Egg Cartn - Winter in NJ

[bworth]

Hello,
This will be my first winter with chickens -- I have the Classic Egg Cartn chicken tractor & just wondering if the corrugated plastic skirting will be sufficient to keep 6 hens warm enough. I already have a heater waterer ready to go for winter. If it gets down to a certain temperature, do I need to think about further insulation for the ladies?

https://eggcartn.com/the-classic/

Thank you!

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

I live in Maine, so we do get a bit colder, usually into the negatives. I always use pine shavings as insulation as well as bedding, and chickens do snuggle when roosting. When we had a chicken tractor, I put some leftover reflective insulation in, which reflects the heat back in. It's like lining your coop with one of those bubble wrap envelopes. You can find it on Amazon, I think Tractor Supply might carry it too. Not sure how it is pricing wise there though. We ended up lining our entire basement with it at our old house, and it worked marvelously.
Happy wintering!!!

 

[perkolator]

How many chickens do you have? I'd imagine you can't free-range in the snow, and without an additional run they'll be confined to this very small space during winter. I'd be much more concerned about that situation than the cold.

Not quite sure how that thin corrugated sheeting insulates or helps to retain heat compared to other materials. Looks like it might be hollow-core, so might insulate better than I'm imagining, but still not great being so thin. I'd be concerned about heat loss through the top or maybe even condensation, since it looks so intimate inside there, and not very ventilated when all the panels are installed.

Because it's a movable tractor, I'd plan to keep it in a location that's less exposed to harsh conditions if possible. If adding insulation, don't add reflective barriers to the space the chickens access - they will peck at and eat shiny insulation without hesitation.

 

[bworth]

We added a run onto the coop and we let them “free range” outside when a human is with them. Maybe I should put bedding (pine straw from our trees) in the bottom level of the Egg Cart’n in winter to keep it warmer & drier?