Winter tips for backyard chickens that no one thinks about (until it’s too late)

By Dalia Monterroso, The President of Chickenlandia

This post contains affiliate links to awesome products that I love.

With the upcoming holidays, you’re probably really busy. Alas, time stops for no one, and before we know it, winter will be upon us if it isn’t already. My first and most important winter tip is this: Don’t worry! You and your chickens will be just fine. That said, I don’t want you to get caught off guard by issues that can be avoided with a bit of preparedness. Keep scrolling for helpful winter tips you likely won’t read about elsewhere!

Chickenlandia is in the Pacific Northwest, a region considered relatively mild in terms of climate. Each year, we usually get about two or three days of temperatures below ten degrees and maybe a week with snow on the ground. You can imagine, then, my utter shock when a couple of years ago we had a terrible ice storm. The whole chicken run was covered in a thick sheet of ice, and the netting above it was also frozen solid. Needless to say, the whole thing was scary and difficult to manage, especially after I injured myself while hauling water to the coop.

It was just a little slip; it happened in a split second. I didn’t even fall to the ground. But it was enough to give me a groin injury that took almost two years to heal. If only I had known what I’m about to tell you right now: please get appropriate winter boots dedicated to the chicken yard and/or buy yourself some ice cleats for your existing chicken yard shoes. If I had had either or both of these things, I would not have gotten injured. Don’t let it happen to you! Trust me on this one.

Another thing it would be wise for you to think about before the bitter cold is upon us is how and where you will store your feed in the winter. Think about how you will haul that feed to your coop if there’s a storm or if there’s any place you can put it so you don’t have to haul it. You will also want to consider how you will haul water if needed. You may wish to acquire some kind of cart, wagon, or sled for these types of chores. Trust me, doing so will make life so much easier for you.

If you can have electricity in your coop and you just haven’t set it up yet, do it now and get yourself a heated waterer that you can plug in, fill, and walk away from. There are good-quality heated waterers made specifically for chickens, but they are somewhat expensive. A cheaper alternative would be to purchase one or two heated dog bowls (just remember, you will have to change these out more often). Heated dog bowls can also be used to feed your flock fermented feed over the winter.

Melted snow and rain can cause a mud issue in your chicken yard. Mud can bring with it a whole host of problems you want to avoid, such as stressed or sick chickens. There’s also the problem of smell. If you need to do something drastic, like regrading your chicken yard so you have better drainage, it’s best to do that before the ground freezes. If your mud issue isn’t severe, try Chickenlandia’s famous mud hack, which uses pine pellets to soak up moisture. You can learn more about that here:

Okay, so this piece of advice is really important. I want you to be truly honest with yourself and make sure that the space where your chickens can go to get away from drafts, rain, snow, and mud is enough space for the number of chickens you have. If you need to downsize, you should do it now. Don’t wait until you have a bullying situation or other problems due to overcrowding.

The other thing you need to be sure of is that you have enough enrichment for your chickens, especially if they have to be confined for an extended time in a smaller space than they are used to. Because bored chickens will get into trouble, hanging a cabbage for them to peck at is a great idea. You could also sprout some grains for them and/or make them a suet treat or a DIY treat block. They will love it, and it will keep them occupied until that darn snow melts away. For my DIY suet treat recipe, watch this (or check out the blog post before this one):

Winter can be a nerve-wracking time for chicken keepers, but it doesn’t have to be. Let me know in the comments how you plan to get through the winter! You can also check out more regarding chicken winter care here.