This winter seems so long and cold, more so than any other in my half a century here. I'm thinking of leaving home and living where its warmer for the farm. I got my heaters on separate outlets just before this long cold started. I'm sorry about your troubles, this cold can't last much longer, can it???
I put Falcon and Hawk out in the small coop near the door, for the 3rd time...my lighter blue boys that have so much fun practicing the crow every morning. I miss them but needed their big cage for the big banty hatch I've got going right now. The white banty hen has adopted them, she is one great hen! They are as big as her and she's their big lil mama. I'll try to get a pic of them w/her but have to finally go back to work tomorrow.
I've only got a heat lamp over the water for my Cayugas and Magpies, they are laying eggs now and all the eggs have frozen except four. My biggest coop is holding at 30 degrees w/the heater on full blast. The water is freezing in there, too, so I keep spare buckets inside to switch every day. The BO's, RIR, GLW, BLRW and Black Ee's are doing well at that temp so far since I dubbed Brewster. I can see I'm going to have to put some skirting on the biggest coop next year.
I think the way to go for here is many smaller coops with windows, those two coops are nice and warm and the heaters are not on full blast, either. That means banty birds or fewer LF. Or sheep in one half of the big coop and one LF flock in the other half, that'd be warm. We'll have to keep coming up with ideas and what works!
Once it warms up here, you can be it'll be a blizzard...those are always warm.
I feel like I was out partying all night, without the fun. Still -26F this morning, too. But, on the bright side, we haven't had our pipes freeze up once this winter so far, thanks to the extra insulation we put in this past summer when we replaced the septic system.
