The Winter Chicken Coop – To Heat or Not and More Winter Concerns 
One question I hear a lot as cold winter sets in is, How do I prepare the winter chicken coop? As a longtime chicken owner, I understand the desire to give the feathered family all the best in accommodations. I mean, these birds give us healthy nutritious eggs and lots of enjoyment! I want to give my chickens the best of everything too. But, we also have to consider that the chicken is technically a farm animal, commonly placed under the heading of livestock and designed to withstand a certain amount of winter weather. I live in the mid-Atlantic area though where winters are not that extreme so lets break this down a little so you can make an informed decision on whether or not you need to add heat to your coop. Keep reading for more about the winter chicken coop.
Do We Heat Our Winter Chicken Coop?
Let me start with the temperate climate that I live in. We rarely have extended periods of time with temperatures in the single digits. Contrast this with my friends in northern Michigan, Canada, Maine, Upstate New York where weather may stay in the single digits during the day and dip below zero at night. In my area a fully enclosed well ventilated coop will not need extra heat during the majority of winters. Even during cold weather, when I open the coop in the morning, the water is not frozen solid and the coop is warm. The chickens have huddled close together on the roost and shared body heat. Last year, we had the exception to the rule and I did end up running a heat lamp in the coop for a couple of nights. The weather had been extreme for our area for an extended period of time. These type of extremes can stress the chickens and possibly lead to illness. So, I broke down and heated the coop with a heat lamp. This was plenty of heat for our coop and kept the birds comfortable and healthy. I was nervous about the fire risk and checked the bulb and cord frequently for signs of wear or hazard. I have seen extra safety measures taken using a metal chicken wire basket placed under the heat lamp to catch it if the lamp accidentally drops from where it is hanging. I take fire risks very seriously because every year you hear of tragedies resulting from heat lamps malfunctioning or being used incorrectly. Please take all possible precautions if using a heat lamp to warm the winter chicken coop. Read more on how to avoid a chicken coop fire.
Always Use Caution
If you live in an area with extreme weather, I recommend that you go cautiously into adding heat to the coop. Consider both the fire hazard, discussed above and the effects of added light during winter. Chickens feathers are made for insulating and trapping warmth. If a chicken has successfully passed through the molting season and regrown feathers, they will be able to keep warm if the coop is enclosed, has good ventilation and is not drafty. Of course there comes the point when a prolonged cold snap begins to take its toll and your birds may become stressed. I mention a different type of heat system for coops at the end of this post.
In addition to heat, the heat bulb also provides extra light during the night. All that extra light can cause a chicken to produce eggs when it should be resting and recovering from molt. Letting the natural molting/no egg laying season run it’s course is what is best. This lack of egg production during molting season is nature’s way of giving the chicken time to build up again after feather production. It’s natural and should be expected. Some years our chickens molt quickly and will be laying eggs again during the winter months. Other years it seems that they take the winter off!
And lastly, if you do intend to heat your chicken coop, make sure you have a back up plan in place if your heat system breaks, or a power outage occurs. Chickens kept in a heated coop may not survive a power outage that takes out the heat source during a cold night. The sudden change in temperature can be deadly. I have talked to chicken owners who do heat the coop, but only to raise the temperature a few degrees. This way, if a power outage occurs the change is not drastic.
I am seriously considering buying the Sweeter Heater for our coop. It hangs on the coop wall and provides moderate heat using safer, low wattage power. The manufacturer recommends the Sweater Heater be side mounted for grown hens in a coop. I would only need to use it during extreme cold snaps here. You may need to use it more frequently where you live if your temperature frequently drops below zero.
Ventilation and Drafts- What is the Difference?
