Cold weather, chickens, and scratch

[valley]

A heat lamp in their house helps or even a light, low in a corner. You can close the hen house door at night also.

Richard

[sweetiepie]

I have found to extend the laying season, I have the lights come on in the hen house at 4 am and turn off at about 10 am. By then the sun should be up and they have daylight until at least 4 pm. So they have at least 12 hours of light. I have programmable light switches that I found in the bathroom section of menards. I start the timer in October and turn off usually in March.

I tend to feed grains that have lots of protein and have found that if they start to decrease in laying I can give some catfood and it gives them a little jump start to get them going again.

I do not provide any source of heat for my chickens. They grow accustom to the decreasing temps and do fine. Make sure they have a place to roost off the ground. When they roost they cover up there feet and stay warm. If you do provide heat, remember they are use to it, and if your power goes out or your heat source ends for some reason, they will probably not make it because they haven't been hardened off so to speak.

I would try to have your coop not drafty but not air tight or the humidity builds up and causes frostbite on their combs and feet. They produce a fair amount of their own heat and keep the coop warmer than it is outside. If the coop becomes to warm and humid, they are more prone to becoming sick. In the summer you can open vents and get air circulation but in the winter it just builds up.

Keep plenty of food and fresh unfrozen water available. I use heated dog dishes for water in the winter because they are easy to clean and you are not slopping water on yourself and becoming frozen. You do not have to worry about a float sticking or the lip of the waterer freezing. I do not ration my chicken's food, they are usually given what will last them 24 hours.

Straw or hay down on their floor helps to prevent frozen feet. Once winter sets in and temps dip below 32, I do not worry about the poop building up. For one thing it is frozen solid and very difficult to remove, when spring comes I clean the coop. I just keep laying down straw or hay as needed in layers as the winter goes on.

I do not let the chickens out when it is 32 or below outside, usually. Unless maybe it is spring and the sun is shining but they usually do not like the snow. Our winters here can be 40 below with 50 mph wind gusts and I have not lost a chicken due to cold temperatures.

Wishing you lots of success!!