How Cold Is Too Cold For Chickens, Winter Chicken Care Basics Review
The fall season is here. Many regions have been experiencing abnormal weather and varying extremes. Despite the various challenges, there is still a lot of seasonal joy to be had. With winter just around the corner, now is the time to begin preparations and modifications of your chicken area to prepare for the cooler temperatures to come.
Your chickens are domesticated livestock animals and they are made to thrive outdoors. That being said, since they are domesticated, unlike their wild ancestors, they will need to some help from you to have the safest and healthiest winter possible. With basic preparations and a sound maintenance routine your flock can thrive in even harsh, unpleasant winter conditions.
How cold is too for your chickens? In truth-the answer depends. Poultry care is purpose, region, and breed specific among other factors. Taking the best care possible of your chickens will be influenced by many factors but several basics will apply regardless of your location or the breeds that make up your flock. Similar to breeds of dogs, some breeds of chicken have been developed to be better suited for extreme cold than others. Some cold hardy breeds of chicken can survive in temperatures of -15F to -20F degrees below when given proper support and accommodations. Some more fragile categories of chickens including ornamental breeds, bantams, booted varieties of chickens, ill chickens, elderly chickens, or baby chicks will all be more sensitive to temperature changes and drops. If your chickens are baby chicks and are not fully feathered yet, meaning they no longer have any downy chicken fuzz, they shouldn’t be outside yet. Chicks should remain in a protected brooder until they are fully feathered sometime between 8-10 weeks of age. Cold hardy chicken breeds include but are not limited to breeds like: the Buff Orpington, Plymouth rock, Brahmas, Americana, Dominique, and Wyandotte. Some breeds that are not well suited for extreme cold are ornamental breeds like Polish Chickens, Silkies, or Frizzle varieties. Factors others than their breed that will impact your chicken’s ability to cope with cold temperatures include their age, general health, their facilities, and the level of support they are provided including things like access to appropriate food and fresh water as well as clean facilities.
Your chicken’s physical features impact their ability to cope with harsh winter cold. Your chickens’ comb, the red part on top of their head, is a sophisticated heat exchange system. In hotter temperatures chickens with large single combs can shed heat through this body part. Conversely, larger single combs and waddles are more subject to frostbite because of their surface area in colder temperatures. Combs which are closer to the chicken’s head like rose combs or pea combs typically are less subject to frostbite in the winter. Chickens will smaller combs and waddles may have a harder time staying cool in the heat of summer. Whether or not your chickens have clean legs is also a factor. Clean legs don’t just mean physically clean, but whether or not your chicken’s legs have feathers on them. Winter can be a difficult time for booted varieties because feathers on their legs, feet, or in-between their toes make staying dry and warm harder because they can collect moisture from the ground especially in unsanitary conditions. Ornamental chickens will require additional care and health checks in the winter time.
Supplemental heat or no supplemental heat? Whether or not your flock requires supplemental heat is a decision you will need to make based on your region, the breeds in your flock, and your facilities. The vast majority of chickens breeds DO NOT require any supplemental heat. Given the proper support they need: dry, clean facilities, protection from the elements, ventilation, plenty of perches and roosts, food and water, they will get through winter without any additional heat source. *DO NOT put a heat lamp in your coop. The heat lamp bulb will become encrusted with dust and is an extreme fire hazard. * If you feel like supplemental heat is necessary, opt for safer coop appropriate alternatives like a wall mounted panel heater or a panel brooder heater.
What are signs of cold stress in chickens? Just like heat stress, chickens will display indicators in their behavior if they are cold. Signs of cold stress can include things like: huddling together, lifting one leg, shivering, pale combs and waddles, gaping open mouth beak, extreme lethargy or a drop or total ceasing of activity, or distressed sounds. Seeing some of these signs in your flock especially after the first truly cold day in your region is normal. If they are given proper support and well-maintained facilities, your chickens will acclimate shortly (within a few days) to the new seasonal norm. Causes for concern, and what would be considered an emergency include things like day after day of no activity or noticing your flock is not eating or drinking water. In these cases, it is necessary to further modify your facilities or consider coop safe supplemental heat. Always contact a livestock veterinary professional if you feel it is needed.
