We in England get cold winters as the norm. I am a country girl and was always brought up to believe that our chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs have to have insulation if they are outside during the winter. The rabbit hutches and chicken houses were fully insulated inside and out. They also had plastic wraps to keep any wind out. If it snowed, they got a heat lamp too.
@thefeatherbrain
Жыл бұрын
I'm a big fan of insulation too. :)
@amyheath8261
Жыл бұрын
I thought England was cold then I heard about winter in some American states. It’s so much worse!
@rexwoodville-price2995
10 ай бұрын
America actually has more citizens living in colder climates than Canada
@77lases
9 ай бұрын
Hey Bri! Got some Sweeter Heaters and hooked them up here in IN. Just wondering, at what temp lows do you turn yours on? I'm not sure if I should turn on in the 20's range, or when it gets into the teens. Love to have yours, and others' input :)
@thefeatherbrain
8 ай бұрын
@@77lases Hey there! So glad to hear you got some Sweeter Heaters. At a minimum, I recommend turning them on when the coop may get below freezing. Otherwise, I watch my chickens' behavior to see if they look cold - I usually end up plugging mine in during the fall when the girls are molting. It's really not that cold, but some are practically naked and need the heat.
@Pipsqwak
10 ай бұрын
Thank you for this! Chickens are descended from the jungle fowl of Southeast Asia, which is tropical! Chickens need shelter from wind, snow, frost, ice, and rain. Even though I live in western Washington where it rarely snows, I have a fully insulated (but well-ventilated coop and I put up plastic around my covered run to keep the wind, rain, and snow from blowing into the run. I use deep litter on the insulated, elevated floors, reflective foil insulation in the nest boxes,, and I have electric full-spectrum lights and the ability to plug in a Sweeter Heater when the weather does get cold or I have chickens who is nearly naked from molting. I also feed them extra, and feed them warm cooked grain and extra fat and protein in the cold. Having an insulated coop also keeps it cooler in hot summer weather, too - especially an insulated roof!
@tabp8448
8 ай бұрын
Sounds very similar to my setup.🤗🐔🐓
@tonispiegel6952
Жыл бұрын
OMG, Bri! This video presentation is so clever! I love the GOT clips and dramatic music. Lots of great info and solutions to the problems of winter. I look forward to your videos even more after having seen and enjoyed this one so much. Thank you for all the research you do and the video productions.🐣🐥🐔🐓❤️
@lidip8700
7 ай бұрын
We keep our winter coop no colder then 40° and they have a fenced in clear roofed summer coop with roll down canvas sides (for wind or rain). This way they can get outside & scratch around or perch in the sun without the elements getting to them. When they stay in that area they know I'm going to give them veggie goodies from my Hydroponics garden for them to forge & eat. They're always the wire cloth door waiting for their yummy treats. I also hang 2 cabbage heads on the perches for a game of Chicken Tetherball. Lol Of course they can choose to warm up inside heated coop. But usually they prefer this area as they're not exposed to the snow, rain or harsh winds.
@thefeatherbrain
7 ай бұрын
You should start your own KZitem channel - you seem to be providing your chickens with a BEAUTIFUL life! :)
@lightningdriver81
Ай бұрын
❤ your presentation. Good advice. I’m about to complete a winter coop in NE WA.
@minomokwa744
Ай бұрын
Good advice. Great presentation ... as I am a novice Chick-owner & this will be the first Winter with my 'girls'. What I had to listen to (when bringing concerns for the wellbeing of neighbor-chickens who are NOT well kept was) : you are "humanizing" those animals (just because I wanted them to be treated well, warm in Winter, cool in Summar with water & feed).
