poulet steward have it prosperous . Our workload is relatively light . Especially in the season when nurseryman and farmer have it problematic ( outflow and summertime ) , we ’re golden . When shepherds are tending to their flocks by midwifing does and Ewe in the wee time of day of the morning , chicken keeper are sit back and watching the eggs roll in . As milk demands to be garner from untested cows with calf , requiring break of the day and evening milkings , the chicken keeper sleeps in , message knowing the slew is secure behind a locked coop door .
However , one time of the year that our chickens require a routine more of a peg up is wintertime . spicy summers gravel their challenges , too , to be certain , but wintertime require hired hand - on sustenance by the flock keeper . The work you do in the winter will be compounded by harsh winding , snowdrifts and cold temperatures , after all .
Be Prepared
The best way to battle winter challenge ? Anticipate them . This imply organise as much as possible in cash advance . So , fall should be a in use time of year : hump down the coop , buying extra feed and hold medical remedies on bridge player . Tackle repairs and substitute in the fall , before things break down and take attending . And before it gets too dusty .
Get the Shelter in Shape
When fortifying your flock ’s life quad , start with the living accommodations itself . Most hoi polloi verbalise of the “ spring cleanup ” urge , but in the chicken coop , that may well be the “ fall cleaning ” rush .
When the hen slow down their laying and the molts begin , you feel the variety in season and it ’s time to give everything a good , deep clean . Scrub water font , feeders , miscellaneous mantrap and snack hoop . Remove onetime bedding in the nest boxes , especially textile that ’s bemire from the time of year of habit . Scrub roosts and take debris , especially if you heat the coop or part of the construction with an galvanizing lamp .
While everything is out in the open , check the coop for damage , holes , disruption or subdivision of the structure needing repair . As you look , keep your local vulture in mind . What types of predatory animate being could take advantage of each weak point in your henhouse ?
Are there disruption in fencing ? lowly , loose fencing material or conducting wire mesh ? Holes in the coop 1 inch in diameter or large ? mouse , informer , and weasel , which are specially prejudicious and grave to stored feed and the chickens themselves , can squeeze through a fix about an in wide . Address and repair anything that size or bigger right off . Loose or flimsy fencing material welcomes just about any predator , admit cad , raccoon , bears and bobcat .
Roofing is another major concern of coop security department . Keeping the factor out of the roosting area and nesting boxes — the two most important parts of the cage ’s interior — is the most important function of the cap . In summertime , the roof keeps Sunday and rain down out . In winter , it ’s susceptible to terms from fleshy snows and rough wind . The evenfall is a effective prison term to investigate the lineament of your coop ’s roofing and make those resort you ’ve been putting off .
Winter Nutrition
In just about any part of North America , a wintertime heap will be missing something from its diet during the cold-blooded months . Fewer plants arise and thrive , meaning less green for free - range flocks . For most chicken steward , providing subsidiary food seems like a luxury , but let ’s explore the benefit .
Chickens are omnivores , meaning they corrode just about everything : greens , fruit , vegetable , seeds , ball , small microbe and even belittled animals , such as rodents or snakes . Like us , chickens thrive on variety and diversity in food for thought sources . Summer chicken can free - mountain range and sourcea variety of growing things on pastureland , if you let them . But even free - ranging winter Gallus gallus are at a red . Any wad will gain from some excess supplement in the winter — even if it ’s just leftovers or peelings from your kitchen .
Winter is the unadulterated time to initiate the substance abuse of give way your birds kitchen food waste . It ’s cold , I know , and the last thing you want to do after micturate dinner is go alfresco in the nose candy and sparkler . But your chicken will give thanks you — mayhap not with a nice wag but certainly with a few cluck and an occasionally much - anticipated weekly winter egg .
Shutterstock
All way of greens , invigorated fruit and vegetables , kitchen clippings and leftovers are fair game for crybaby , as long as the mix does n’t admit avocados ( the pits leach a chemical toxic to all bird ) , raw murphy , or anything overly unctuous or sebaceous ( such as old takeaway ) . Fresh food that ’s a few days past flower is fine , but avoid offer anything rotten or mouldy . That ’s best left to the compost tidy sum .
And , if ever there were a time to spoil your birds rotten with treat , winter would be it . Scratch is a mythic wintertime delicacy because it not only pop the question change to an otherwise workaday dieting , but it lift body temperatures as the bird digest it and save the poulet warm . Mealworms and sunflower seed kickshaw are a great generator of protein and a playfulness activity for wimp cooped up during winter snowstorms . Shutterstock
H2-Oh, It’s cold!
It ’s well-to-do to bury about water supply in the wintertime : No one pants or let on a sweat . And while it seems we can all go with less water in the cold calendar month , our flocks need it every bitas much as in the summertime , if not more . The trick is keeping water system available under freeze experimental condition .
When water supply freeze , you have two choices : Keep an redundant set of waterers , and switch them out day by day for thawed water , or heat the piddle font so that water is always available . Both choice have obvious drawbacks : Lugging water back and forward from a heated theatre is not much fun , for certain less so in the wintertime , while heat a water face pose a fire hazard . Those chicken steward in the southern states might be capable to get away with lugging rooted water fonts for the few days or weeks out of the year that want it . Those in the northerly and Midwestern land might find that they need to research the safest heating options .
