With all of those frigid temperatures the question arose, should we heat the coop? There are pros and cons on each side. Everyone knows I have very "spoiled" hens. They are held, petted, and talked to. They are treated to berries, watermelon, and anything else my boys think would bring them pleasure. All you have to do is open the back door to the kitchen and girls run as quickly as their little legs will carry them. It is quite a sight which never fails to bring pleasure to us humans who serve them. So, they are pretty spoiled and loved.
As the meteorologist predicted lows in the single digits with wind chills below zero, sleet, and snow I began to worry. My two Easter Eggers, Ostara and Fancy, were molting. With so few feathers would they freeze? Were my Buffs, LuLu and Dolly, going to suffer from frost bite on their combs? What to do? Commence research! I went to www.backyardchickens.com and read all of the posts I could. I visited poultry blogs for their words of wisdom. I talked to others and read books I had on hand. Here is what I learned.
On the side of putting up a heat lamp there is the comfort factor. They would be more comfortable with a nice heat lamp under which to snuggle. If there is going to be a big drop in the temperature they will handle it much better with the extra heat in the coop and acclimate more easily.
On the flip side, the side that may seem cruel at first, is to not add heat to the coop. Adding a heat lamp will increase condensation within the coop. More condensation increases the likelihood of frost bite. When the coop is heated and the chickens go out of the coop there is a very quick temperature change, of course, which puts them at risk of illness. If the girls are used to the heat lamp and the electricity fails they are put in harms way again. Then there is the risk of fire. Heat lamp fires were rampant this year. Entire flocks were lost along with the coops. Some these fires have tragically spread to homes as well.
So you have probably figured out by now that decided not to heat the coop. We closed the largest vents to keep the wind out. There was still plenty of ventilation. Lack of ventilation is unhealthy at the best of times but also causes a build up of condensation. So they were ventilated but protected from the bitter winds. We were sure they ate well before nightfall. I also put vaseline on their combs and wattles to protect them from frost bite. The evidence on this is sketchy at best, but it can't hurt. At the very least when you massage in the vaseline it helps the blood flow. The result? Every chicken accounted for and NO frost bite! No "freezer burned" chicken as one neighbor put it.
The ladies are all out there now enjoying the beautiful weather scratching around. We are also back to getting an egg a day from each girl. They had slowed down a bit because of the shorter days and molting. We're back on track now.
I am so pleased to have made it through our first winter with the chickens. It is time to move on to spring planting! I have plans for those raised beds this year, but that is another conversation.
