Its getting really cold here in Brigham City and naturally I have been concerned about how warm or cold my hens are during the day and night. I have read several helpful articles about what temperatures these birds can take and what to look out for. Above is a picture of part of their coop, because we bought six birds and miraculously none of them have died (not many predators in Brigham I guess) we added a larger additional covered run for them to spread their wings in. So the box with the window is where they sleep and nest, other than that they prefer to be out in the run or in the yard. I haven't been covering the opening to the coop strictly for ventilation, if it gets moist in the coop there is a higher chance of frostbite in their combs and wattles. This coop was meant for 4 hens but the six of them fit in really well and there is actually room for others if we needed/ wanted. I read that a 5 lb hen puts off about the equivalent of 10 watts of heat so with 6 hens were getting 60 watts of heat going on in the small space and if they were really cold I know that they would be huddled very close together to maintain more warmth.
Today I picked up a bale of straw for the coop, it was $3 at our local country store so really not too bad. I spread most of the bale in the big open area that you don't see in the picture, and then added some to the nesting boxes. I think hay is awesome at keeping animals warm and comfortable in the winter and it is so much cheaper than getting wood shavings. What's also nice about hay is that it will keep the hens busy looking for all of the seeds that are in the bale. I initially used fallen leaves in the run and nesting boxes and they have all been torn up into nothing so they lasted maybe two months or so before needing replacement. The straw should last longer, definitely through the whole winter I imagine and then in the spring I will have amazing organic fertilizer I can till into my garden. For $3 I get a warm bedding/ chicken run material, something to keep the birds busy when snowed in, and an all natural garden fertilizer. If it isn't completely broken down in the spring I will just add it to the compost bin and let it continue to break down till it is a usable material. Its a screaming deal and its so simple!
