Bee,
My birds get the same food they have always gotten. I ferment flock raiser, scratch grains, & cracked corn. I give them a pretty big meal in the morning and then a smaller meal at nite. I don't have a heated dog dish and I'm not going to drive 60 miles to get one. I am not going to worry too much about the water as what they are getting seems to be enough or I don't think they would be laying well.
Their coop is well built with a thin insulation of maybe R5. It has good ventilation under the eaves. Their roost is a 2 to 3 inch walnut log although some think they need to sleep in the nest. We have a tarp along the west side and over part of the top of their run so they can get out of the wind and snow but still go outside if they want. I never make them stay inside that is their choice. The turkeys always go out and spend a good portion of the day outside no matter the weather the chickens however will go out check the weather and then make up their minds, mostly in this cold they choose to stay inside.
I had a pretty good supply of dry leaves, I thought, but some of them got wet and are now frozen so I didn't think they would do much good in the coop. That is why I got the straw for them.
We haven't had any rain thankfully, just a lot of snow. I think we have about 12 inches on the ground right now. I just banked a bunch of that up against the coop to keep any air from getting underneath it. It works really good as an insulater.
I actually worry more about the horses than the chickens. I let them out of the barn today but think I will keep them in tomorrow with the wind chills so low. I sure don't want them getting frostbit ears. The cats will probably appreciate that since they like to get up on the horses and sleep. I suppose that works out for both of them in keeping warm.
My birds get the same food they have always gotten. I ferment flock raiser, scratch grains, & cracked corn. I give them a pretty big meal in the morning and then a smaller meal at nite. I don't have a heated dog dish and I'm not going to drive 60 miles to get one. I am not going to worry too much about the water as what they are getting seems to be enough or I don't think they would be laying well.
Their coop is well built with a thin insulation of maybe R5. It has good ventilation under the eaves. Their roost is a 2 to 3 inch walnut log although some think they need to sleep in the nest. We have a tarp along the west side and over part of the top of their run so they can get out of the wind and snow but still go outside if they want. I never make them stay inside that is their choice. The turkeys always go out and spend a good portion of the day outside no matter the weather the chickens however will go out check the weather and then make up their minds, mostly in this cold they choose to stay inside.
I had a pretty good supply of dry leaves, I thought, but some of them got wet and are now frozen so I didn't think they would do much good in the coop. That is why I got the straw for them.
We haven't had any rain thankfully, just a lot of snow. I think we have about 12 inches on the ground right now. I just banked a bunch of that up against the coop to keep any air from getting underneath it. It works really good as an insulater.
I actually worry more about the horses than the chickens. I let them out of the barn today but think I will keep them in tomorrow with the wind chills so low. I sure don't want them getting frostbit ears. The cats will probably appreciate that since they like to get up on the horses and sleep. I suppose that works out for both of them in keeping warm.
