If you live in a temperate climate, you probably don’t need to do anything special to your chicken coop during the winter. But, if you live in a harsher climate, there are some steps you can take to safeguard the health of your herd and ensure continued production during the winter months.

Free-range chickens are obviously more exposed to the elements than those kept in controlled housing. While I believe the benefits of free range chickens far outweigh the risks, it usually results in lower production and in extreme weather conditions can be dangerous for your flock. Even free-range chickens need some form of shelter at night, both for warmth in bad weather and for protection from predators. By taking a few precautions, you can minimize the dangers and keep your herd healthy and happy through the winter.

If you are raising chickens for eggs and want to continue to have a good supply throughout the winter, you will need to provide additional lighting during the winter months when daylight hours are shorter. Chickens need about 14 hours of light a day, or their egg production begins to decline. Your best bet is to wire up your chicken coop so you can install a light on a timer. If you set the light to come on early in the morning before sunrise, it will increase the “daylight” hours for your chickens and also provide some extra heat during the cooler hours of the night. Be sure to set the light to turn off after sunrise so it doesn’t come on unnecessarily during the day.

If you live in a very cold area, you may want to consider using insulation on the walls and ceiling. This will also have the added benefit of keeping the coop cooler in the summer if you live in an area where temperatures are extreme.

If you can’t afford insulation, another good source of temporary insulation is to nail heavy cardboard to the interior walls and roof of your chicken coop when it starts to get cold. This will provide additional warmth and protect your chickens from drafts.

You will still need to provide enough ventilation for your chickens through the winter. Having proper ventilation is not only important for the health of the chickens, but it also helps reduce humidity inside the coop. If your coop has an adjustable window to provide some fresh air, it should work just fine. However, be careful not to let the coop get too drafty.

I usually put a lot of extra bedding in the coop during the winter months. As the bedding condenses, I add more. Hay has a high carbon content, which helps control odor inside the coop. As the bedding breaks down, it also provides additional heat in the coop for the hens. Another benefit of this is that the manure mixed with the hay bed provides excellent fertilizer for your garden.

You will need to make sure your chickens have plenty of fresh, unfrozen water during the winter months. You can change the water frequently or buy heaters to prevent the water from freezing. Our winters aren’t terribly harsh, so I don’t usually have to heat the water pans for the chickens, although I do have to break the ice a few mornings during the winter.

The good news is that mature chickens are very hardy and can handle low temperatures well. In fact, you are likely to be in more danger of losing chickens to extreme heat than cold, as long as you provide them with basic shelter. Their feathers and body heat will often be enough to keep them warm and toasty during the cold winter months.