How Cold Before Putting Vaseline on Chicken Combs
A few years ago I wrote a post about what chickens need in winter. But in recent years, I've seen a variety of things suggested online, which are either unnecessary or a downright bad idea. Some people have unfortunately killed their birds with kindness. So, today I'm going to talk about six things that chickens do not need in winter.
A sweater
I cringe every time I see a picture of a chicken in a sweater on social media. No, chickens do not need sweaters. In fact, this is a very bad idea for several reason. Chickens stay warm because their feathers are fluffy. When you put a sweater on them, that weighs down their feathers, removing the air, and they will actually be more cold.
A sweater will also prevent them from their usual grooming and preening. Many of the pictures I've seen cover the chicken's body completely, including the wings, which means it can't even flap its wings like a normal chicken. This would be like putting a person in a straight jacket.
And if they are wearing a sweater, it could get caught on something and cause them to get injured or caught by a predator.
If you own a down jacket or a down comforter, think about how warm it is!
Petroleum jelly on their combs
Some people say you can prevent frostbite on combs during the winter by putting petroleum jelly on the combs. For starters, this is really impractical if you have more than four or five chickens, especially if it is getting below freezing every night. And I'm not sold on the idea that it would actually prevent frostbite.
What really causes frostbite on their combs is moisture. If you have them in a coop that is insulated, moisture will build up, and they are more likely to get a frozen comb. Once in awhile one of our roosters will lose a few tips on his comb, but our hens are totally fine, and we've had temperatures get as low as 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
The other thing I don't like about this is the petroleum jelly. It is a petroleum product. I don't use any petroleum products on my body, and I'm not going to use any petroleum products on the body of any animal that is producing food for us.
If you live in an area that has a lot of low temperatures in the single digits, you could get a breed that has a flat comb, such as a rose comb, which is not as susceptible to frostbite as a large single comb.
And no, it is not true that a rooster will become sterile if his comb freezes.
A heated coop
Heating the coop will result in chickens that are not acclimated to your climate, and if you have a power outage, they will be really unhappy. Also, when people heat their coop, they usually insulate it, which is a bad idea.
In two decades of keeping chickens in northern Illinois, we have never heated our chicken coop. We get below zero temperatures every winter. Our average low in January is 22 degrees, and we have seen temperatures as low as 25 below zero — yes, that's -25 Fahrenheit. And it was part of a cold snap where the temperature did not get above -25 for 36 hours. All of the chickens were fine, but we did lose a peahen who decided to roost outside rather than go into our unheated barn with the other peafowl.
An insulated coop
Insulating the coop will cause moisture build-up, which will result in frozen combs, as well as respiratory problems.
Here is one time in my life when procrastination paid off! When we built out chicken house back in 2007 or so, we had plans to insulate it, but we never got around to it that first year, and then we went through winter and realized our chickens were totally fine, so we never insulated it.
Now, some of the most vocal proponents of NOT insulating your coop are people I know in the Chicago area who were on the ball and insulated their coop when they built it — and they spent a lot of time at the vet with sick chickens their first winter because they kept getting respiratory illnesses.
The next winter, they realized the coop needed to be well ventilated (but not drafty) so they kept a window open, and their chickens were much healthier.
We've been keeping as many as 80 chickens most years since 2002 and have never had a chicken with a respiratory problem.
A lighted coop
Your chickens don't need a lighted coop. They'll be totally happy with the longer nights in winter. However, that means they won't be laying as much or may take a break until the days get longer again.
We don't light our coop because I feel that if Mother Nature thinks the girls need a break, who am I to argue. I really believe that one reason we have had virtually no sick chickens in two decades is because we don't force them to lay 12 months a year.
If you choose to light your coop to keep your hens laying over the winter, be sure that you do not use the Teflon-coated light bulbs because they emit toxic fumes that can kill your chickens. (Yes, this also means that Teflon-coated cookware is releasing toxic fumes in your house when you cook with it.)
Also, if you want to add supplemental lighting to keep them laying, you should put the light on a timer so the light goes on in the morning for the added hours of light. If it goes off at night, the chickens will not be able to roost because they can't see in the dark, so they will be stuck where they are standing when the light goes off.
Apple cider vinegar to keep water from freezing
The freezing point for vinegar is 28 degrees. The freezing point for water is 32 degrees. If you put a splash of vinegar in water, it is not going to lower the freezing point much, if at all. And if it gets lower than 28 degrees, there's no point at all.
If you have a problem with water freezing, either buy a water heater or use two bowls, and swap them out as one freezes. Don't worry about water overnight, as chickens don't drink overnight. They're practically blind in the dark and don't leave the roost until sunrise.
So, what do chickens need in winter?
Keeping chickens in a cold climate is not hard. I've even met southern Alaska chicken keepers online who've said they don't do anything special during the winter other than use a water heater.
Your chickens do need a place where they'll be protected from wind, snow, and rain — 365 days a year — but other than that, they're well equipped to brave the cold far better than we are. For more details, check out my previous post on chickens in winter.
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How Cold Before Putting Vaseline on Chicken Combs
Source: https://thriftyhomesteader.com/chickens-dont-need-in-winter/
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