Winter Prep - what do you do?

[Anonymous]

As the days are getting shorter and weather starting to get colder I was wondering what preparation people take with their chickens and how they deal with freezing water?

In the past I have not changed too many things for winter, my girls usually stop laying altogether over winter and genereally slow right down. I normally bed them in with plenty of straw for winter and in the past during really cold nights they choose to sleep in it in a big bundle rather than perch.

They also tend to loose weight over winter despite always having pellets available, plus getting the odd addition of pasta/high carb foods (rice/potatoes). Does anyone else experience this? How can I prevent it?

Does anyone have any tricks/tips for dealling with freezing water supplies?

 

[Tim]

I've just finished an article on getting ready for winter on the poultrykeeper.com site.

I tend to replace plastic water containers etc, order my tonne of food that will last the next 6 months, add multiple mouse traps around it :lol: and stock up on ACV etc as well as condensing my stock - so now, my hens are being put into two big houses and run to make things easier. Cockerels that can't get on are put into a cockerel only run without hens and they usually start to get on then but I don't keep any fiesty boys.

As some of my birds are now moulting, I am feeding them some cat food for animal protein to help them along a bit and all of my birds have been wormed with Verm-X. They get ACV every month in their water and a sprinkle of diatom in their mash when I make it (usually only weekends).

I keep my water containers in a building overnight to stop the frost but I have heard of people using metal water containers with a brew belt around the outside and insulation around that to keep the water from freezing - the down side is you need mains electric running out to the water container...

Some mornings when I'm leaving for work early and I'm freezing cold trying to put out water containers in the dark, I wonder whether it's all worth while :roll:

Tim

 

[girlracer265]

thanks for the article tim, my first winter so all tips gratefully received

 

[snifter]

I tend to empty out drinkers or pick them up and put them in the shed each night.

I use shavings and mine all perch so no issues there.

I also set up plastic sheeting over a chunk of the run so its weather proof for the Poland and others. They also forage more when not getting soaked.

I always give Ready Brek (usually store own brand as way cheaper) mixed with hot water on winter mornings. The chooks go nuts for it. Of course make sure its not boiling hot, but still pretty warm. I always mix in some cold to help get it to temp. I put it down in a number of bowls around the run, let the hens out and they home in on it. Never a scrap left.

I also let them free range as much as possible during winter. I find they eat more slugs, worms and so on during winter months if they find them. Snails I notice are also fought over and eaten.

Other than that I just up their non pellet feed to morning and evening (ready brek and then pasta/rice or cooked pots in the afternoon) and also give a bit more corn before they roost.