Are you worried about keeping chickens warm during the harsh winter months? Whether you’re working with or without electricity, these proven strategies will help maintain your chickens’ health and comfort when temperatures start to drop. With over a decade of experience raising chickens in extreme winter conditions, I’ll share essential tips for winter chicken care that actually work.

Wondering how to keep chickens warm in winter without electricity? Should you insulate your coop or not? What do you feed chickens in winter?

Here are some quick and easy changes to keep your chickens healthy in the winter with and without electricity.

Why Winter Protection Matters for Backyard Chickens

While chickens are naturally resilient to cold weather, protecting them from extreme temperatures is crucial for their survival. After raising chickens through brutal Eastern Iowa winters since 2015, I’ve learned that proactive winterization of your chicken coop can mean the difference between thriving birds and sad losses.

8 Proven Methods for Keeping Chickens Warm in Winter Without Electricity

This winter we have also found a few additional ways for heating a chicken coop without electricity. Here are a few of the things we did to help. Whether you have electricity or not, these quick changes will protect your flock of chickens.

1. Strategic Winter Chicken Coop Placement

One of the easiest ways to keep you chickens warm is winter is by locating your chicken coop in the right spot. The easy decision can significantly impact your chickens’ winter survival.

The best bet is to position your coop to block winter winds, especially from the northwest. A well-placed coop provides natural protection and requires less additional winterization.

The greatest threat here in Iowa is the high winds in winter.

The year we moved our coop to a more protected area to keep those bitter northwest winds from slicing right through it I noticed a huge difference in the comfort of my chickens.

If at all possible, move your coop to a more protected location or behind a windbreak of some kind if you’re able to do so.

2. Implement the Deep Litter to Keep Chickens Warmer

Just as we humans like curling up with a warm blanket, chickens love their litter. Deep litter acts as a blanket for them and provides insulation to the coop.

Creating effective ground insulation through the deep litter method is essential for keeping chickens warm in winter. Here’s how:

• Start with 3-4 inches of clean bedding (straw, leaves, or wood shavings)
• Add fresh litter weekly
• Sprinkle scratch grains to encourage turning
• Let it decompose naturally throughout winter
• Clean out in spring for excellent garden fertilizer for your organic garden!

3. Make the Coop Smaller

It’s easier to heat a small space than a larger space. One of the first things we did when cold weather set in was to make the coop smaller. We closed off a portion of it with boards.

You know heat rises, right? Ideally, the ceiling will be within two feet of the roosting bars. Chickens roost together to help keep each other warm.

Reduce your coop’s interior space during winter to retain more body heat:

• Close off excess space with boards
• Keep roosting bars within 2 feet of the ceiling
• Ensure adequate roosting space for all birds
• Maintain proper ventilation in the reduced space

4. Install Proper Winter Roosting Bars

Protect your chickens from frostbite with appropriate roosting setups:

• Position bars to maximize heat retention
• Use 2×4 boards with the 4-inch side facing up
• Allow chickens to roost flat-footed
• Ensure enough space for all birds to roost together

5. Winterize Nesting Boxes

Create cozy nesting areas that retain heat:. You can hang curtains in front of the nesting boxes to help keep warm air in the boxes.

If your chickens are still laying eggs, warmer boxes also keep those fresh eggs from freezing – important to us chicken keepers in cold climates. Fill the box with a little extra bedding for extra coziness and comfort.

You can also position boxes away from drafts and check regularly for frozen eggs.

6. Multiple Layers of Coop Insulation

Implement multiple insulation strategies while maintaining ventilation:

• Stack straw bales around coop exterior
• Cover exterior walls with moving blankets
• Add thick black plastic barriers
• Use recycled feed bags for additional protection
• Apply foam insulation board where appropriate

Your coop needs to have good ventilation to keep the chickens’ combs and wattles from getting frostbite, but it also needs insulation to keep it stay warm. Another easy way to keep chickens warm in winter is to add extra insulation.

After we closed off a portion of the smaller winter chicken coop, we covered the boards (the outside of the boards)  with a bunch of moving blankets, tarps, and extra insulation foam boards we had on hand. 

If you don’t have any tarps or blankets to donate to the cause, you can always find some at Goodwill or other second hand shop. Just make sure your coop still has fresh air! It’s vitally important that your coop always has fresh air.

