antiqsolo
In the Brooder
- Sep 28, 2016
- 39
- 1
- 24
Hi y'all.. I'm not exactly new here, but this is my first post. My family and I are moving from the city to a country home next month... and there will be nine hens and four ducks there, waiting for me to jump in and take care of them! My problem is... Nova Scotia winters do not seem to be the typical, talked about winter ideal. So I have a lot of questions for anyone who's dealt with more than a few inches of snow.. sorry in advance, this might get tedious.
I've spent hours upon hours upon hours researching how to overwinter hens and ducks, but I just can't find anything that seems to mesh with our snowy Canadian winters!
I understand that chickens tend to do fairly well in cold temps (or at least, better than they do in the heat), provided there are no drafts in the coop. But all the posts I've seen have said to let the girls outside in the snow, and they'll decide if they want to stay out or not. Even more funny, to me, were people talking about putting straw on top of the snow to insulate an area and keep the girls outside and exercising. Why is this funny? Well... you see, last year (albeit a very harsh winter), the snowbanks were piled up nine feet high.
I don't think the chickens would much appreciate nine feet of snow, straw or not!
So, what do I do? Do I keep them in the barn from the time it snows, until it stops? Our property has both a chicken barn and a horse barn, both much larger than the nine hens and four ducks could ask for. That could be four months, if I am diligent about letting them out early when the snow calms down a bit. Or do I constantly shovel out their pen? (That probably sounds like a funny question, but I honestly do not know if it's the right answer to this question, so I'm asking all of you more experienced folks.)
If I keep them in the barn, how often do you think cleaning will have to take place? I can't afford to do deep bedding in the barns.. they're way too big for that. Do I still need to put down some straw or mulch? I don't know if either barn is wired for electricity, so if I ran an extension cord from the house to the barn, what light would you recommend using so they could get some light? Neither barn has a window.. should I be making a screen door for the barn, so I can open it for fresh air and sunlight?
How do you keep your water from freezing, also? I'm at a loss on this one.. many people seem to think that the heated waterers don't work in Canadian climates, and some others say they're a fire hazard. I've considered the constant flow, hooking one hose up to trickle water into the pan and one to trickle it out, but I don't think I could rig one up for myself the first year.. is there a chicken fountain or something?
I'm going to try mixing my own feed. I watch Justin Rhodes on Youtube, as well as Off Grid With Doug and Stacy (good channels to bookmark, in my opinion, if you're new to this like me or if you just want some good information), and with knowledge I've gained from both their channels I think I've got feed down pat. 30% corn, 30% wheat, 20% oat, 10% peas, 10% fishmeal. Old Farmer's Almanac says 1/2 cup of feed per hen per day, but I know there's a lot of controversy over how much to feed and what to feed. As well, personally, I'm not a fan of medicated feeds. I have a hard time believing that any animal that isn't milked (goats, sheep, cows) should be given medication beyond diatomaceous earth... but I suppose it's all a matter of opinion, right?
Well, if you're still reading along, thank you for any information you can offer! And thanks for being such a wealth of information, BYC, this place has really made envisioning chicken keeping a lot less of an unknown.
I've spent hours upon hours upon hours researching how to overwinter hens and ducks, but I just can't find anything that seems to mesh with our snowy Canadian winters!
I understand that chickens tend to do fairly well in cold temps (or at least, better than they do in the heat), provided there are no drafts in the coop. But all the posts I've seen have said to let the girls outside in the snow, and they'll decide if they want to stay out or not. Even more funny, to me, were people talking about putting straw on top of the snow to insulate an area and keep the girls outside and exercising. Why is this funny? Well... you see, last year (albeit a very harsh winter), the snowbanks were piled up nine feet high.
I don't think the chickens would much appreciate nine feet of snow, straw or not!
So, what do I do? Do I keep them in the barn from the time it snows, until it stops? Our property has both a chicken barn and a horse barn, both much larger than the nine hens and four ducks could ask for. That could be four months, if I am diligent about letting them out early when the snow calms down a bit. Or do I constantly shovel out their pen? (That probably sounds like a funny question, but I honestly do not know if it's the right answer to this question, so I'm asking all of you more experienced folks.)
If I keep them in the barn, how often do you think cleaning will have to take place? I can't afford to do deep bedding in the barns.. they're way too big for that. Do I still need to put down some straw or mulch? I don't know if either barn is wired for electricity, so if I ran an extension cord from the house to the barn, what light would you recommend using so they could get some light? Neither barn has a window.. should I be making a screen door for the barn, so I can open it for fresh air and sunlight?
How do you keep your water from freezing, also? I'm at a loss on this one.. many people seem to think that the heated waterers don't work in Canadian climates, and some others say they're a fire hazard. I've considered the constant flow, hooking one hose up to trickle water into the pan and one to trickle it out, but I don't think I could rig one up for myself the first year.. is there a chicken fountain or something?
I'm going to try mixing my own feed. I watch Justin Rhodes on Youtube, as well as Off Grid With Doug and Stacy (good channels to bookmark, in my opinion, if you're new to this like me or if you just want some good information), and with knowledge I've gained from both their channels I think I've got feed down pat. 30% corn, 30% wheat, 20% oat, 10% peas, 10% fishmeal. Old Farmer's Almanac says 1/2 cup of feed per hen per day, but I know there's a lot of controversy over how much to feed and what to feed. As well, personally, I'm not a fan of medicated feeds. I have a hard time believing that any animal that isn't milked (goats, sheep, cows) should be given medication beyond diatomaceous earth... but I suppose it's all a matter of opinion, right?
Well, if you're still reading along, thank you for any information you can offer! And thanks for being such a wealth of information, BYC, this place has really made envisioning chicken keeping a lot less of an unknown.
. Happy you joined our flock! Looks like other members have already given you some great advice so I'll just say best wishes and good luck on your poultry adventure! 
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