Who knew chickens were so much work?

Buying chicks was a total impulse move. I had no knowledge of chickens and their needs until after we brought home our first 4 chicks and I started googling them. Terrible idea, I know.

I knew they needed water, food, and bedding and that was pretty much it. The last several weeks were a reality check and a huge learning experience for me with subzero temperatures (we're talking -12 degrees with a -40+ windchill) and almost 30" of snow total. Here's what I learned:

1. In the winter, frostbite can happen really quickly if you don't know any better. One of our hens has horrible frost bite on her comb.

1. It's way better to prepare before it actually gets cold. Trying to tarp the run in -10 degrees was miserable.

2. They need a lot more food when it's like Antarctica outside. A little cat food helps give them extra protein.

3. It's nearly impossible to keep moisture out of the coop. I wish we had a shed coop instead of the little one we got from Tractor Supply.

4. They make a GIANT mess when all the snow melts. Poop everywhere.

5. It's super simple to grow fodder for them to have fresh greens in the winter.

Here are some of the things I found to help.

1. Sand on top of the snow helps with traction and keeping your boots from getting muddy. All purpose concrete sand from a hardware store is what I read is best.

2. Heated fount bases or an old crockpot are essential for keeping them hydrated. Link below for the one we have!

3. Tarps. Lots and lots of tarps to block the wind and hold heat in. Old feed bags work too in a pinch if you have enough.

4. Becoming super efficient at cleaning the coop is a HUGE necessity in the cold. We got some nesting pads that make it much easier. Link below! Update: I recently learned that there are washable nesting pads. No more throwing away money on disposable ones!

Overall, I feel like a failure for not doing enough to protect our girls from the cold. But it was a great learning experience and I know a lot more for next years arctic blast.

Metal Fount: https://amzn.to/3Qzeg34

Heated base: https://amzn.to/44y2L1B

Nesting pads: https://amzn.to/3yanyfv

Washable nesting pad https://amzn.to/3y0h4iX

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