Open Contest Chilly Coop Contest!

[fldiver97]

My chicken coop in Wisconsin ….

 

[fldiver97]

I left Wisconsin. This is the new setup in southeast Tennessee

 

[Debbie292d]

I left Wisconsin. This is the new setup in southeast Tennessee View attachment 4275360

This makes me wonder why you left Wisconsin. My coops are all snowy now but I sure won't be getting pictures for a few days as it's pretty frigid out there.

 

[fldiver97]

This makes me wonder why you left Wisconsin. My coops are all snowy now but I sure won't be getting pictures for a few days as it's pretty frigid out there.

Well….. if you can’t see your mailbox and don’t know where to put the snow it’s too much snow for me After I left Germany in 89 I lived in Florida for 16 years. Then Wisconsin for 17 years… then decided I didn’t want to retire there. Didn’t want to go back to Florida so decided East Tennessee was it . Very little snow, but all 4 seasons. Moved to a tiny town and expanded the chicken family….Decided to retire a couple of years early and it’s all good

 

[Ponypoor]

Well, it looks like we're hitting our cold spell. Which means I won't be opening their door at all. And I'll be out their picking in their coop. I usually go in once a week to do picking. I use a grabber & half gallon bucket. I have severe arthritis in my back, neck, hips & knees, so I have learned tricks to compensate. I also have holes in one ankle. I have to keep moving for 2 reasons: if I sit too much I eat too much & I have adult ADHD.
When the bucket is full I toss it in one of my raised garden beds to sit with the compost. After the next precipitation I will take it all under & start over. I keep doing this until 1st of March, then the beds sit until May planting. Seems to work for fertilized soil w/o too much effort.
Sorry I talked too much.

It’s better to be active, it will help with your arthritis. I use a bucket and a kitty litter scoop to clean the hen house, I have roosting ledges not rails, so those get cleaned daily, doesn’t take long, 10 min to do everything.

Horse stalls are a mess I have two
Messy old cranky mares.

Thanks Debbie. Appreciate your input. I might look into that for next year. We'll probably be getting 3 more hens in June on Hen Day at the Hatchery. Before I acquire them I will be sweeping the coop out completely & starting over fresh.

Many people here use the horse stall pellets for their chickens and also as kitty litter!!

 

[Ponypoor]

Well….. if you can’t see your mailbox and don’t know where to put the snow it’s too much snow for me After I left Germany in 89 I lived in Florida for 16 years. Then Wisconsin for 17 years… then decided I didn’t want to retire there. Didn’t want to go back to Florida so decided East Tennessee was it . Very little snow, but all 4 seasons. Moved to a tiny town and expanded the chicken family….Decided to retire a couple of years early and it’s all good

Sounds idyllic!

And I like the ‘little snow’ bit. I positively detest snow and cold, I keep threatening to move to Spain hahaha.

 

[StarOnFire59]

It’s better to be active, it will help with your arthritis. I use a bucket and a kitty litter scoop to clean the hen house, I have roosting ledges not rails, so those get cleaned daily, doesn’t take long, 10 min to do everything.

Horse stalls are a mess I have two
Messy old cranky mares.



Many people here use the horse stall pellets for their chickens and also as kitty litter!!

You all so great! I love all the info, hints & advice.
It looks like my hens will be able to come out tomorrow . It's supposed to get up to 52°.

 

[Ponypoor]

You all so great! I love all the info, hints & advice.
It looks like my hens will be able to come out tomorrow . It's supposed to get up to 52°.

I am so jealous! Even if it was mild there is so much snow they won’t come out. Sometimes in the winter I let them out on Mount Poopmore. It’s warm there and they can dig for flies and bugs living there in the winter.

Unfortunately I got rid of Mnt Poopmore this past summer and Little Poopmore isn’t so big. So it doesn’t generate as much warmth, but still it’s something different for them to do. I do hawk watch duty.