@thefeatherbrain
Ай бұрын
Unfortunately, the majority of chicken keepers are following outdated methods. There was a time when people (including scientists) believed that animals didn't feel pain or discomfort, but that, of course, has long been disproven. Somehow that knowledge still hasn't made it to most of the chicken-keeping world though - people love to claim that you're "humanizing" or "projecting" onto your animals - sometimes these people are simply ignorant of the facts, but other times, I think they're using these claims as an excuse to not have to put the time and effort into their animals that they should be. Maybe I'm just cynical though. :)
@pattilafleur3089
10 ай бұрын
Thanks for the helpful information (& the entertaining musical inserts!) I live in Wisconsin & like you, believed all the advice about not heating your coop. I discovered the truth after seeing frostbite on a number of my feathered friends. I went out immediately & purchased a 250 watt infrared heat bulb & lamp holder. My chickens perked right up & no more frostbite. They are healthy & active & lay eggs throughout the winter (because of the red bulb). Chickens are durable little creatures but prolonged periods of freezing or near freezing challenges their immune systems & without something to take off that continual freeze, it makes them more vulnerable to frostbite & illness. They are spending the entire winter using up energy to stay warm enough. Mind you, it’s important to not OVERheat. Just enough warmth to take the edge off the cold. I have an 8 X 6 ft Amish made coop & the 250 watt bulb does fine. If they get too warm, the shock of being too warm in the coop then going out into the cold could kill them. So one needs to adjust the heat according to the size of their coop. Chickens are a delight & easy to keep when you learn the ropes, so to speak. Adjust the knowledge out there to what fits best for your circumstances. 👍🏽🐔
@brucemullis479
Жыл бұрын
It's beautiful there! I'm in the Florida panhandle. I use a couple of radiator heaters suspended for my tortoise. It was below 20 December 25th for a few days. Kept the enclosure at 40 degrees.
@blamshiza
8 ай бұрын
Intro was so hilarious, I had to Like and Subscribe before continuing vid lol. Great humor!
@77lases
10 ай бұрын
I love your videos, Bri! So cute, clever, entertaining and informative! You've got a great knack for putting substantive information into a entertaining package and i always look forward to your videos. Thank you for your research and time to get these out to us. God bless! 🤗
@stace406
10 ай бұрын
Thank you, I really appreciate this video. It's one I would make if I could. It is sooooo true!! I live in Montana. There are no feral domestic chickens, like you said. If they were left out, they would go south like most other birds. When I first built my coop, I listened to the people who said chickens need to be kept cool more than they need to be heated. After watching my chickens shiver and stand on one foot and cry because they were cold, I got the cozy heaters so the girls could stand by it if they needed to warm up. My coop is insulated like a house with some vents that can be opened and closed depending on the wild winds and windchill. Lots of warm straw and shavings for the floor. My girls really like the chopped straw to walk on. When I finally researched all of the "chicken experts", I found they live in garden zones that MUCH, MUCH warmer than where I live, like 4 or 5 full garden zones warmer than here. I have about 2 months of warm weather. After that, it's extreme 60 degree swings overnight with most night temperatures in the teens and single digits, alternating with the deep 30 plus below zero temps and the swings into the 20 & 30s. Thank you again.
@chickinnfarmer
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for this video I live in Ohio and we rarely get below like negative 5 but recently we had a cold spike and and it got negative 30 and I lost a couple chickens to the cold 😢but I keep learning more and I’m prepared if it gets cold again 😊
@thefeatherbrain
Жыл бұрын
So sorry to hear you lost some of your chickens. It can be a tough learning curve, getting this raising chickens thing right - and it's different for all of us, depending on our location and circumstances. Good to hear from you. :)
@MosaicHomestead
Жыл бұрын
My chickens have sunglasses and piñacoladas, what does that mean?
@thefeatherbrain
Жыл бұрын
It means I wish I was one of your chickens.
@MosaicHomestead
Жыл бұрын
@@thefeatherbrain I got some leghorns, haven't used any heat lamps, I have them in the shed with a 12v light bulb just for light.
@thefeatherbrain
Жыл бұрын
@@MosaicHomestead Sounds like you're in the right climate for chickens.
@eileennavarrete9459
6 ай бұрын
Your Good. I've been telling my friends for years. If your cold so are they. I like your garage trick.