Winter chicken care basics. Regardless of their breed or your specific region, the following basic principles of winter backyard chicken care will likely prove useful to you and your flock.
Provide your chickens with a roof. A roof protects your chickens from precipitation fall onto them and also protects them from aerial predators. If your chickens’ feathers are wet or saturated, they won’t be able to effectively keep them warm. Providing your chickens with a roof helps keep them dry.
Construct winter side walls. You can construct seasonal winter side walls to place on your chicken area in the winter to protect your chickens from harsh draft and precipitation blowing onto them. Side walls can be constructed from things like a tarp, construction plastic, plywood, or scrap lumber. Straw bales can be used as temporary or emergency side walls but keep in mind they will decompose and they do retain moisture. Decaying straw can also become home to predators like snakes and mice. If you’re utilizing straw bales as your winter walls, be sure to dispose of them and replace them in a timely manner.
Your chicken coop and run need ventilation. Chickens need ventilation in the winter, not draft. Ventilation allows stale air to escape while protecting your flock from harsh wind and weather. Ventilation also helps mitigate excess moisture in the winter time as this is one the main components that contributes to frostbite conditions. Leave areas at the top of your chicken run and coop protected by hardware cloth for ventilation. If you can only afford a small amount of hardware cloth, use this on your coop as your chickens will be most susceptible to predators when they’ve roosted at night. Ventilation helps prevent things like frostbite, ammonia toxicity, and respiratory issues. Do not entirely seal in your chicken area. Your chickens need to be sheltered while still having access to fresh air.
Provide plenty of roosting and perching options. Chickens keep their feet warm in the winter by perching or roosting and covering their feet with their feathers. Plentiful perches and roosts help alleviate overcrowding, boredom, and help prevent frostbite by giving your chickens options to escape the cold wet ground. Perches can be constructed from things like 2x4s, scrap lumber, or large natural fallen tree branches. Plastic or metal perches are not suitable for harsh winter conditions. Both plastic and metal perches can become dangerously cold in winter temperatures. Instead choose natural materials like wood or branches. Straw bales also make great additional roosting and perching space in your chicken area. Dispose of the bales and replace them once they become too soiled to be perched on. Your chicken’s nighttime roost should be at least 18 inches off the ground, but also provide roosts of varying heights and a ramp if needed for aging flock members.
Use livestock safe ground cover litter. Use a livestock safe ground cover litter and maintain your chosen style of bedding whether it is spot clean and scoop method or deep bedding method. Ground cover litter and bedding like pine flake shavings or coarse sand make an ideal ground cover litter. If you’re using spot clean and scoop method, remove areas of excess droppings and refresh them with your chosen ground cover littler. If you’re using deep bedding method cover areas of excess droppings with your chosen ground cover litter. Either bedding method, your chosen ground cover will need to be replaced in entirety annually so it doesn’t harbor pests or harmful bacteria from year to year.
Reduce excess moisture in your coop and run. Repair any holes in your roof or the walls of your coop. Use a livestock ground cover litter to address muddy areas. Excess moisture and mud combined with freezing temperatures create frostbite conditions for chickens. Create areas for ventilation placed high in your coop and run covered with hardware cloth to allow excess moisture and stale soiled air to escape. Ventilation areas should be high above the level where your flock roosts so they don’t become exposed to draft when they’re sleeping at night.
Sanitation is important year-round, but especially in the winter. With their options to forage reduced or eliminated entirely by harsh winter weather your sanitation and maintenance routine is the cornerstone of your flock’s health, especially in the winter time. Remove excess droppings from your roosts and perches with a scraper. Other dry-cleaning tools include things like a dedicated hard bristle brush. Addressing and removing excess droppings is vital to your flock’s winter health and their health in general.
