Winter is Coming! Checklists, tips, advice for a newbie

[carousel86]

They do not need heat, just light. they will not lay as many eggs if they don't have enough light. We put heat in our coop last year and a friend told me just light is all they need boy was he was right. I put plastic around their run, they all made it through the winter and I live in New York.

 

[kim10261]

what do you use to secure the shower curtains to the run,

 

[mrchicks]

I use the little tarp bungies, the ones with the ball on the end of a loop. TSC carries them.

 

[kim10261]

but do they not flap in the wind still? i went and picked up some of that new gorilla tape,it seems thick enough and weather resistant we do not really have a winter mostly just cold air some snow and ice. we are suppose to dip down into the freezing zone tonight so I put plastic up over their run they were so confused when it was time to go to bed. they come back to their coop/run on their own I have never had to collect them,we are also expanding the run making room for the new chicks and building a bigger coop,we have the coop inside in the enclosed run so hopefully it will be warm enough for them in the winter,if not we will be changing it up in the spring

 

[Vickis Girls]

I put plastic around my run also. I bought a bunch of lath strips at the lumber yard and drilled three holes in each (stack a few to drill at once). I put one on each post (or anywhere I have wood in behind) on top of the plastic and use 1" screws with a pretty big head or use a washer. The lath strips keep the wind from flapping the plastic to the point that it will tear. I get tons of snow, and it worked really well last year, and I'm reusing it this year.

 

[Blooie]

We are winterizing our run for the girls. It's a hoop run, they love it, and so do we. But we had a lot of pokey-outy things (technical term) where the cattle panels are tied to the metal fence posts and where the chicken wire is covering the cattle panels. What to do, what to do? Didn't want to shred the 6 ml plastic over the winter. LIGHTBULB momemt - we draped it in white vinyl lattice. I had put a decorative lattice "fence" up in front of the run because it's visible from the street and we live in town. Why not cover the entire run with it? So we did.

Yesterday we started adding the clear plastic sheeting. We have the main part of the hoop done, the north side covered, and just have to do the south side and we're finished. The plastic literally slid across the lattice - no catching on anything! So although it might still suffer in the winter weather, we don't have to worry about it snagging on something and shredding in our famous Wyoming windstorms. Today we'll finish it up and I'll post the finished product. We aren't going all the way to the ground with the sheeting...that gap between the bottom edge of the lattice and the ground will have straw bales going around. The bales will be on the inside of the run on the pictured side. The theory is that the girls will enjoy sitting on them basking in the early morning sun. On the west side, where the run is subject to the howling winds coming off the Beartooth Mountains, the straw bales will be on the outside. Same on the north on both sides of the people door. The south side is the only side where the plastic will come all the way down to the ground, the better to capture all of the solar warmth. But it will be vented at the top. We'll move the bales away from the run for good ventilation and only close them up during really bad days. I think this is going to work out great!

 

[kim10261]

really like your idea,i was wondering the same thing on how to keep it from snagging,this is our 1st winter with chickens and I believe this will work,we do not normally have piles of snow mainly rain that will freeze and cold air,i think I may invest in some plastic lattice,also in the summer it will give some shade to the area...thanks for a wonderful idea

 

[Blooie]

really like your idea,i was wondering the same thing on how to keep it from snagging,this is our 1st winter with chickens and I believe this will work,we do not normally have piles of snow mainly rain that will freeze and cold air,i think I may invest in some plastic lattice,also in the summer it will give some shade to the area...thanks for a wonderful idea

We looked at the purchase of the lattice as an investment too, Kim. The initial outlay of cash was a little more than we wanted to spend, but it will pay off in the end. We will leave it up year round...it will support shade tarps in the summer as well as hold the clear plastic in the winter. Vinyl lattice lasts a long long time - I made a little trellis/arch out of it 15 years ago and it still looks just as good as it did when I put it up. Glad the idea will be useful for you!

 

[MindyNE]

I have modified a premade coop that I bought on ebay. I live in Nebraska and I want to be sure my girls have enough ventilation in the coop but I think this may be too much space between the roof and the walls. Should I close this up? Maybe put something here that I can open and close? Suggestions? It gets very cold in the winter with cold winds and blowing snow.

 

[Blooie]

I have modified a premade coop that I bought on ebay. I live in Nebraska and I want to be sure my girls have enough ventilation in the coop but I think this may be too much space between the roof and the walls. Should I close this up? Maybe put something here that I can open and close? Suggestions? It gets very cold in the winter with cold winds and blowing snow.

I'm no expert here but it certainly doesn't seem like too much to me. But then I have tons of ventilation...three windows, 3 upper vents, a lower vent, a slight gap between roof and walls, a constantly open pop door, and an exhaust fan that runs in summer but just stays open without the fan going in winter. My question is, where are the roosts in relation to that opening? If it's right over the roosts, that might make me rethink my answer.

It almost looks to me like you could use a little more ventilation, since humidity and ammonia will be bigger enemies than the actual cold. I grew up in Eastern South Dakota so I'm familiar with those prairie blizzards that last for days on end. If you had vents and/or windows that could be closed up according to which way the frigid winds are blowing and left open on the lee side that would be ideal. But like I said, I'm no expert here. When we got our chicks it was -19 degrees and had been for a couple of weeks before and the week after. When I put them out in the coop it was in the 20s, they were 5.5 weeks old and it snowed. And snowed. We got our last snowfall here on June 6th. The cold didn't bother them because the ventilation was adequate.

Good luck this winter!