10 Best Tips for Keeping Your Chickens Warm in Winter

Worried about your chickens being cold this winter? Keep reading for the 10 best tips for keeping your chickens warm in winter.

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A common worry, especially among first time chicken owners, is whether their chickens will be too cold during the winter months.  We all tend to grow attached to our chickens and concern for their health and well-being is of importance. 

Luckily, the floofy feathers and naturally warm body temperatures of chickens are typically enough to protect them from most (normal) levels of cold.  Their internal body temperatures tend to be around 103 – 105 degrees Fahrenheit (a good bit warmer than humans), so they’re naturally better able to cope with the cold. 

How cold is too cold for a chicken?

Depending on your climate and how cold it actually gets, you may not need to do anything special to keep your chickens warm at all.  However, if your temperatures get to below freezing down to severe cold, then your chickens might need a little extra care to keep them comfortable.   

Typically, chickens will be fine in temperatures as cold as the teens (Fahrenheit).  Anything colder than that and they can benefit from a little extra protection. 

How to tell if your chickens are too cold? 

• Behavior / changes in activity – Cold chickens will often act lethargic and stand around immobile for long periods of time. They will also huddle together for warmth. You may also notice them standing on one leg with the other raised close to its body for warmth. Hiding their heads in the feathers is another behavior meant to help keep them warm that can be an indicator it’s too cold outside for them.
• Appearance – Fluffed up more than usual. Fluffing up their feathers is one of the way chickens keep themselves warm. Purple or blackened areas on their comb or wattles can be a sign of frostbite. Make sure to inspect your chickens often for signs of frostbite. If a chicken is extremely stiff, its eyes closed, and lying on the ground (but still alive!) then it could be potentially suffering from hypothermia.

If you’re concerned for how your chickens will do during winter, just remember that people raise chickens even in the coldest areas of the world, like Siberia where it can get as cold as -80 degrees Fahrenheit during the worst of winter.    

Winterize your coop and keep your chickens happy, cozy, and warm with these tips during Winter months. 

01 Keep Your Chickens Dry

Maintaining a dry environment in your chicken coop and areas where your chickens roam (such as a run) is not only important for your chicken’s health but has other advantages as well. 

The benefits of keeping your chickens dry:

• Less likely to develop health issues due to being wet during severe cold weather such as respiratory infections and frost bite.
• Doing so will help keep their feet and feathers cleaner as well as the eggs they lay. 
• Coop bedding will last longer and be less susceptible to mold and mildew.
• Your chickens are more likely to lay eggs.  (I find that production tends to wane a bit when it’s been wet outside for prolonged periods)   
• But most importantly, prevents you from having soggy, sad looking chickens.

This all said, there are absolutely many chickens that absolutely adore rain, mud puddles, and drinking from the most disgusting water sources they can find.  However, we still want to give them the option to be dry.      

How to keep your chickens dry?

• Weather-tight Housing – Make sure no water leaks into your chickens’ coop when it rains.  Inspect the roof and sides for weather tightness. 
• Raised coops are best to ensure excessive rain doesn’t flood the coop.
• If your coop is inside a run, then you can cover the area with tarps for some extra rain protection and runoff. 
• Use substrate that is absorbent or will allow rainwater to seep through it.  Free-draining sandy soil in the run area is best for allowing rainwater to soak through into the ground and not sit on top where we and our chickens roam. 
• You can toss down layers of straw on damp areas for a temporary solution – but keep in mind that if it stays wet for prolonged periods it can mold.
• Raise ground substrate high enough that rainwater will drain away from your chicken’s area.  If you live in an area with clay soil (like where I live) then building up the ground in your chickens run is helpful in ensuring the rainwater drains away and the ground stays relatively dry.  I typically use a mixture of sand and dissolved pine pellets to build up the ground on the run.     

No chicken wants to be a soggy chicken, so providing ample dry areas is a must year-round. 

02 Get Rid of Drafts

A properly built and maintained coop can go a long way in keeping chickens healthy and warm in winter.  Gaps in a chicken coop frame, areas of rotted wood, and holes such as doors and windows can all let in cold drafts – ventilation holes are ok but should not be in areas where your chickens sleep.      

Cold drafts and wind chill can lead to significant loss of heat in coops and drafts experienced at night when temperatures are at their coldest along with your chickens sleeping, and thus stationary can be potentially dangerous for their health.   

Check your coop regularly to make sure there are no gaps and air leaks letting in too much cold air.  If you find any, seal them up as best you can.  Gaps like this can also let in pests and predators such as mice and minks, so securing these holes is a good idea all-around.   

Smaller holes can be filled with caulk – you can often find outdoor caulk that is safe for use around animals at hardware stores.  Larger holes might require being patched with wood or other materials.

Keep in mind that you don’t want to fully seal off the coop.  You still want to maintain ventilation (more on this below) but don’t want to have excessive cold drafts near where your chickens’ lay eggs or roost and sleep.    