Ventilation is important even during cold months. Ventilation is air that freely moves in and out of the coop, gently. Drafts on the other hand, are air currents that blow directly on the chickens on the roost or when they are standing in the coop. Do not seal your coop up tight. The lack of ventilation will cause moisture to accumulate, causing condensation and this can lead to frostbite (Frostbite at first, looks like black spots on combs and wattles). Drafts on the other hand, will cause chickens to be stressed and cold. The difference between a draft and ventilation is the rate of air flow. If you see the chicken’s feathers lifting while they are on the roost, they are in a draft. Find where it is coming from and seal it off. Good ventilation will also keep the ammonia odor from collecting in the coop. Ammonia build up can cause respiratory problems in chickens. Ammonia builds up and gets worse in the presence of moisture and lack of ventilation. Air quality in the winter chicken coop is very important to your flock’s health, as they often will spend more time in the coop in colder months.
Keeping the Water From Freezing!
Water must be provided even during freezing weather. Luckily, once chickens go to roost, they don’t get up for a drink during the night. Make sure you provide plenty of water and keep the water bowl filled with fresh water during the day. During extreme cold weather here, I need to bring jugs of warm water from the house to refill the water bowls. I don’t use a water fount during the winter because the water freezes in the fount and it stays in there! I prefer to use the Fortex rubber feeding pans. They don’t break when frozen and the ice will break out easier.
If you have an electric outlet or electricity in your coop, there are heated chicken waterers available. If the power fails, the water in the fount will freeze solid and you will have a hard time getting the ice block out of the fount. The rubber feed pans have the advantage of being flexible so that the ice block can pop right out and you can refill the bowl. A lot of commercial products are available. The trick is knowing whether they will work for your situation or not.
How have you handled the winter chicken coop issues with your chickens? Do you heat your coop?
Until Next Time, Stay Warm!
Janet
This is my first winter with chickens, they are ex battery chickens and whilst the ones we got last spring are now looking lovely and fully feathered, we got some more a couple of months ago who were almost totally bald. They have done a great deal of feather growing over the past few weeks but two of them still have bare patches on their bums and tums and I am worrying about them now the weather has turned colder. I’m in the UK and we tend not to get extremes of weather for prolonged periods but at the moment it is around 4 – 6 degrees c during the day and around zero at night. I’ve made sure they have loads of bedding and draft proofed the hen house, also I have used cardboard inside as temporary insulation, they sleep in the nesting boxes and I am quite happy if I see them snuggled up together (I have made a couple of double sized boxes so they can do this) but when there is one on their own in a nesting box I start to worry they will not be warm enough. Is there anything else I should do? BTW I’m amazed that 3 of them are still laying, even though we are almost down to 8 hours daylight, including the two with bald patches, which is probably why they are slower at growing their feathers back.
These are valid concerns Lian. Those poor battery hens are lucky to have you. I would think that adding plenty of bedding as you mentioned, the hens should be able to keep warm enough. Your climate is similar to ours. Do you feel very cold when you open the coop in the morning? Sometimes I am too warm in our coop first thing in the morning if I have a coat on! It sounds like you are doing everything you can. Providing scratch grains before bed can help generate heat. They should be going to roost with full crop to get them through the night. Maybe add some warm water would help them keep warm, too.
I have a sweeter heater and I love it. I only have 4 hens right now and built my coop big to accomate more hens if I should increase the flock. So right now they don’t heetvit well on their own. I have one that hangs above the roost. Where I live it can be below zero for many days. The heater doesn’t heat the coop but gives off a gentle warmth. My girls look do much happier in the am.
Lynn thank you for telling me that you love the sweater heater. So good to get a testimonial from someone using it.
I am in central Indiana, near Illinois border. We had a brutal winter last year. I use a galvanized water can, sitting on a temperature controlled heating element. And a temperature controlled plug that turns on my heat lamp if below 35 degrees F. Rooftop vent and one window opposite the roosts is opened 2 inches to allow ventilation. My birds did quite well. I also have their access hatch door hinged so it can be closed at night with a draw string. This came in handy last year in near blizzard conditions since I elected to leave it closed for the day time. My coop is a converted 10 X 9 storage shed. Double walled plastic. While there is no insulation in the walls, there is about 2 inches of air space between the layers.
