For the MINIMALISTS - those who think less is more in chicken keeping - Please help

[3KillerBs]

Hmm, what to do. I wonder if there is an easy way to heat the water slightly. Do you think the bucket method would be better?

Because my climate is so mild I just bring the waterers in at night or replace them on the rare days it's below freezing all day.

People in cold climates have many ways of dealing with their water and preventing it from freezing with different kinds of heated waterer. You can probably start with a search on the site to get some good ideas.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Awesome, thanks for sharing your protocols. Where do you live? Is it really cold in your area? I'm in NJ so it gets cold but rarely below freezing and if so, it's not very long. We have electricity run. I guess we can figure that out next winter.

We just started our build. We have the studs up and 1 wall. I hope our run is large enough. Last night we were discussing disassembling to make the run bigger. Ahhh, I really don't want to do that.

Thank you for bringing up the plant situation. We have landscaping with shrubs. Our vegetable garden is separate. Are they going to eat all of the shrubs? I'll have to take a photo to show you...

I retract my previous no plants statement. I did hand established wire grass survive in the run last time. Not desirable for many folks.

I'm in Virginia. Gets below freezing at night. Don't under estimate the shade of the coop with near freezing temps and overnight lows can lead to frozen water for longer periods than you'd like.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Hmm, what to do. I wonder if there is an easy way to heat the water slightly. Do you think the bucket method would be better?

If you love the pvc idea, could you build it with an easy way to cut off the water supply and drain it away from the coop? Basically winterize it like you would outdoor taps by draining it. Then have a secondary winter waterer.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I retract my previous no plants statement. I did hand established wire grass survive in the run last time. Not desirable for many folks.

I'm in Virginia. Gets below freezing at night. Don't under estimate the shade of the coop with near freezing temps and overnight lows can lead to frozen water for longer periods than you'd like.

My husband mentioned putting a heater in the rain barrel that will automatically turn on when the temp gets to a certain degree and likewise will shut off automatically.

I like that this would be automated so that the chickens are taken care of but also we are not wasting energy. Hopefully this will work and it won't give us too much trouble. We've got some time to decide.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I saw somewhere that we can put a small piece of copper in the water to prevent algae. Has anyone heard of this?

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

If you love the pvc idea, could you build it with an easy way to cut off the water supply and drain it away from the coop? Basically winterize it like you would outdoor taps by draining it. Then have a secondary winter waterer.

I think we've decided on the PVC water system attached to the rain barrel. I think we can utilize a little auto heater for the water for the couple months that it may freeze. Fingers crossed.

We're going to do the PVC feeder, as well. I've watched about 30 videos and took a compilation of the best ideas to make up our own.

The amount of times I've changed my mind on various ideas is quite funny. It's good though, it's forcing me to research research research until I get a plan. It's been a great learning experience - especially from you amazing chicken folks. Many thanks!

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Oh wise chicken counsel, yet another question:
We are not able to make removable roost bars. Our coop has 2 roosts which are attached to a wall on one end, have a supporting beam under the middle area, and are kind of free standing on the other end.

Can we polyurethane 3 sides of the roosts and leave the side the chickens stand on uncoated? Will this cause any problems to the chickens?

 

[Folly's place]

Don't bother with the polyurethane, it's not worth it.
The real problem with fixed roosts is your fun experiences shoveling out bedding under them, and generally having to get under them at all.
Can you change them out for movable roosts?
Whatever you do now, it's all able to be changed later, when you find out what works, and what doesn't. Everyone I know has redone things in their coop and run, sometimes often.
Mary

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Oh wise chicken counsel, yet another question:
We are not able to make removable roost bars. Our coop has 2 roosts which are attached to a wall on one end, have a supporting beam under the middle area, and are kind of free standing on the other end.

Can we polyurethane 3 sides of the roosts and leave the side the chickens stand on uncoated? Will this cause any problems to the chickens?

Yeah, the bars themselves usually don’t get that dirty…the issue is hitting your head on them or not being able to reach past them easily to clean.

Could they be attached at the wall on a hinge and then fit into a bracket in the center? That would allow you to move them out of the way if there is enough ceiling height to fold them up . Even if you had to unscrew that middle support bracket, having the option might be nice.

 

[RoyalChick]

Agree with Mary and Amelia - not worth the bother to paint or polyurethane the roost. But we’ll worth making it so you can get under it easily if you have to.
As you may have gathered I rarely clean out my coop because it in on earth and everything just deals with itself. But I have had to go under the roost to retrieve an egg or two and once because a chicken fell off the roost in her sleep and I needed to check she wasn’t injured.