As winter makes its way through your area, here are a few ways you can care for your chickens during freezing temperatures and other cold weather.
Chickens still lay eggs in the winter.
Brr!
We always welcome winter weather because it means rest is coming. It also means pest pressure dies back and we can look forward to enjoying our garden harvest at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But just because the garden has been put to rest doesn’t mean the work stops!
We keep a flock of chickens because we rely on eggs all year long – even during the winter! A happy hen is a laying hen, so it’s important to us to properly care for them during the winter.
Here is how we care for and keep chickens warm during the winter.
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How Chickens Prepare for Winter
That’s right – chickens can prepare themselves for winter!
As the sunlight hours reduce, chickens slow down on egg production. This is directly influenced by the lack of sunlight, but it’s a signal to the chicken’s body to begin conserving their energy. They’re going to need it to stay warm!
Chickens also experience a fall molt or lose their feathers. The new feathers that grow in prepare them for the cold temperatures to come.
When the feathers finally come in, you may notice a chicken fluffing their feathers, or staying puffed up. This is an effort to stay warm.
Chickens also huddle together to stay warm.
How to Care for Chickens During the Winter
Winter weather can make you think twice about your capabilities as a chicken keeper. Don’t let it!
There are plenty of things that will help your flock. It’s up to you to find them.
These are some methods that we have tried in the past with success.
Use the Deep Litter Method
The deep litter method provides extra bedding to chickens in increments. When winter hits, you may clean your chicken coop for the last time. As winter goes on, you add fresh bedding to your chicken coop.
By the end of winter, you have quite a mess to clean up!
The deep litter method is only effective if you can confidently keep moisture dispersed throughout your bedding. If you clean out your coop and you find that bedding is stuck to the bottom of your coop because it’s damp or wet, you didn’t give your chickens enough bedding.
The deep litter method is also only effective with adequate ventilation. Damp bedding is a sign your air isn’t circulation. The bedding should dry out. If it doesn’t, you are opening your chickens up to respiratory issues, skin issues, and feet issues.
The deep litter method may work best in climates that see extreme cold or cold for prolonged periods. Adding bedding as winter goes on keeps your coop closed, which will help retain any heat that has built up. Adding fresh bedding frequently also gives your chickens more material to nest in, which will keep them warm.
The deep litter method is controversial! Be sure to look into all the pros and cons before using it for yourself.
Make Sure the Chicken Coop has Good Ventilation
Chicken coops need adequate ventilation because chickens are prone to respiratory issues. Chickens are also animals that give off heat. If that heat gets moist, it can create an environment for bacteria to thrive.
Adequate ventilation also makes sure chickens are getting fresh air. This is critical if they are confined to the coop for a long period.
Since chickens may be confined, they are likely peeing and pooping in the coop. This can cause a build-up of ammonia, which will fuel respiratory issues and even cause skin irritation.
You can make sure your coop is ventilated by partially sealing windows and fans, but not totally sealing them. You can also keep multiple windows open, preferably at opposite ends of the coop so air can travel through the coop. Cross-breeze ventilation is very effective.
One window, or windows on one side of the coop, may not encourage stale air to properly circulate out of the coop.
It’s very important you don’t totally seal the windows or openings of your chicken coop. Let the air circulate!
New chicken owners, listen up! You can make it as a backyard chicken farmer.
When we started raising chickens in 2020, we had no idea what we were in for. Now, we don’t rely on the grocery store for eggs.
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Spur Egg Production with Artificial Light
Chicken keepers know that our birds need those long daylight hours to maintain laying a lot of eggs.
That’s why egg production drops in the winter – the days are shorter! Less sunshine directly equals fewer eggs.
During the winter, you can spur egg production by keeping an artificial light in the coop. You can use a white bulb heat lamp or even a portable shop light.
Please note that any light or heating element you introduce to the coop are going to be potential fire hazards. This can be everything from a warmer for chicks to a heated water bowl in the winter. This isn’t a concern in the winter – it can be year round!
Make Sure Chickens Have Access to Fresh Food and Fresh Water
Keep the Chicken Run Dry
When you keep the chicken run dry, you create a healthy living environment for your chickens.