Other winter considerations.
Provide your flock with access to food and water. Multiple food and water stations make it possible for less dominant flock members to eat and drink without being harassed. Well timed treats can be used to bolster your chicken’s appetite and activity level. I serve treats only 3 times per week to be sure I don’t create a nutritional imbalance in my flock. I serve treats in addition to my flock’s complete chicken food, not as a substitute. Your chickens will need access to fresh water even in freezing temperatures. You can use a heated livestock water bowl or commit to checking and refreshing your chickens’ water several times per day. Non-electric options include using a black rubber livestock bowl. Your chickens will also benefit from access to grit and calcium supplement. Grit is necessary for your chickens to properly digest their food. With their chances to forage grit from their environment reduced by cold winter weather this important supplement helps them maximize the nutrition available in their food. Calcium supplement helps maintain strong egg shells and feathers. Also, do not provide moist treats at night before your flock roosts. Moist treats can adhere to your chicken’s face and waddles which can lead to frostbite. If you are providing treats with a moisture component during cold temperatures do so in the morning when chickens have adequate time to bath and remove any extra food that adhered to them, or avoid moist treats altogether in cooler temperatures if you experience frequent extreme harsh winter cold. I serve my chickens a warm morning treat like cooked oatmeal, apples, and meal worms (be certain the oatmeal has cooled to room temperature so you can touch it without discomfort so it doesn’t burn your chickens, even at room temperature it is still warm compared to outside winter temperatures) and at night I provide meal worms, corn, or scratch grain but only 3 times per week. Serve treats in a livestock safe dish and remove and discard any unused portions so you don’t attract predators to your chicken area at night.
Your flock will likely use more supplies than they do in warmer months. In the winter your flock can consume as much 1/3 more food than they do in the warmer months. Especially in your flock is living partially or fulltime in confinement, their bedding and ground cover litter will need replaced and refreshed more often. Don’t forget to also refresh your chosen nesting material as needed.
Temperature drops and transitions will be the most challenging for your chickens. When the temperatures fluctuate 20+F degrees in a single day this poses the most difficulty to your chickens physically because they will struggle to acclimate. Clean, dry, comfortable facilities, plenty of roosts and perches, and food and water are all that most flocks need to navigate these conditions. It is not advisable to bring your chickens indoors in the extreme winter cold because the transition from outside to inside could kill them as they are unable to adjust to the drastic temperature difference between outside and inside. I would only consider removing a chicken and bringing them indoors in a life-or-death circumstance not as a response to normal seasonal discomfort. If you do have to bring your chicken indoors for whatever reason, transition them gradually. You can utilize a closed garage or covered porch for this purpose. It most cases, this is not necessary. If their basic needs are being met your chickens will acclimate and even thrive in winter conditions.
Your chickens need access to a dust bath all year round. A dust bath is essential to their health and also serves as a form of enrichment. You can create a dust bath from any chicken safe container they can easily step into and out of. Fill your chicken dust bath with clean fill dirt, wood ash (from non-chemically treated wood), coarse construction sand, and food grade diatomaceous earth. *It is important it is the food grade diatomaceous, not the pesticide. *
Productivity naturally decreases in the winter. With shorter days and harsher temperatures your flock will naturally produce fewer eggs in the winter. This important natural winter break is imperative to their overall health and allows their bodies to cope with harsh winter cold. *I DO NOT recommend using artificial light to manipulate your chicken’s laying cycle. This can decrease their lifespan by as much as half and cause other serious health conditions including egg binding and premature death. * Preserve your abundance of eggs now in the late summer and early fall season using methods like water glassing and freezing liquid eggs to enjoy your flock’s eggs all winter long. Egg production will naturally increase after the winter solstice as the days get longer.
I hope this information has increased your confidence and given you some helpful things to research about winter chicken care in your specific region. Check out Chuck’s other social media for more backyard chicken and homesteading content.
Chuck and the Chicks 