5 Frugal Ways to Keep Your Chickens Warm
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In this article, you will learn frugal ways to keep your chickens warm for less this winter. We live in upstate New York and experience frigid temperatures and our chickens are staying warm. Of course, this came with trial and error.
When it comes to frugal living you want the best way to do something for the least amount of money right? This winter here in upstate New York has been frigid. With temperatures below freezing and highs in the -2. It’s been brutal so I have gathered up our best tips of how we are keeping our chickens warm this winter and how you can too.
This is our second winter out here on our little farm, but we have lived in cold harsh winters all our life. We don’t use a heat lamp with our chickens. I read many things about the realization you don’t really need one, but a few of our chickens did get frostbite a few days ago when the temperatures dipped into the single digits and negatives overnight. I quickly realized some mistakes that were made.
There were a few things we did wrong and I want to share with you how we fixed it and it’s working for us now.
Here are 5 Frugal Ways to Keep your Chickens Warm this winter
It was just after 6 am when I went out to the barn to let the chickens out. I knew they would need water a path shoveled to come out to the heated bucket of water. This year our winter has been the coldest since we started raising chickens 5 years ago. For the past couple days, the chickens haven’t left the barn- not even for water.
So I have been making several trips to the barn to fill up some water bowls. That was getting old. The ducks weren’t even coming down for water the wind was just too brutal.
Then I saw a chicken with blood and her feathers pulled back and I immediately thought she got attacked. I looked around the barn but nothing. Then I looked closer and realized she had frostbite.
Tip: When our chickens got frostbite I would put them in a small dog crate with a bunch of straw and bring in the garage. I kept them hydrated and fed away from the flock until they warmed up. In the past when a chicken is sick or has an injury we keep in a dog crate in the barn with the others, but given the temperature, I decided the garage would be a bit warmer. You also don’t want to just bring them in a heated area either as a drastic warm up like that isn’t good for the affected area.
The other chickens were probably pecking at her blood which made the whole scene worse. I walked around the barn and saw a few other chickens had black spots on their combs.
I felt awful.
USE OLD CHICKEN FEED BAGS TO FILL DRAFT HOLES
Our biggest mistake was NOT having every hole in the coop filled. Overnight temperatures are the lowest they have been with this flock. Most frostbite occurs during the night.
We save all our chicken food bags and have them sitting in a corner in the barn. It is amazing how thick these are. I used these bags and shoved them into holes and stapled them to the walls where any holes were. The cost to do this- Nothing.
I’m not sure why I thought just covering their window last year was good enough- although the last year 2017 our winter was not as harsh.
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USE PLEXIGLASS TO INSULATE & LET SUN HEAT COOP
We actually have two chicken coops. Before we moved out to the country I had my six chickens in the town living across the street from Walmart! It was an adventure. My husband built that chicken coop and used Plexi Glass on the side. This allows light into the coop but then we don’t have to worry about insulating this in the winter.
SALTWATER BOTTLE TO KEEP WATER FROM FREEZING
I saw this idea floating around on Pinterest. We found a heated water bucket on the side of the road that surprisingly still works. Last year I would shovel a path from the barn down to the bucket and it worked fine. This year it’s not happening. Too much snow and wind. So the water bucket is at the edge of the barn- but there is still snow up to it. That means some of our chickens are refusing to go to it.
We tried an old water bottle filled with a half salt water and half water. We made sure that the lid was tight and nothing was leaking from it. An excessive amount of salt can kill chickens. Then we filled our waterer up and it worked! Yet for the past week when the temperatures have been in the negatives the salt water wasn’t working. The water bucket continues to have ice around the rim. It’s just too darn cold. This is a free way to keep your chickens hydrated. Once the temperatures rise again I will continue using the water bottle method.
RED PEPPER FLAKES
I have been feeding our chickens Red Pepper flakes I bought from Aldi for under $2! Supposedly this will warm your chickens up. There are a bunch of different spices you can use to create a healthy flock. I have been doing it the last couple days and if anything it gets them up and moving to increase their blood flow so it’s a win for me. There are many articles about cayenne pepper increasing egg production and even saying it thickens the shell of their eggs.
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FEEDING EXTRA SCRAPES/TREATS
Our chickens are pasture raised. They only go in the barn at night. In winter they have their own coop inside the huge old barn. So for the most part on extreme weather days, they hang out in the barn. I give them any extra veggie scraps that are not going to our indoor pot-bellied pig. The ends of bread seem to be their favorite. I throw the ends in the toaster then toss in a blender and feed to the chickens.
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In conclusion, those five tips are the most beneficial. Keep your flock free from drafts, hydrated and fed should keep them up and alive through the winter months. Always make sure they have a full feeder before they sleep as this keeps them warmer through the night. We also keep thick layers of straw in the coop and around the barn where they hang out during the day. When the weather warms up we shovel a path from the barn down to the grass. This gives them a bit of an area to forage.
These tips can be applied to ducks as well. Our ducks share the same coop as our chickens and follow the same tips as mentioned above.
What tips do you have for keeping your chickens warm in the winter?
Comments 4
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Hi Tasia, we live in Eastern PA and the winter has been brutal! This is my first winter with chickens and so far they are doing ok. My husband built a gorgeous coop and the only open “draft” areas is at the roofline where the soffits are. I haven’t covered them because I want to make sure I provide adequate ventilation for the girls. My only regret is not having placed some sort of plastic wind barrier around the chicken run, which I’m definitely going to do next year. Anyways great tips and good luck with the rest of this winter 😊
Hi Dana! What a blessing that your husband built a beauty! Yes def. can’t cover those. I’m hoping we get a break and see some warmer temperatures here soon. We have a plastic tarp covering the one corner of our chicken coop. We free range our chickens and have a couple different coops. Our new coop is doing great it’s the old barn that gets tricky!
Using an old tarp to screen the wind and insulating the coop with straw and cardboard has worked really well for 2 years in my coop and cost me nothing! Love the tip about chilli pepper in the food!
Cardboard is a great idea! I’m so looking forward to a new barn that blocks the wind though. In a 100 year old barn I feel like there is a new hole each day 🙂