A muddy chicken run can cause leg injuries and increase the risk of diseases. A dirty run can increase parasites or put a chicken at risk for things like bumble foot.
I like to keep my chicken run dry with straw I purchase from my local feed store. You can also use wood shavings, hay, and mulch.
I personally like this method because I use the spent material from the chicken run as a covering for my garden beds in the winter.
Actively Defend Against Predator Pressures
We have the highest predator problems in the spring and the winter. Why is that?
In the spring, chicken predators are giving birth. They need to feed their babies! Hawks, foxes, opossums, and even dogs can become a safety issue for chickens.
In the winter, chicken predators are simply trying to survive. The greenery has died back and other animals have hunkered down to catch a little winter’s rest. But animals that remain active during the winter still need to eat.
You can protect your chickens from predators in the winter by shutting any openings to the coop at night and properly sealing or putting away feed.
Since both your chickens and their feed are food sources to predators, you can also make sure the run and the coop are largely inaccessible, especially to animals that can climb.
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Anticipate a Power Outage
How will you give water to your chickens if you don’t have heat in your home? Will you leave your home for warmth and let your chickens fend for themselves?
When you keep animals, you are responsible for their comfort, health, and safety. So formulate a plan for how you will handle a power outage in winter weather!
How to Keep Chickens Warm During the Winter
Low temperatures aren’t the only concern you should have when raising chickens during the winter. Cold winds, wind chill, and snow cover are all additional concerns you should prepare for if necessary.
Heat Source Inside the Coop
Supplemental heat may be necessary if your temperatures are very low or if they stay low for a prolonged amount of time.
You can easily use heat lamps that either attach to a stand or hang from the roof of your coop. If you don’t have a way to hang them or have a small coop, attach your heat lamp to a roosting bar, nesting box, or a stick that is secured to the coop.
You can also use heating pads. Heating pads can line nesting boxes or the bottom of your coop.
Radiant heaters are also a way to provide additional heat.
Most heating elements are also beneficial for water units. A heating pad may be waterproof, but if it isn’t, consider a heated water bowl.
Just remember – when you introduce heating elements to your coop, you introduce potential fire hazards. Be aware of how hot your heating elements get, what kind of contact they have to elements and chickens, and how long they run.
Partially Seal the Chicken Run
Please note – I did not say to seal the windows to your coop.
A chicken run is the covered or fenced in area directly outside your chicken coop. If you have a fence around the chicken run, you can add a sheet of clear plastic to create a wind break during the winter.
During extremely cold temperatures, this is a great way to keep your chickens warm!
But again – the chicken run needs to be partially sealed. If you restrict all airflow through the run and into the coop, you open yourself up to creating an environment where disease and respiratory issues become a problem.
Provide a windbreak, but keep the air flowing!
Provide Fresh Bedding At Every Opportunity
In January 2025, we had a snow storm dump 6.5 inches of snow on our area. That’s more snow than we average in an entire season! The chickens refused to leave the chicken coop. And rightfully so – they couldn’t walk outside!
Because they wouldn’t leave, they stirred up the shavings and hay we provide as their bedding in the coop.
Chickens have delicate respiratory systems and are prone to respiratory diseases. The first sunny day we had, we changed the bedding in the chicken coop.
This may seem like common sense. You want to keep everything clean from a sanitary perspective.
However, cleaning the chicken coop from top to bottom goes against something like the deep litter method. That’s something to balance if that winter bedding method is something that works for you.
Hay bales are our preferred winter bedding method. We always keep hay in the nesting boxes – our chickens love hay!
A snow storm dropped record-breaking amounts of snow. More than 12 inches!
The Most Important Things to Remember
You are responsible for the comfort, health, and protection of your animals in the winter. And sometimes, that’s at the sacrifice of your comfort.
But it should not be at the sacrifice of your safety.
Remember to prepare your own home for winter, too! Check out Winter Homesteading Tasks to read more about how you can prepare for winter.
Personally? I can’t “shut down” for winter until the coop is ready for cold weather and the garden has been put to bed. I also made a list of skills I’d like to learn the following year.
For more ideas on how you can prepare for winter, check out this blog post!
I share even more backyard homesteading tips over on Pinterest.
Happy Homesteading!
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