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Well it has been brutally cold for the last few days and a couple more cold ones to go.Rite now it is -5 with wind gusts to around 30 MPH. I have not opened the run door for a couple of days nor do I expect to for a few more. About a month ago I hard wired a heat lamp so that it shines on a good...

I feel that not all sq feet are created equal. My coop allows only 5 sq ft /bird on very cold days and a run of about the same size on warmer days, however it is tall with extra roosting space, well ventilated and well bedded. There is always water and feed and it is not drafty. The birds are...

For sure. Mine are NH reds and golden comets. It is honestly hard to figure out the pecking order by watching them pretty sure one of the smaller comets is pretty much top chicken, go figure.

Just an update we are now getting quite a few nights down around 0 and my heated waterer went on the fritz ( a new plug solved the problem). They are in the coop all day some days but I try to get them into the small run anytime it gets up near the freezing mark. They still seem to have all of...

Don't seem to matter much where you put sunflower seeds they will find em, spread them around like you would scratch feed the will go bonkers for them.

Mine went out and free ranged for a couple of hours today in the snow on frozen ground. Don't guess they would have got much if the grandkids had not been here today to give them a few handouts. Maybe next time you buy feed maybe go for a little higher protein. A friend of mine swears by black...

Maybe you are just over reacting. If your birds have plenty of layer pellets and water at all times, look and act healthy, and are laying a good amount of eggs why worry. I have been involved in agriculture most of my 63 years and find that it is not at all uncommon for a animal at peak...

Seems to work fine I have seen 5 birds in it at the same time. I have 12 hens laying 8-10/day

Ditto on the no heat, just draft free, dry, plenty of feed and water. Wide roosts so they and cover their feet at night, lots of bedding to keep the floor warm and dry. Coldest it has gotten here so far this year is 15 but they did not miss a beat still laying 80% and free ranging a couple of...

Had a heated fountain given to me this weekend you can't beat free. Yes there is a continuous vent at the eves along one side, it has a hinged flap so it can be adjusted for the conditions. I added a baffle to the outside of it this weekend so even when it is wide open there won't be much draft...

First winter in this setup, when I was dairy farming we kept a few in an extra pen in the barn, no cold problems there as the barn stayed a constant 45 degrees. I already blocked the north side, l have a old Plexiglas storm to put on the south side. I imagine some snow will still blow in.

The consensus has been since my first post several months ago that my coop is just barely adequate and the run is too small. They get to free range for an hour or two in the evening most days. Nov. in VT tends to be cloudy and cold with lots of rain and a little snow. We had 2 days in a row last...

We have already had a couple to nights in the low 20's. I have not even closed down the vent. I think they need to get used to the cold in the fall to be able to tolerate what comes next.

Well this is today we are in NE VT. so it could drop below 0 anytime but usually not until early Dec.

It is already going below freezing here at night and I have yet to close my continuous 6" wide air vent that runs the entire length of my 9' long coop. They eat a little more and fluff up their feathers some but the don't look cold to me. I am sure I will close it down some when the real winter...

Provide enough roosting space on the highest bar of the roost for all of the birds. I started with 2 six foot long roosts one a foot higher than the other. They fought every evening till dark for the best spots on the top roost. I added 6 more feet at the highest level and other than some minor...

Winter I am already getting ice in the fountain I plan to switch to a heated one this weekend and close up the north side of my run. Yes they are all same age and pretty easy going breeds (comets and NHReds) and I find roosters annoying so I do not have one.

When I was growing up in the 50's folks kept chickens in whatever space was available. My paternal grand parents kept hens in a old layer house designed for three times as many birds as they had. My maternal granddad kept a dozen in an old horse stall. When I bought my dozen pullets I had in...

Just an update my 12 birds are now laying 6-8 eggs/day they are all using the nest no problem with most of them ending up in the same spot in the right end. I am convinced that there is no real advantage to individual nest boxes unless you want a roll away nest to prevent egg eating. I also...

OK here it is. I would have preferred to have had the top open rather than the sides but my hen house is a repurposed garden shed and does not have enough overhang at the eves to protect my nest box. It is a metal roof and we get a lot of snow in the winter so the top of the nest will be...