@alltogetherplaytubefingerf6045
Жыл бұрын
You can afford it. Be kind to your livestock. You will sleep better at night.
@scottmcley5111
8 ай бұрын
Exactly. There's a reason there are work camps in Siberia.
@akmoore8able
10 ай бұрын
I've heard almost all of those. I ended up getting a sweeter heater last year, which was my first year having chickens. I agree they can survive but why should they have to be miserable and cold if I can help them! This year when they molted for the first time I was SO grateful I already had a heater. People even say they'll be fine...when they are half naked going through a hard molt! No way I don't buy that! My chicken that had the hardest molt was shivering and I would leave the heat on for her during the day and she would be spending half her day in the coop under that heater. If she wasn't cold she wouldn't be consistently going back to the heat source. I live in a climate like you, I feel so bad for all the chickens that just have to toughen it out in the climates with negative temperatures. :(
@77lases
9 ай бұрын
At what temp range do you turn your heaters on? I'm debating between the 20's range, or the teens.
@roguescot13
8 ай бұрын
Thank you for posting this! I've seen the same nonsense of DO NOT use heat! We're investing in heat panels used specifically for chicken coops...
@thefeatherbrain
8 ай бұрын
So glad to hear that! :)
@DanceMotherSuperior
Ай бұрын
Thank you for this info. I am just starting to consider keeping chickens on the south east side of Idaho where it does get flippin’ cold! I want to be a good chicken mama!!
@thefeatherbrain
Ай бұрын
I'm sure you will be!
@Luckyt2173
Жыл бұрын
OMG I ❤ this video! I’m a GOT fan & I really enjoyed the references!!😂
@thefeatherbrain
Жыл бұрын
Glad to finally get a GOT fan. :)
@MickyBellRoberts
9 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for posting this video, just what I needed as I have six chickens and it is getting cold here in Huntsville, Texas. I have just subscribed to you.
@minomokwa744
Ай бұрын
My 'girls' (I promised to THEM and to MYSELF) will be the happiest flock on this planet with NO animal cruelty, NO neglect or unnecessary hardship. ) Thank you for this video. Greetings from Europe !
@thefeatherbrain
Ай бұрын
If only everybody made that promise! :)
@mariahmoosymoose470
Жыл бұрын
Here in Montana we had that unusual winter like Idaho, ND and other northern states where we got -30 - -40F It was something we weren’t expecting so I’d imagine extra winterizing the coop for the chickens goes hand in hand
@bazund
3 ай бұрын
great editing !
@terriblanken6532
Жыл бұрын
You are FANTASTIC! I've learned so much from you and you are hilarious. Thanks for filming these :)
@Motherroadcustoms
Жыл бұрын
I watched your video and I got a large Sweeter heater. Thank you for your informative videos.
@per-hakanjohansson7641
10 ай бұрын
Love the music,and thanks for all tips.
@rainbowconnected
8 ай бұрын
Thank you for challenging this idea that chickens aren't bothered by cold and are just fine. Where I live, there's been more of a tendency to unseasonably warm winters and then a sudden snap into super cold weather. Cold is hard enough to deal with, but sudden drops from 40-50 degrees fahrenheit down to single digits is way too much.
@thefeatherbrain
8 ай бұрын
Oh, yeah, a sudden drop like that's got to be SO hard on them!
@HansWick
8 ай бұрын
I'm in Minnesota, it gets super cold, my chickens just had their first below zero night, I'm getting a heater asap, maybe 2 haha
@MyrtleBeachWebAngel
8 ай бұрын
#StraightUpFacts 👍👍👍
@Sungaze-px3rb
10 ай бұрын
We have a dry insulated coop, with a run and a dry are under the tarp portion near the coop, but it can get cold here. So we got a flat panel low fire risk type heater and suspended it over the food area to keep the water from freezing. But suspect one of those hanging lamps you have would be great for over the roost as well.
@rc3291
9 ай бұрын
Only time I heat my coop is if the temperatures are going to be below freezing for several days. Then I keep it just above freezing. Being warm while in the coop then going outside is hard on them. We had about a week below freezing, sometimes dipping below zero at night with snow on the ground and they refused to stay in their coop. They all did fine.
