Hard freeze in Louisiana...almost less than yearly occurrence...

[Parront]

Hey Justin! Welcome to BYC, friend!!! I wondered if that was you! I already had a lamp hung and pointed at the area with the roosting bars. All I had to do to keep it in liquid state was turn the bulb towards the waterer instead of the chickens. Since the bucket is in a corner smack dab between the human door & their pop door, I also stapled a couple layers of plastic sheeting starting about midway & going down to the bottom. It blocked a ton of those winds & still provided ventilation. My girls have never chosen to roost inside the coop; they roost in a kumquat tree out in the run. We had to chase them down right before dark & lock them in the coop...apparently they even prefer their tree when it’s snowy, rainy, WINDY & about 15 degrees out there! HAHA

It is their habit to roost in the tree. They are not used to the cold weather, but the birds have down to keep them warm as long as they stay dry and out of the wind. It gets into the single digits here at night, 7-9 degrees, I take them water from the house in the morning, and pour a gallon of warm water into the 5 gal bucket water container. I use nipples on the bottom, ice forms on the nipples at night. By noon, it is thawed. I take in the extra water dish in the evening so it doesn't freeze. It is a bit of a pain to go out and give them water at 6 am, but the cold does not last long here and I did not want to have a long extension cord going out to the coop.

 

[Baumshell28]

Long, yellow extension cord all the way across my yard! I tried everything I researched and every method suggested to me on here about getting them to roost in the coop on their bars...but No Luck. They would all get down & huddle & fuss at the human door. Instead of teaching them anything, I was the one who got schooled. I leave their coop open to the run 24/7 now, just in case they decide to make use of the actual roost area. No wind or rain has ever been bad enough to send them into their coop. I know that they know how to roost on the bars...when they were forced in there during these storms & temp lows, there was a WHOLE LOT of poop to be scooped off the poop board every morning after I let them back into the run. Ewww....

 

[Parront]

They are lucky birds! When I had chickens in the CA desert, they roosted in the run all the time. I finally decided it was too hot in their coop. I use a wire coop, and just tarp it in the winter now. And now, I am in Prescott, AZ! It is still blazing hot in the summer. Here is the coop I use. I have electric net fencing around their yard. This is a photo from summer. Tarp on the sides as well as the back for winter. Front is always open.

 

[Baumshell28]

They are lucky birds! When I had chickens in the CA desert, they roosted in the run all the time. I finally decided it was too hot in their coop. I use a wire coop, and just tarp it in the winter now. And now, I am in Prescott, AZ! It is still blazing hot in the summer. Here is the coop I use. I have electric net fencing around their yard. This is a photo from summer. Tarp on the sides as well as the back for winter. Front is always open.

Personally I think your birds are lucky...I see their coop/run door wide open...free range foraging? Mine aren’t allowed outside the perimeter of the coop and run. I have a large mastiff/boxer mix that would take any chance to eat the freshest chicken possible, and 2 out of the 3 neighbors I share a fence line with have their own big dogs that would do the same. This neighborhood is laden with large hawks and more owls than I’ve ever seen living in such close proximity. The road in front of my house is used as a cut-thru during workday rushes. There is an elementary school on the road directly behind me, so that causes much traffic also. So I try to protect them by keeping them 100% enclosed.........

 

[Parront]

Personally I think your birds are lucky...I see their coop/run door wide open...free range foraging? Mine aren’t allowed outside the perimeter of the coop and run. I have a large mastiff/boxer mix that would take any chance to eat the freshest chicken possible, and 2 out of the 3 neighbors I share a fence line with have their own big dogs that would do the same. This neighborhood is laden with large hawks and more owls than I’ve ever seen living in such close proximity. The road in front of my house is used as a cut-thru during workday rushes. There is an elementary school on the road directly behind me, so that causes much traffic also. So I try to protect them by keeping them 100% enclosed.........

No, sadly the door is always closed when I am not out there with them -- the electric netting does keep the coyotes and bobcats out! The roof is to keep out the Red Tailed hawks and Falcons. I move it to a fresh area every week. They get to run the yard when I am out there gardening/chickening.