Chickens and ducks don’t need much for winter. We free range ours all year. They usually have no problem walking in the snow. In fact, on the cold days, if the water isn’t frozen, we can find the ducks swimming in the water. Our ducks also enjoy walking while it’s snowing, raining, hailing, etc. 

Chickens and ducks need to have a structure to get out of the elements if they wish. The structure needs to have good ventilation. A structure with 3 sides and a roof would work. A structure with a roof and one wall can work. I have seen people use dog houses, play houses, etc. Some of our structures/coops have tarps as the roof or wall. I believe the most important part is for the area where the chickens are staying is for it to stay dry.

Below are pictures of one of our coops. When we had a duck staying in this coop, she would stay under it right where you can see a chicken in the picture.

On each side of the coop we have a crack allowing some air flow. Also in the middle in the front there is a place that is cracked open, you can see it in the above picture.

Coop Side Door with a crack for air flow

We always leave the door open to the run, allowing the animals to have access to their shelter when free ranging. Like I wrote previously, the ducks will usually be out in any kind of weather while our chickens run for cover.

We spread either pine shavings or straw on the ground in the coops and runs. This helps with the mud and warmth.

For water we always pour warm to hot water into their water pans. We do this during the day and at night. Since we live in Virginia, our winters are mild but places with harsher winters may need to invest in a heated watering dish to keep the water from freezing quickly.  People can also just refill with warm to hot water during the day to keep the animals hydrated as needed.

There are some people that use a heat lamp during winter, we do not.  We use heat lamps if an animal is injured or very young. There is always a risk of a fire when using the heat lamps. Nevertheless, the heat lamps are not needed, livestock is fine as long as they can take cover if they want.

Last point I’d like to mention, sometimes we have chickens that don’t like to go into the coop and would rather stay outside. I remember one of our roosters standing in the middle of the yard surrounded by a fresh sheet of snow! I have to find the picture to post it but below is a picture of him in the snow another time. 🤭 Where did he go during the day and night? At night he would roost outside of the coop and during the day he would stand under the deck.

 Thanks for reading!