I would love to see pics of ways others have winterized or snow proofed their coops. This will be my second winter with chickens in Colorado, and I am already dreading dealing with snow. Last winter was awful.
Here's the situation:
I live in the suburbs of Denver, on open space. The snow can be very light powder that blows between every crack in the armor around the coop.
And the WIND! I spent so much time last year re-attaching the plastic on my coop doors and run, because the infernal wind here kept blowing it off. I am very un-handy; how do I keep the plastic from coming off?
I do not heat my coop, and the birds did fine last year. I'm not worrying about them being too cold, but keeping snow out of the coop is critical because otherwise it's wet in there.
Also, my coop is on the north side of the house, under a high deck, so it Is shady all winter. This means that any snow that gets in won't melt for months. The backyard won't thaw for months, either.
I also have a concern about the draped plastic making it darker, when it is already dark. Where can I find totally clear plastic, like vinyl?
My coop is store-bought (the four square) and has no insulation. The roof has open crevices that snow gets in. The chickens choose never to go in the actual coop other than to lay; they spend all day in the run, which has no roof, just wire all around, even on the coldest days. I would like a better coop, but I've already spent so much on this first one, that's not likely to happen.
Thanks in advance for any advice about this. I've had chickens for about a year and a half, and getting out there and messing with their coop in the freezing wind and snow - repeatedly - has been the hardest part so far. This year, I want to do it right from the start.
Here's the situation:
I live in the suburbs of Denver, on open space. The snow can be very light powder that blows between every crack in the armor around the coop.
And the WIND! I spent so much time last year re-attaching the plastic on my coop doors and run, because the infernal wind here kept blowing it off. I am very un-handy; how do I keep the plastic from coming off?
I do not heat my coop, and the birds did fine last year. I'm not worrying about them being too cold, but keeping snow out of the coop is critical because otherwise it's wet in there.
Also, my coop is on the north side of the house, under a high deck, so it Is shady all winter. This means that any snow that gets in won't melt for months. The backyard won't thaw for months, either.
I also have a concern about the draped plastic making it darker, when it is already dark. Where can I find totally clear plastic, like vinyl?
My coop is store-bought (the four square) and has no insulation. The roof has open crevices that snow gets in. The chickens choose never to go in the actual coop other than to lay; they spend all day in the run, which has no roof, just wire all around, even on the coldest days. I would like a better coop, but I've already spent so much on this first one, that's not likely to happen.
Thanks in advance for any advice about this. I've had chickens for about a year and a half, and getting out there and messing with their coop in the freezing wind and snow - repeatedly - has been the hardest part so far. This year, I want to do it right from the start.