We have 12 new hens as of this last May. They are doing great so far. All come running out of a morning when I open that hinged door.
Than k you for your informative forum here.
Thank you for sharing your story!
If you decide to use any kind of lighting in your coop to lengthen the day for the hens so that they will lay and not just eat all winter, do some research. Some people believe it shortens the egg laying life of chickens. Do your own research on that. Also, if you extend their day, do it by having the light on all night (they don’t seem to care and it may keep preditors away to some extent) or have it come on a few hours before dawn. Never have a light that comes on at dusk and turns off after dark. You will catch the hens on the floor of the coop and they will be plunged into darkness before they can get to a roost. That wouldn’t kill them, but it is stressful for them.
excellent points thank you for your comment
I live in SW Michigan and we get a lot of cold and snow here as well as high winds off of Lake Michigan too. This fall, I rescued 5, 2 week old, fall born chicks and their momma. This has been quite a learning experience and I have had to teach them to go in and out of the coop, to eat from a feeder and so on. Because they had been used to being out of doors from day 1, I decided to keep them outdoors (with their Momma) even though it goes against what I read about brooder heat etc. Our coop is newly built, fairly well insulated and I provided them with a plastic bin filled with wood shavings and leaves etc. I spent a few sleepless nights worrying about them but honestly they have been fine. They are now 3 months old and almost fully feathered. I provide them with lots of fuel (food) probably a bit more meal worms and cracked corn than I should but I do want them to have the extra protein and be fueled for the cold days. We are all doing well and have learned a lot of good lessons that I write about on my blog http://smallhousehomestead.wordpress.com
We do a variety of things to keep our urban flock comfy! We use a heated dog water bowl since it stays below freezing most of the winter. Easy to clean and refill. We added a “sun room” made of mostly recycled glass that gives them extra room, light and protection. We hard wired in a heat lamp, but I only turn it on when it’s in the 20’s or below. Since we use the deep litter method it also helps with the heating, as it composts. Lots of extra pine shavings and they’re good to go. When we had 8″ of snow last month on the ground for a week I did put down an old towel so they could walk out and get a change of scenery…
Sounds like a very good plan. Your chickens are lucky ducks! LOL 🙂
And most heat lamps are red and shouldn’t interfer with their laying cycle…
We will probably have to heat our coop here in Michigan, it gets pretty chilly for sure! Our little one here in the city will be butted up against the garage so it would actually be ok, but when we’re out in the country it will definitely be too cold for our little chickies! Thanks for sharing at the Homestead Blog Hop! Hope to see you there again this week!
Thank you so very much for coming to our first ever (mis)Adventures Monday Blog hop! You know I love you, right? We sometimes get down to -40 and while it makes me nervous, we do have 2 heat lamps in our shed/coop. They are secured 2 different ways and let me tell ya, I ninja test those bad boys to see if I can knock them down before they ever get plugged in!
I live in NW Arkansas and we have temps from 0-70f and I have never added heat. To solve the water issue I collect water in a rain barrel for my chickens. Of a winter I keep a stock tank heater in it as well as the water fountain pump that pushes water from the plastic 55 gal barrel to the pvc pipe that has chicken watering nipples, then back to the 55 gal drum. It got down to 6 the other night and colder with a wind chill and did not freeze. It is a great way to save water and medicate them when I need too. I just take the pump and put it in a smaller bucket with water with the medication in it. So far s good!! Also with this type of system I never have a baby chick drown.
Steven, thank you for your comment. I appreciate it. Sounds like you have quite a nice setup for watering the chickens. I have not ever had the experience of a drowned chick but I realize it can happen. – Janet
Thank you for all the info. I’ve raised lots of chickens an ducks thru the years. Easy to raise and also fun. I always learn something and did this time. I read all your info and the texts. Extremely interesting.
thank you for following along and for the support. I appreciate it – Janet