The Heat Is On
Ah , we have reached the most contentious point of winter alimony : heating the chicken hencoop . advocate of heating the coop prefer to keep their lot comfortable and pampered . Some are interested about uttermost dusty , frostbite and even death . While it ’s true that some chicken breeds , such as the Silkie , absolutely postulate milder temperature to not only flourish but to go , with thoughtful attention and wish to your chicken - keeping journey , I do n’t believe anyone should need to heat the coop .
Artificially heat up the cage — such as with a warmth lamp — does several things . It brings the inside temperature to a high stage than the outside temperature , putting chickens at risk for being unable to maintain their organic structure temperature . Should you fall back power to the coop on a very cold Nox , the steep temperature could be enough to seriously injure the great deal or even leave in dying .
Some might say that inflame the coop will keep any indoor water baptistery from freezing , but that ’s a small solacement . The larger issue is that heating the coop poses an unneeded fire hazard . Many a coop fire — and lot death — could have been avoided by a few simple-minded precaution instead . Flock last from fires or top executive outages are more likely than those from cold , when hiss have been decent acclimated and protected .
Shutterstock
First , endeavor to only raise cold - hardy birds , naturally suited to your area . This terminate the dream of owning Silkies or Naked Necks in Alaska , but if a thriving , low - maintenance flock is your goal , originate with the right stock .
Rhode Island Reds , Ameraucanas , Plymouth Rocks , Australorps and Orpingtons are all terrifically cold - hardy breed with bring home the bacon personalities and phenomenal nut - pose power that are bang by millions of wad keepers . Consider breed selection to be your first winterizing project .
Next , prep the chicken coop . A coop should have adequate ventilation but no drafts , especially around the roost where the birds sleep at night , the coldest hours of the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . insularism in the wall of the henhouse and windbreaks around the coop ’s localization go a long way toward keeping the coop moderate during nighttime . you’re able to also believe employing the mysterious - litter method acting to bring up the temps up even gamy . ( See “ Rolling in the Deep ” on page 37 for more about this method . )
in conclusion , allow your bird to acclimate to your region ’s winter temperature naturally . Through the autumn season , they ’ll adjust to the coming common cold . With additionalnutrition and a fortified coop , they ’ll ease into winter with grace , and be strong enough to handle the cold with your assistance .
Have Extras
It never spite to have extras . exigency preparedness expert propose to have at least two to three calendar week worth of food , aesculapian supplies and medicament on hired man in case of emergencies . A wise chicken - keeper applies this to his or her pot in the winter , too . Even in my comparatively modest wintertime in the Southeast , a surprisal snowstorm at just the right time could result us without access to provender and other necessities .
A proficient rule of thumb is to keep one calendar month ’s worth of feed on hand at all times . Extend that to medical supply , such as first - aid - kit requisite for darling . During the declination , stock up on food and supplement , such as grit , oyster shell and scratch , as well as provender . put in everything tightly and aside from hungry winter pack rat , such as black eye , puke and raccoon .
wintertime can be a wondrous season for chickens . The birds are relieved of the summertime rut , and most of the laying hens take a abatement from their nut - laying duty . They ’re not bothered or emphasise by incite locations to fair shows , loud mowing or weed - eating task , or additions to the flock . Things are dull and quiet , and winter is a fourth dimension of relief for all . If you spend equal time and sweat on preparation and maintenance early on , it can be a time of rest for you , too .
Rolling in the Deep
Some critic call the deep - bedding method acting of coop sustenance indolent ; others find it ingenious . What if they ’re both right ?
The deep - litter method acting maintains the coop ’s bedding without wasting the resourcefulness of the new materials – bedding and chicken manure . In the traditional method acting , bedding is laid in the hencoop ’s story several inches thick . As the muckle lives among the bedding , roosting above it for weeks and months on closing , the dung decompose with the bedding material . The decay process produce heat , making the deep - litter method ideal for naturally warming wintertime coops and hold open temperatures inside the anatomical structure unchanging .
Why is this method considered faineant ? Well , for one , you do n’t remove the bedding all year . volaille droppings continue to jam up , and the wimp custodian mixes the bedding and adds more as needed . How much and when to add it is not an accurate scientific discipline ; it look on the sizing of your chicken coop , the size of your flock , the character of have a go at it you practice and your frequency of maintaining it . Generally speaking , most chicken keeper can get forth with completely changing the litter one prison term per calendar twelvemonth . When that happens is also up to you , but it ’s typically best done in bound or fall .
So why is the cryptical - litter method acting cunning ? Well , it takes advantage of the Gallus gallus ’s naturally ™ hot∫ manure , and turns the whole henhouse into a gargantuan compost pile . That does n’t sound so nice , does it ? The fact is , with some attention , the henhouse should not smell or cause malady to you or the birds . Regular alimony of roll in the hay replacement and mixing is necessary to keep it clean , but the bedding and droppings are still doing what they do well : break down into something available again . When amply decomposed and added with other substances , such as garden dirt , the litter becomes fertilise garden gold with minimum effort .
This story originally appeared in the September / October 2017 outlet ofHobby Farms .
