chickens to walk on. As for the coop they will snug close together and puff out their feathers for warmth and if the perch is wide enough they will squat to cover their feet. If the snow is 6in or more I shovel walkways and a large area for them. They'll be fine. Remember that nature gave them a down coat to wear with automatic internal controls.

 

[erehwon]

It can get to -30 C here though the average is @ -20 C, we throw some straw/hay around their coop so they will come out and dig lanes for them to walk around the garden putting wheat/corn/straw/stored leaves down in places along the walk ways for them to scratch at. The snow can easily be a metre deep (not including any drifts) but they happily join our rabbits/ducks/geese/dog using these lanes but the tracks do have to be cleaned up daily and re seeded with grass the following spring. We have never lost an animal/bird to the cold after all they have evolved to live in these conditions.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

+1

If high wind is a problem, some folks put hay bales all around the outside of the run. Make sure their ventilation is well over their heads, but there’s plenty of it.

You can read up on this here on BYC - there are so many threads on it! The risks are frostbite from humidity inside the coop, and ammonia buildup in the indoor air. Ventilation and getting the poop out of the coop prevent these. Aim for 1 sq ft of ventilation per bird. It’s possible that could be less for silkies; I don’t know. Someone probably does and will likely weigh in!

 

[aart]

I have a flock of chickens, finally adults. However, this is my first time with my flock in winter. We are expecting to have piles of snow. I feel my little flock would freeze without warning.

What are your suggestions to keep your chickens all bundled up? They're mainly silkies, so I'm not too worried about that part. But still...it drops below 20 to the teens at night.

Recommendations?

HAy?
Sand?
Lights?

Show us your coop, inside and out.

 

[Silkielove1944]

Oh, it has wooden walls with thick fiberglass in between. The same method as a home is made. Is it safe to use it? The only wind is reaching beneath. I try to put them up at night, since predators lurk, like wild cats.

Well, the teens are just the beginning....I'm sure. We get feet upon feet up here.

Now, there are days where there are blizzards, sometimes days at a time. It's one of the reasons I want my feathered friends to be warm and comfortable. Do you ever do extra feed? Or any special diet during the cold months?

 

[Silkielove1944]

Hay/straw will be on my list that's for sure. Do you ever give them blankets on the ground or the nesting beds?
Oh! Can you link me to it?

 

[Silkielove1944]

AH! Yes of the picture....why didn't I think about that before.

 

[Silkielove1944]

Here's the older one, this new one is for more winter conditions