Yep, it has been unusually cold and windy out at the farm. Because of this I have been asked many questions about the chickens. Do they do all right in this weather? Do they need any special care? Do they still lay eggs?

Well, I'm happy to report that the chickens are all doing great. Like most of us, they don't spend as much time outside when it is extremely cold and windy.

These are our first chickens and truthfully I wasn't sure what to expect. I do a lot of reading and learning about farming but nothing can prepare for the actual experience of your own farm and its environment. One of the salvageable buildings on the farm was an old pig house that was converted to a chicken coop. This shelter keeps them dry and out of the wind. It also has electricity so I use heated water bases to keep the water from freezing. I can also use lights as needed.

The chicken breeds I have chosen are all tolerant of the cold. Their basic requirements are food, clean water, and shelter from the elements. For continued egg laying they also need supplemental light, as the number of light hours are a trigger for them to continue to lay. I use a light on a timer to add light until about 9 pm. When it is extremely cold, I use a red 250 W infrared heat lamp for that purpose.

Outside, they were a little hesitant of the snow at first, but if I lay down a little straw or hay they have no problem. I will also throw out some scratch so they can peck through stuff like they do in the summer months. This gets them out so they don't get cabin fever inside the coop.

I'm happy to report that even at 10 degrees F with a windchill below zero they do enjoy the warm sun and have given us a good bounty of beautiful fresh eggs.

Chickens and the Cold