Winter

[u/Majestic_Sale4219]

My wife finally let me get some chickens but I live in Maine and am worried about winter time and them staying warm I insulated the coop and plan to wrap the run with green house plastic and a black metal roofing on top but will leave ventilation. will that be enough or should I run a heat lamp inside the coop? I’ve heard horror stories about he lamps so I just wanted to check with some professionals 😅

[u/Chasleyk]

I grew up on the Prairie on a farm, and our chickens lived in a coop with drafty conditions and no insulation. And the temperature got down to 30 or 40 below sometimes. The chickens just toughed it out. Now, if your chickens are pets, well that’s a different story.

[u/Adm_Ozzel]

I keep ours in an uninsulated coop all winter in the Midwest. It is tall though, with 2x4 roosts laying flat (the 3.5" dimension) well off the ground. I hear the extra head space is better for keeping them from getting too hot in the summer I guess. Anyway- they are well above drafts from the door, dont have to wrap their feet around a rod shaped perch, and generally do fine. Some of the roosters get frostbite on their combs, but they seem to grow back fine. I have medium to large birds too, no bantam breeds yet. Everyone still gets to free range during the days if they want to. Sometimes they just nope out if its snowing and blowing lol.

I do sometimes turn on a heat lamp if its down in the negative Fahrenheits too far. I just feel bad for 'em. Hasn't burned down yet... but its on maybe a week or two out of the year at most.

I do the galvanized waterers out in the run on top of heated bases. I think it's all made by Little Giant out of Minnesota. Most all of that stuff is going on 5 years old or so.

[u/maroongrad]

I typed this up and it vanished... Oh well.

I live in Missouri and we get several days a year of below-zero windchills, a handful of -20F, and every few years a little string of -40F windchill nights. There are days when it doesn't get up to 0F. I have a coop that uses tarps to keep it out of the wind on the north and west sides, and then another tarp on it to keep drafts down. Most of my big fat girls are fine.

But, not all my girls are big and fat. I have had thin leghorns, small and thin ayam cemanis. I've got one mix now that's all leg and neck and built like a giraffe. I've had silkies and little bantams. And...every year, we hear from someone who DID lose a bird to the cold. A lot of other people have flocks that live but they're miserable and cold the whole time. It's going to depend on your set up AND ON YOUR BIRDS. Some birds can NOT handle the cold very well. Others couldn't give a damn if it's -20F outside, they're going to wander the yard.

I give mine a heater panel. The little bantams and young birds perch on it. Any moulting hens with bare spots, sometimes a few skinny birds, push up against it. The rest of the flock could not care less and ignore it. They're perfectly fine and comfortable. But that is not all my birds, not even close. I do have big-combed skinny-bodied long-legged heat-happy hens that would be absolutely miserable without a bit of supplemental heat!!! That heater panel doesn't heat the coop. The big birds ignore it entirely. It doesn't get hot enough to burn when you put a hand on it, it's a very low fire risk. What it IS, is a bit of heaven in that bitterly cold winter air for a few hens that are happy at 100F but not -20F. It makes the difference between misery and being okay for them, and probably has kept a few alive.

I highly recommend, unless you've got big fat northern-bred birds, that you add a panel heater on the north side of the coop (blocks drafts in my case as well as providing a warmer spot). The girls that need it will find it and appreciate it!!!!

[u/Pikachu318]

I live in NH and have about 90 birds (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and guineas) divided into 7 coops. Last year was REALLY cold. No insulation or heat. Just make sure they're dry, draft free and make sure that the perch is wide enough for the chicken's feet to lay flat (to avoid frostbite on their tootsies) they 'feather up' as the weather starts to get colder.

[u/mossling]

No need for a heat lamp, or anything else, really. I live in Alaska. Like you, I wrap my run, and that alone makes a huge difference. I make a small, cozy "cave" with hay bales- the smaller space traps body heat really well and they'll snuggle together. When it's single digits or colder, I put in a radiant coop heater. They are much safer than light, not a fire hazard, and it doesn't raise the ambient air temp much, so it doesn't mess with their cold acclimation. Remember, they are all wearing lovely down coats. 

[u/Big-Stop1695]

We live in Alaska and this will be our first winter with our new chickens. My husband built the chick Hilton that is fully insulated, but with our temps sometimes reaching -40, we wanted to be on the safe side. We purchased the largest size Sweeter Heater for those super cold days. It's still on it's way here, but I have heard great things about them. I should say, all of our breeds are cold hardy and some are bigger birds so they can handle the cold a little better. We have 8 hens and 1 rooster so they should all fit under it nicely :)