Fresh Eggs Daily® | Lisa Steele

Chickens are generally pretty cold-hardy, but here are my top 5 tips for keeping your chickens warm this winter.  Keeping your chickens warm in the winter can seem daunting, especially if you live in the far north, but in reality it's not difficult nor expensive to do. 

Using the Deep Litter Method of coop litter management through the winter not only produces a bit of natural heat, is easy and economical, you'll be left with some great composted soil for your garden come spring. If you're not familiar with it, The Deep Litter Method  of chicken coop litter management is a brilliant old-timers method to manage your chicken coop beddng through the winter. It's easy, economical and results in beautifully composted chicken manure and bedding (whether it be straw, shavings, leaves, pine needles etc.) for your garden come spring.

When your chickens are molting in the fall, they'll appreciate these protein-packed treats! Every fall like clockwork, your chickens will start to drop their feathers.  The timing of the annual molt is tied to days getting shorter. That lack of daylight signals to chickens ( and ducks ) that it's time to grow in nice new feathers to help them stay warm through the winter.

Not only can chickens eat lobster, they love it, and it has some pretty great health benefits for them. One of the benefits of moving to Maine a decade ago, at least for me, was the proliferation of lobster. It's sold everywhere. There are lobster shacks dotting the coast, and live lobsters in tanks sold at every grocery store. 

Each fall, chickens lose their feathers and regrow new ones to help them stay warm in the winter. It's called molting and it's perfectly normal. The first time your chickens go through a molt, dropping their feathers all over the coop and run, you'll likely do a quick headcount, sure some predator got in. While it seems that some chickens lose their feathers all at once, while others barely show any signs of molting, the first molt will be triggered by the shorter days in the fall, when your chickens are about 18 months old. And there's no need to worry, it's perfectly normal and in fact gets the chickens ready for winter.

Knowing how to make homemade electrolytes (and keeping some on hand) for your chickens in the summer is valuable in case of heat exhaustion, stress or dehydration. Having some electrolytes on hand in your chicken first aid kit is always a good idea. Administered in cases of heat exhaustion, injury, stress or dehydration, electrolytes could be the difference between life and death for an ailing hen or baby chick.

I have written 7 expertly researched and time-tested books on raising chickens and ducks as well as 2 cookbooks. My 9th book just came out in May. It's my second cookbook. My third cookbook will be out in the fall of 2027. 

It's been ten years since the first edition of Gardening with Chickens came out. It was time for an upgrade. I originally wrote my third book Gardening with Chickens right as we were in the process of moving to Maine from Virginia back in 2015.  To say that I've learned a lot over the past decade would be an understatement! So I am excited to announce that the 10th Anniversary edition of Gardening with Chickens is coming out March 17th!  Order from Homestead Living             Order from Amazon

Corn in all its forms is a delicious and nutritious year-round treat for chickens. Believe it or not, corn has become a controversial topic when it comes to chicken keeping.  You might have been told - or read - not to feed corn to your chickens in the summer because it will raise their body temperature as they expend energy trying to digest it and they will overheat. 

Watermelon is one of the best summer treats for chickens, providing them essential hydration as well as beneficial nutrients on a hot day. Watermelon is  one of the best summer treats for your chickens . Its high water content helps keep them hydrated on hot summer days.

Blueberries are a nutritious treat for your chickens. Blueberries are one of the best treats you can give to your chickens. They are a "super food" packed with all kinds of health benefits and nutrients.