@thefeatherbrain
9 ай бұрын
Glad to hear you provide heat to prevent frostbite - sadly, very few people give their birds that simple kindness. Also sounds like you are following your chickens' lead - if they're not showing the signs of cold and are just as active as normal, then you're right, no need to add heat. :)
@smiley3012
6 ай бұрын
Exactly want them to have a good quality of life.
@micheleweatherspoon6399
8 ай бұрын
Negative 28 with a windchill of Negative 40 My 2 roosters got frost bite really bad. They were in the barn and coop with a heat lamp if they wanted it. Poor babies.
@thefeatherbrain
8 ай бұрын
Poor things.
@homeatlaska
Жыл бұрын
Oooooh thank you. Yeah, I'm a first-time chicken owner, and I've been obeying a lot of the ideas you challenged in this video. Gotta say it's been a hard winter here for all the chickens, despite that they're all cold-tolerant native Alaskans born n' raised from many generations up here on the mountain, etc, etc. They're cold, I can tell. My heart breaks for them every single day, and though I did everything according to the experts, they just don't seem happy to me. Winter here is too long for my chickens to be miserable. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you're wrong. On all points, let's say you're wrong. Okay, then... maybe there's a lot to be said for calming my inner voice, listening to my inner chicken mother, and maybe even spoiling them with some extra heat or insulation if I can figure-out how to finnagle that off-grid here. Just like any other mother who knows what her kids need, the inner voice typically doesn't lie. Most of the time. Regardless, peace of mind counts for a lot, even if you're wrong, right? So regardless of the arguments, my inner voice sides with you and your obsevations and research, and your inner voice. Because trust me, you don't know cold and snow until you've lived up here. The ground freeze 7 feet down into the earth and never unfreezes. 7. Feet. Down. ~ Barbra
@thefeatherbrain
Жыл бұрын
Your comment made me shiver, Barbra, and I had to put on an extra layer. I think you're right to listen to your chickens ( I think your inner voice is picking up on their behavioral communication) over the "experts." If your chickens don't seem happy in the winter, they're probably not. Because if they really aren't cold, they should be acting the same way they act during the milder months. (Do you have milder months?) I think so much of the advice out there comes from an older tradition of raising chickens. Not that tradition is bad or necessarily wrong, but it's a fairly modern mindset to view animals with empathy, especially farm animals. My late grandma was raised on a farm in Missouri, had chickens her whole childhood. As an adult she lived in Arizona and kept hens because they eat the scorpions there, apparently. When I started raising chickens just 5-6 years ago, my grandma was absolutely shocked that my chickens would crawl onto my lap for attention and some even could follow basic commands. She said she didn't think they had personalities or any level of intelligence at all. This coming from a woman who'd been around chickens for 90 years. People used to think that way about dogs and cats too. I truly believe we're in a transitional period with chickens. I think people are beginning to care more about quality of life rather than just survival (right now a lot of people still think they're the same thing). And I think it's a tough transition because it's not easy to make life more comfortable for chickens - it can be easier to cling to old information and convince yourself your chickens are doing great. As you mentioned, being off-grid adds a huge challenge. We are still struggling with how to make off-grid work for our chickens. (Hoping to move off grid later this year.) We have ideas, but it's all experimentation at this point, which makes me very uncomfortable. And you're right, if I'm totally wrong, I still know my chickens are happier now than they were before. My chickens sure love their Sweeter Heaters. Maybe it's the equivalent of my cat who loves his heating pad - he sleeps on it all day all winter, but it's not like he's super cold without it. He just prefers it. I think it's much more than that with my chickens though. My Rhode Island Red rooster will actually press his comb against the heater - so his comb folds over and he can get as much surface area against the heater as possible. Of course, whenever I fumble to take a video/photo of this, he stops. You know chickens. Long-winded reply, but the short of it is I try to always make decisions based on the way my chickens are behaving - behavior always trumps popular advice. Best of luck, Barb. Your chickens are lucky to have you. :) Loved your last video by the way. You guys are really making progress there even though it's not easy! Bri
@homeatlaska
Жыл бұрын
@@thefeatherbrain Oooh, thank you again! I love your videos too. I'm always laughing through them. You have the best sense of humor, and your delivery is awesome. :) Thank you for such a wonderful response. Off-grid is definitely a challenge. "Just plug it in..." solutions don't apply here. At least one thing here will be kinda like the old ways. :)
@terrymacleod6882
10 ай бұрын
you're so right. we are the same here in central sask. we bury our waterlines 8'-9' for a reason. which is why we use some heat even though our grandparents didn't.
