I have about 14 chickens that have done well over the spring and summer. I have 2 shelters for them as well as a barn, hay shed, and wood shed. What added measures do I need to take to keep them over the winter. By the way, shelter wise the tend to ignore all of the above.
I learn from the mistakes of others who take my advice.
We have hawks and an eagle. So far we havent lost any livestock. The chickens clearly know how to stay under the trees. I do have 2 dogs for other critters.
I learn from the mistakes of others who take my advice.
I don't know how cold it gets where you are. I'm in zone 7 and don't do anything extra. When I had to leave overnight for an emergency, I put an aquarium heater in the water so it wouldn't freeze. They have the chicken house and two dog houses for shelter. I wish I still had the picture of a snowy evergreen tree infested with chcikens😀 Most of mine tend to like walking through the snow leaving dinosaur tracks. Only have a few birds that don't want to leave the house. The rest still leave the run when I let them out to free range.
Sometimes on bitter cold days, I'll make a warm mash which they seem to like.
We did have a possum that tried to go after the ones in the tree and the dog was having a fit since he couldn't get to it. Dog and rooster made enough noise to wake us at 1 am so we could help it on its way. No chicken loss fortunately.
Over all, cold weather and snow doesn't seem to phase them at all. They have a harder time on high heat and humidity days.