We’ve also used thick black plastic, empty feed bags, leftover foam insulation pieces, and spray foam to help insulate the coop.

As the temperature kept decreasing, we also added a lot of straw insulation to the outside of our drafty old coop to provide even more insulation. It’s just another barrier between our brutal winds and the chicken coop and an effective way to help keep as much heat as possible inside the coop.

When to Consider Emergency Heat Sources

While keeping chickens warm in winter without electricity is possible, extreme conditions may require backup heating:

• Monitor temperatures below 10°F
• Watch for wind chills below -10°F

While many chicken owners strive to heat the chicken coop without electricity, sometimes we just have to add heat for our chickens. Chickens seem to suffer less in winter unless their coops are damp or drafty, but they still get cold. You can see by their behavior that they get cold! I’m a firm believer that no animal should be left to freeze if I can do things to help. 

When our temperatures drop under about 10 degrees and wind chills kick up to negative (-10 and colder), we turn on an electric heater. If you use an electric heat source, you do want to be careful as a shattered light bulb can cause a coop fire or harm a chicken. Consider a chicken heater or an infrared bulb instead of a glass heat lamp.

7. Give Chickens More Food in Winter

Another crucial element to keeping chickens warm in winter has to do with their general winter care. You’ll probably need to change the way you feed and water your chickens in the winter compared to how you tackle this chore in the summer.

While my free-range backyard chickens usually find plenty of food during warmer months, they need extra help with food in the winter when everything’s frozen or gone. Not too many insects make it through an Iowa winter! 

Make sure to feed your chickens a good quality chicken food a few times throughout the day and also at dusk to help them increase their body warmth at night. Cracked corn is a great winter supplement and source of energy, but it must not be all you feed your chickens. It’s not a complete source of nutrition.

Some chicken keepers really pamper their chickens in the winter by bringing them a warm mush to eat. It’s a great way to stimulate their appetites if it appears that they aren’t eating well. They really enjoy it!

Related: What to Feed Chickens in Winter

8. Provide Warm Water

Just as it’s important to keep chickens hydrated in the summer, it’s equally important in the winter. It’s actually easy for chickens to get dehydrated in the winter when the water freezes. To keep them hydrated, bring your chickens warm water twice a day if you don’t have a heated waterer to keep the water thawed. 

They’re most likely to drink at dawn and dusk. I’ve used a number of heated waterers, and by far my favorite is this plug in bucket. It does take electricity, but it’s so much easier to fill and clean than the bell type waterers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Winter Chicken Care

Should I close my chicken coop up completely in winter to keep it warm?

No! This is a dangerous misconception. While protecting chickens from drafts is important, proper ventilation remains crucial even in winter. Good airflow prevents moisture buildup, which can lead to frostbite and respiratory issues. Keep upper ventilation open while blocking lower drafts. Your chickens need fresh air more than they need a completely sealed coop.

How do I prevent their water from freezing without electricity?

Several methods can help manage frozen water:

• Bring warm water out twice daily (dawn and dusk)
• Use black rubber bowls that absorb sunlight
• Add ping pong balls to water containers (movement helps prevent freezing)
• Place waterers in sunny locations
• Use deep, narrow containers rather than shallow, wide ones
• Consider using insulated water containers

How do I know if my chickens are too cold?

Watch for these signs that chickens are too cold:

• Fluffed up feathers for extended periods
• Reluctance to move
• Standing on one foot or crouching to cover feet
• Decreased activity levels
• Frostbite on combs/wattles
• Huddling together constantly If you notice these signs, immediate action is needed to increase coop temperature.

How can I prevent frostbite on combs and wattles?

Prevent frostbite by:

• Put petroleum jelly on combs and wattles
• Ensuring proper ventilation to prevent moisture buildup
• Choose cold-hardy breeds with smaller combs
• Providing wind blocks in outdoor areas
• Maintain dry conditions in the coop
• Monitor birds with large combs more carefully as they’re more susceptible to frostbite.

Liked this information on how to keep chickens warm in winter? Here’s more:

• How to Prepare for Mail Order Chicks (of the feathered variety)
• How to Choose the Perfect Chickens
• How to Keep Your Outdoor Dogs Healthy this Winter
• What to Know About Raising Geese
• Rescue Chicks & Ducks (why not to buy live animals at Easter)

I’d love to hear your tips for how keeping chickens warm in winter without electricity. What has worked for you?