Getting the coop ready for winter!

[My2butterflies]

Oh, please please keep'em all! By next spring the babies will have found a mate and you will not know who it is. You don't wann break those little Guinea hearts! You look like you have room for more!

That is a good point. Unless they happen to be two males and two females that pair to each other I really wouldn’t want to get rid of any from my original 12.

 

[Sydney65]

As crazy as the yr has been so far, not sure I'd discount cold NC. That said, like r2elk, we insulated and as our run is connected to coop, we put clear polycarbon panels up over the run wire and door. Their coop stays comfortable w/o need of heat sources, which is what I was going for bc I'm a huge chicken of fire.
The lights inside are solar w/a set of emergency battery op back ups.
The water tank is electrically heated but it has to get super cold before it's needed and is on protected outlet.
If the electrical plug connection is outside, a simple hack to protect it from water is to cut a slit in a sturdy plastic bottle (soda,water) and tuck the connected plugs inside. I drilled a hole in the cap on top, threaded a bungee cord through it (I used bungee cord with ball on one end), screw lid back on then hang on side of coop w/ S hook.

 

[Sydney65]

Me too!

I totally want to see the socks!!!

You say that like it would be unusual...have we forgotten the shoes?!

 

[Sydney65]

My coops are converted grain bins; all metal and no insulation.
Last year we did have a heat lamp set up to turn on at night and left on during the day when day temps were in the negatives. This year I’m not planning to use them. I must confess that I do have them out in the coops *just in case*. Talking to family and some local farmers it sounds like no one uses supplemental heat for their poultry.
It just makes me nervous when temps go down to -40 and lower

I want you to know that I showed Himself pics of your grain bin, and he almost bought one (used). He agreed w/what a cool idea it was. (Signed pretending to be a farmer on a 1 acre lot). Lol

 

[My2butterflies]

I want you to know that I showed Himself pics of your grain bin, and he almost bought one (used). He agreed w/what a cool idea it was. (Signed pretending to be a farmer on a 1 acre lot). Lol

Thanks!
I had to come up with some reason to justify not renting them anymore Grain hoppers leave such big ruts in the yard making it a nightmare to mow over. And eventually causing a lot of damage to the mower deck Though my mowing style might not help either

 

[R2elk]

The low was 5°F this morning. It is currently 18°F and the guineas are out playing in the snow.

 

[My2butterflies]

It’s 34f right now and all the birds have put themselves away in their coops already. Haha. The adult guineas stepped outside the coop and went right back in. My young ones ventured out, flying up to the roof at first. Then hung out in the garden for a couple hours before going back to the coop.
The snow is melting and more ground is open, but it’s windy and the wind is really cold.

 

[Sydney65]

It'

It’s 34f right now and all the birds have put themselves away in their coops already. Haha. The adult guineas stepped outside the coop and went right back in. My young ones ventured out, flying up to the roof at first. Then hung out in the garden for a couple hours before going back to the coop.
The snow is melting and more ground is open, but it’s windy and the wind is really cold.

It's 78° right now and the goons are po'd bc it started raining, so they're standing in run complaining--LOUDLY.
They haven't veen getting on porch at all this yr so was surprised the other day not only to find them on porch. Backed up against door,but in a tizzy I'd not seen before. Then I looked up and saw red tailed hawk swoop past.

 

[MrsTush]

It'

It's 78° right now and the goons are po'd bc it started raining, so they're standing in run complaining--LOUDLY.
They haven't veen getting on porch at all this yr so was surprised the other day not only to find them on porch. Backed up against door,but in a tizzy I'd not seen before. Then I looked up and saw red tailed hawk swoop past.

I HATE when it rains! The guineas stand right under where the rain is running off the eaves and scream at the back door.

I have to herd them into their coop which means I'm soaked too. What's so hard about just going into the coop??

 

[Sydney65]

I HATE when it rains! The guineas stand right under where the rain is running off the eaves and scream at the back door.

I have to herd them into their coop which means I'm soaked too. What's so hard about just going into the coop??

That wld be on me - I don't normally leave coop/run open to prevent stowaways like snakes. But in today's case, they had been corralled to the enclosure. They were just perturbed by the sudden wash out of a perfectly nice day. It did come on sudden. Rosie taught me early this spring exactly what "mad as a wet hen" REALLY meant. Lol