To those of you that have backyard chickens

[Gemma]

This is my first year owning chickens, up until now I've opened the chicken door at 5:30am and closed it back up after work around 6:30pm, but we are getting into single digits temps and I'm not sure if I should keep letting my chickens out in this cold, or keep them locked up so the coop stays warmer
They are confined to the run, not free range, and the run is covered, what should I do?

 

[j.w]

I see chicken coops around here on my walks and I also have had them before. We don't get as cold as you do but I have noticed on really cold days the chickens seem to be smart enough to go in when they get too cold. If you provide a warming lamp on really cold days they would for sure go in there to stay warm. Or you could do this for them......................................

 

[Faebinder]

Thanks for making me smile.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

This is my first year owning chickens, up until now I've opened the chicken door at 5:30am and closed it back up after work around 6:30pm, but we are getting into single digits temps and I'm not sure if I should keep letting my chickens out in this cold, or keep them locked up so the coop stays warmer
They are confined to the run, not free range, and the run is covered, what should I do?

Are they currently laying eggs? Are you giving them extra artificial lighting?
If it's too cold for them outside they will go inside on their own.
I gota ask though, there is lots of information out there on chicken husbandry, I don't know why you would seek out information on a pond forum to ask questions about chickens?

 

[Gemma]

I gota ask though, there is lots of information out there on chicken husbandry, I don't know why you would seek out information on a pond forum to ask questions about chickens?

Because I don't have a lot of time online and I rather spend it here... besides this is a general forum, I thought I could post whatever

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Because I don't have a lot of time online and I rather spend it here... besides this is a general forum, I thought I could post whatever

I'm not saying you can't post stuff unrelated to pond stuff in this forum, not at all. And I don't mean to pick on you because I often see people asking questions unrelated to the forums they are asking it in, but if your internet time is really limited I'd think a Google search or a forum more related to the subject matter would be a better use of your limited time and probably yield more experienced answers and solutions to unrelated subjects. When you think about it you wouldn't really expect expert advice about pond related question like "how often should I feed my Koi?" from members of a beer brewing forum. At best you'd probably be wasting your valuable time, at worst you'd probably get poor advice like "you should give your Koi 2 lbs of hops twice a day".

 

[MoonShadows]

This is my first year owning chickens, up until now I've opened the chicken door at 5:30am and closed it back up after work around 6:30pm, but we are getting into single digits temps and I'm not sure if I should keep letting my chickens out in this cold, or keep them locked up so the coop stays warmer
They are confined to the run, not free range, and the run is covered, what should I do?

@Gemma, I don't remember where you live, but chickens are actually better equipped to deal with cold weather than hot. More chickens die from heat problems. They don't need heat or little coats. The coop still needs good ventilation during the winter ,not a breeze or wind, otherwise the moisture from their respiration will build up, and they run the risk of getting frostbite on their crops and/or wattles. Make sure your roosting area had perches wide enough so they can comfortably get down and cover their feet. Do not worry about them during the winter. They are well-equipped to deal with it.

As far as light, you can gradually introduce more artificial light so they experience 14 hours of light a day, and their egg production will not slow down as much. However, you are screwing with their biology then.

 

[Gemma]

Thanks @MoonShadows , I thought you were one of the few, on here having chickens

Well after 3 days of confinement, today I opened the little door...turns out they have no interest in being outdoor, they made it to the second step and headed back inside. I'll try again on Sunday when it supposed to warm up a bit.

Egg laying is not one of my concerns, the 4 of them still give me 2 eggs a day , I'm fine with that

 

[Gemma]

I'm not saying you can't post stuff unrelated to pond stuff in this forum, not at all. And I don't mean to pick on you because I often see people asking questions unrelated to the forums they are asking it in,

Maybe they just like to keep this forum going while not much is happening with their pond? or maybe they rather talk to friends and not random strangers?

 

[MoonShadows]

Thanks @MoonShadows , I thought you were one of the few, on here having chickens

Well after 3 days of confinement, today I opened the little door...turns out they have no interest in being outdoor, they made it to the second step and headed back inside. I'll try again on Sunday when it supposed to warm up a bit.

Egg laying is not one of my concerns, the 4 of them still give me 2 eggs a day , I'm fine with that

If their run is protected, open the door and let them decide when/if they will come out.

 

[JamieB]

We had chickens. Our coop has like 4 sliding doors, we’d open and close each morning and night the amount needed for weather. One in winter, all in summer for a good breeze. The chickens will go out if they want to. We fed our chickens in the run, not the coop. My best advice for you: feed them veggie scraps, crush up the old eggshells small for them as they will recycle the calcium. Make sure your fence is predator proof: we lost all of our ducks to a weasel, and a few chickens. Tiny little hole is all it took. Come spring, if you can, let them out of the run. They love to free range gathering bugs. In winter, dried mealworms are a treat they love. If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Fair chance some of us here have it did have chickens.

 

[MoonShadows]

Best fencing material is hardware cloth. It will keep out all predators, except bears!

 

[j.w]

If you eventually find that you have trouble w/critters trying to dig up under the fence you may have to bury some wire bent outward away from fence at a 90 degree angle all around the bottom of the coup so the critters will then run into that first and won't make it through. Hardware cloth will make it unable for them to dig through. If you have bears nothing will work except maybe electric wire. Even then that might not work for them.

 

[Gemma]

Best fencing material is hardware cloth. It will keep out all predators, except bears!

If you eventually find that you have trouble w/critters trying to dig up under the fence you may have to bury some wire bent outward away from fence at a 90 degree angle all around the bottom of the coup so the critters will then run into that first and won't make it through. Hardware cloth will make it unable for them to dig through. If you have bears nothing will work except maybe electric wire. Even then that might not work for them.

You guys have seen my setup, I have a concrete wall all around my coop and run that's almost 2' deep underground...the run is made out of framed hard cloth, I think my girls are safe in there

The reason I asked if I should let them out in single digit weather was to avoid frostbites ...turns out they have no desire to be outside in that cold anyway

 

[JamieB]

Ours did. My sisters do, they only go in at dark and for the worst weather. She’s got ducks and a goat too.