03 Maintain a Well-Ventilated Coop

While keeping out drafts is important, maintaining proper ventilation is equally as important, although these concepts seem to counter each other.  Essentially, you don’t want cold drafts getting to your chickens while they’re asleep in their coops, and you don’t want airflow to be reduced too much during the day.  

Some ventilation is OK at night, but you’ll want to make sure it’s not going to be letting in cold air directly where your chickens sleep.  If you have larger areas of ventilation, such as a window, you might want to close it up at night and leave smaller vent holes uncovered.   

Why do you need ventilation in a coop? 

Chickens poop a lot which contains high amounts of ammonia.  Keeping your coop well ventilated allows this ammonia, as well as moisture, to escape which leads to less harmful chemicals, mold and mildew and a healthier environment for your chickens.   

All coops should have ventilation holes of some sort.  Small holes are fine as they are, but larger holes should be covered with ¼ in hardwire cloth or other sturdy mesh that will keep out rodents, predators, and other pests while letting in air. 

If you have a more compact coop where additional ventilation holes would lead to cold drafts being directly on your chickens at night, then a few small, drilled ventilation holes (about ¼ diameter) and the door being left open during the day should be sufficient. 

Make sure that leaving a door or window open isn’t leaving your chickens susceptible to predators.

04 Wind Proof Your Run

If your chicken coop is attached to a run, then you can put-up barriers to help block the majority of the wind (you don’t have to block it all).  Plastic sheets or tarps attached around the run will help create enough of a wind barrier to give your chickens a wind-free zone and some added protection from the cold – this will also help with keeping drafts out of your coop. 

I recommend using clear plastic or tarps so that your chickens can still get as much sunlight as possible.  Cheap shower curtains are a great way to add some wind barriers.  Just use zip ties to secure a couple shower curtains in place.  You may want to punch some extra holes in the shower curtain or weigh the ends down since they only have holes at the top. 

    

05 Provide Plenty of Roosting Space

Chickens naturally love to roost, so having enough roosting space in a coop is something your coop should ideally already have. 

But remember as well, that hot air rises and the temperature at ground level tends to be cooler.  Providing roosts, a couple feet off the ground at least, allows your chickens to sit and sleep further away from the chilly ground temperatures.

06 Insulate Your Coop

If the walls of your chicken coop are rather thin and it gets well below freezing in your area, you may want to consider insulating your coop.

This can be done with a number of items such as traditional insulation (in a shed-type structure), lining the floor and walls in insulating material, and for the floor you could use something like the deep litter method.

Insulating your coop can potentially get expensive, especially if you have a large one, but I have some tips in this post [Insulate Your Chicken Coop: Best Materials & Methods] on how to insulate your chicken coop including some cheap and unique ways to do so.

07 Alternate Housing – Polytunnels, Greenhouses, Barns

Most backyard chicken raisers keep their chickens in a coop or shed of some sort.  These are often detached from other buildings and may or may not have an attached run to them. 

For those living in climates where winters get extremely cold, such as in the negatives, you might want to consider some other housing options, both permanent and temporary for keeping your chickens warm.  

Polytunnels – Polytunnels are a great way of allowing your chickens room to roam in winter months, while also protecting them from the elements. 

You could make your own makeshift polytunnel by wrapping plastic around a wood or metal frame, or you could buy a polytunnel kit – keeping in mind these can get rather expensive.

Greenhouse – If you happen to have a greenhouse on your property that’s not being occupied by plants, you could always let you chickens use it as a coop during the coldest winter months.  Just keep in mind that they’ll still want to be able to get out and about and they still need ventilation (but no drafts). 

You could also use old windows and make a makeshift greenhouse around your chickens’ current location.  Glass is ideal because it will help insulate while also allowing in light and amplifying the heat provided by the sun.

Barns – If you have a barn with an unused horse stall, then you can easily turn that into a coop area for your chickens which will be much warmer than a traditional coop. 

08 Warm Treats & Water

Chickens can’t exactly cozy up to a fire with a cup of hot cocoa, but there are some treats you can provide them in winter which will help keep them warm.

Corn, either cracked or whole [Feeding Your Chickens Dried Corn: Whole VS Cracked Corn (Which is Better?)], is loved by almost all chickens.  It builds up the fat in their systems which will help them put on a little extra weight and keep them warmer. 

Scratch grains are also good to provide in winter.  Many of the seeds used in scratch grains contain oils which are good for your chickens.  Scratch grains, when scattered about will also provide your chickens with a fun activity to keep them moving around and occupied.

Corn and scratch grains are also more difficult for your chickens’ systems to digest, which also has the effect of warming their internal temperatures.   

You can also warm up any chicken-approved fruits, veggies, and oatmeal etc to provide to your chickens as treats.  Just make sure they’re not hot.  Also make sure that any treats provided outside of their regular diet does not take up more than 10% of what they’re eating in a day. 