@ouroboros555
9 ай бұрын
Awesome video work
@thefeatherbrain
9 ай бұрын
Thank you! :)
@ECole-le7we
10 ай бұрын
You are so right. I know a lot of chicken keepers say that chickens can “survive” cold temperatures. However, in a fact sheet entitled, “Caring for chickens in cold weather,” the University of Minnesota Extension recommends: 1) Provide supplemental heat when coop temperatures fall below 35 degrees F. 2) …provide supplemental heat at the height of the nest boxes or lower rung of the roost.
@martinhall1295
10 ай бұрын
I live in Alaska and my boys and girls survive…people need to research before going into livestock🤦🏼♂️
@thefeatherbrain
10 ай бұрын
The whole point of this video is helping chickens to "thrive," not just survive. Giving them the high quality of life they deserve.
@ECole-le7we
10 ай бұрын
@@thefeatherbrain Amen.
@thefeatherbrain
9 ай бұрын
@@chrisharrison3245 The body temperature argument was covered in this very video - Myth #3. This video is about thriving in the cold, not just surviving in the cold. Providing chickens with a better quality of life.
@thefeatherbrain
9 ай бұрын
@@chrisharrison3245 Again, if you watch the video, you will see it is about giving chickens the quality of life they deserve, not just getting them through the winter. Nobody's arguing that YOU will have issues. We are talking about what is best for CHICKENS not for you.
@living4jesus777
8 ай бұрын
Just a question what did the earlier chicken owners do when winter hit. (they didnt have access to electric or heaters). They used HAY/STRAW and they made sure their barns/coop (if they had one) were draft free and the roosts up high. Chickens are pretty hardy birds as long as their coops are dry draft free and have good bedding they're fine.
@thefeatherbrain
8 ай бұрын
Earlier chicken owners also didn't have access to electricity for themselves - nor did they have phones, internet, indoor plumbing, septic, etc. Should we then all go back to that too? After all, humans survived all that and were "fine." Now that we have the knowledge and technology to live more comfortably, we all have a much better quality of life than early chicken keepers. Yes, chickens can survive miserable winters IF they're healthy and they have to - they are just as "fine" as you would be living without electricity, etc. to help you through the winter. Early chicken owners did the best they could with the knowledge and technology they had at the time. We have infinitely more knowledge about chickens now and way better technology available. Of course, we should help our birds have a better quality of life when they're cold, just like we have helped ourselves.
@gailsylva7945
Жыл бұрын
Yea! A chicken advocate💘
@Kr0n3kLe
8 ай бұрын
lol nice intro, made me laugh
@MJ-wz6jo
8 ай бұрын
18 degrees today 1/12/24 my two are in the laundry room went out to check on them squirt was shivering chick-a-dee was fine but i brought both inside. They only 5 months old.
@gardenextra7415
10 ай бұрын
I read that chickens will start showing signs of stress close to twenty degrees. The stress contributes to illness. I do believe that when i'm cold my chickens are cold. I tried it dress really warm.😊
@Tattiepoo1
Жыл бұрын
I have to use an extension cord and the warranty says not to. So what do I do. 😥😥😥
@PracticingLiberty
10 ай бұрын
If it got crazy 1980's winter cold I would bring mine in the house. For real, dont care. Tarp in living room and hallway blocked off or basement.
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