First winter storm & lessons learned

[MandaRae]

Every winter I swear I want to move southwest!

Cold is one thing but cold accompanied by wind...omg please, I can't stand it & neither can my aching arthritis. Wind sucks!!!

Yes the wind is brutal. It burns the face the chickens all stay inside on those days!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Yes the wind is brutal. It burns the face the chickens all stay inside on those days!

My flock hates wind, too. Funny how my flock & I like & dislike the same things...we get along so well

 

[catballou]

I had one of these in the run:
View attachment 3366993

I had one of the nipple freeze over. Until I fix the crosswind in the coop, I will have to accept blame for that - considering that at least one nipple did not freeze.

I ended up using a non-heated closed bucket of water in the coop with these same horizontal nipples and changed out the water every 2 hours. My hydrometer readings where not showing any increase in humidity having that in there compared to outside.

In that case, what about a heated dog bowl? I have mine in a far corner, with a 'wall' on 3 sides.
It seems to be the same humidity in the coop as in the barn every time I check

Every winter I swear I want to move southwest!

Cold is one thing but cold accompanied by wind...omg please, I can't stand it & neither can my aching arthritis. Wind sucks!!!

I agree with you about the arthritis! Now, after the cooooold, we have rainy damp and cloudy, which hurts even worse. I need a housekeeper!

 

[zappytar]

The arctic cold & wind has arrived in Iowa. Temps well below 0F, windchill in the -40F, winds gusting 50 mph and several inches of snow. Checked the birds this a.m. to find snow had blown in through ventilation on west side. Birds had all retreated to east side of coop. East side was dry but some birds did have snow on them.
Moved birds to the (unfinished) coop inside the barn. Laid down fresh, dry bedding and straw. Filled up food dishes and got water going. Threw a heat lamp in one corner just in case anybody needed it. Everybody appears to be moving around. May be a little frostbite here and there. Will monitor and plan to keep in the barn coop til spring. Should be able to finish it up today and get the doors on so its secure for night time.
Kind of a scare but I think the birds will be fine. Its a darn good thing we had the barn coop started, which was actually just going to be an add on. It may now serve as their winter coop. We also know now we have to cover ventilation in snow/high winds. I think furnace filters will do the trick. Heres pics of the 4-5 foot drift in front of the coop. Should have put up snow fence. Another lesson learned.
View attachment 3356829
View attachment 3356831View attachment 3356839

Oh my, winters in the North are scary! Newbie chicken mom, May 2022, trying to survive their first winter. I thought I was all setup with green house plastic nailed down on wood with fir strips and wrapped around a 10x30 car port tent that was built to "with stand snow" lol lol lol (this contraption in held inside an enclosed run which saved the car port from blowing out.... barely)

Fast forward 3 months, with at least 2 more to go, and it barely is standing up. Lesson learn (or reminded) that the wind is more dangerous then the snow/cold.

Thus spring, Our solution is to sink some poles, add a "real roof" etc. It will have cross bars that can serve as daily roosting bar outside of the coop but in the winter will have 4 ft high boards screwed into them, across the bottom, to block the wind. The top will have the green house plastic, with criss cross bars so that they get sunlight. Hoping cement and ground will keep things more stable for 23/24 winter

My picture is showing the car port with the "unstable plastic" lol, to help protect my girls from the wet winter mess. It also has tarp wrapped around the outside of the run to help with the wind. I will do that again also