Hey all, I have two hens, an Australorp and a Red Dorking that are kept in a really basic chicken tractor at night and have free run of the yard during the day. I live in central Virginia and my Dorking is going through a hard molt. Not sure how to best prepare the coop for winter, right now it's got a tarp and a vinyl shower curtain thrown over it and the hens have been sleeping in the nest boxes. Last year I stapled a clear shower curtain down 2 sides and most of the third to block wind and was planning to do that again but Bill is mostly just skin right now and I'm worried it's too cold, 30s during the day and 20s at night and will be getting colder. I'm considering bringing the two of them in at night (I'd bring in both so they don't stress about being separated), putting them in a dog crate in my bathroom with the light out, and I guess letting them back out at sun up. My husband is concerned that this will stress them out more than the cold and I worry that the difference in temperature will be difficult to acclimate to when I put them out during the day. Not sure what would be best. These weird little dinosaurs are my friends and I don't want Bill to freeze before her feathers grow back. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