I like to provide treats like corn and scratch in the evenings so that I can make sure the majority of my chickens’ diet is coming from their formulated feed.

Make sure to continue to provide grit since your chickens are less likely to be able to forage for stones and other natural grit and will need it for digestion.  

You may also find your chickens eating more than usual since they’re eating extra to help keep their bodies warm. 

For waterers, there are heated founts available or there are a couple other ways that you can help keep their water from freezing over and keep it warmer for your chickens in winter if needed.  I recommend not putting a waterer inside of a coop in winter since the additional moisture in the coop can be detrimental to chickens’ health.  

09 Use a Chicken-Safe Heating Plate

While typically not necessary, a heating plate could provide some extra warmth for your chickens in winter.  Heating plates are like what is used in brooders, they don’t use bulbs (which can be dangerous and start fires), and generally are electric coils within a black plate that emit ambient heat. 

However, I wouldn’t recommend using one unless you live extremely cold temperatures or unless you have some young chickens that aren’t fully feathered yet.  If you have chicks in winter, keep them inside where you can better regulate their temperature since they need temps in the 90’s.    

A word of caution though, these can actually get too hot and could potentially burn your chickens.  If you do get one, make sure it’s from a good brand with lots of reviews.  You’ll also want to use it on a lower setting since too much of a temperature difference between in and outside where your chickens roam is not good for their health. 

NOTE:  Do NOT Use Heat Lamps in Your Coop

While severe cold weather may have us concerned for our chickens, using a heat lamp to try and keep them warm is more of a danger than it is helpful. 

Please use some of the tips above instead of adding a heat lamp to your chickens’ coop.  This is mainly concerning lamps themselves that use bulbs, there are other heaters on the marked (like mentioned earlier) that are safe to use.

10 Chicken Activities – Get them Exercising

Another way to help keep your chickens warm, at least during their active waking hours, is by providing entertainment.  Throwing scratch grains and treats on the ground for them to peck and scratch at, hanging a cabbage for them, letting them free range during the day, etc will all help keep your chickens active and warm. 

This post shows some Fall activities for your chickens which could easily transfer over to winter activities.  10 Fall Treats & Activities for Chickens (To Keep Both You and Your Chickens Entertained)

Other Concerns

Molting – If your chickens are anything like mine, then they’ll choose the coldest days in winter to start molting and losing all their feathers.  

Solution: If your chickens are molting during cold weather, make sure to provide areas that block the wind and feed them extra treats rich in protein to help them regrow their feathers.  If it’s really cold out provide some extra insulation.  Usually, the molting chicken will spend more time huddled up to its fully feathered friends to stay warm.   

Frostbite – During colder months, chickens can develop frostbite from being outside in the cold.  This is especially so for chickens with larger combs and wattles. 

Solution: Gently cover their combs and wattles in petroleum jelly which will help prevent frostbite. 

Q & A

Q: Can my chickens’ feet and legs get frost bitten?

A: It’s very rare of their legs or feet to get frost bite but it can happen.  Chickens’ internal temperatures are fairly high (about 103-105 Fahrenheit), and if their legs or feet do get too cold, they’ll either raise one up underneath them or jump on a roost and hunker down to warm them up more.  If they’re living in wet conditions the chance is higher, so make sure their area is kept dry as best you can. 

Q: Can my chickens freeze to death?

A: While it is possible, it’s not very common, and the cause is usually due to more than just the cold itself.  If a chicken freezes to this point, then often, they already had some underlying health issue, injury, or they might have gotten wet and then got too cold. 

Q: Is it ok to let my chicken’s free range in winter?

A: Most definitely.  Even if it gets cold and there’s snow on the ground your chickens will still enjoy free ranging for a while and searching for bits of plants or berries to eat.  If you get several inches to several feet of snow, you may want to clear them an area to make it easier for them to walk around. 

Q: Can my chickens still lay eggs when it’s cold out? 

A: Yes, they can!  However, there’s a couple factors that may affect their ability to do so such as age, lack of sun etc which may cause production to be decreased (or nonexistent).  I have a previous post that mentions reasons chickens aren’t laying and some solutions that you might find useful [HERE –> Reasons Your Chickens Aren’t Laying Eggs (and Some Solutions)]

Q: Can eggs freeze in winter?

A: They sure can!  And they will.  If you live in an area where you’ll be getting below freezing temperatures, I recommend checking for eggs a couple times a day if you can manage.  If you get frozen eggs, you can still defrost and eat them like regular eggs, though the texture might be a bit off so it’s better to eat them as scrambled eggs.  Do NOT eat them if the egg has cracked. 

A warm chicken, a happy chicken be.

And don’t forget draft free is key. 

Dry ground is where all chickens are found.

Feed corn and treats to add on a pound.