Well, I'm still reading through this thread but here is how my winter prep is going:
Upped the fat content of the feed by adding BOSS, also throwing in some Calf Manna to up protein since they won't be getting as many bugs and fresh foods.
Working on how to enclose my completely open run/coop. Essentially, the chooks have been living in a large, well fenced dog run all summer with one third covered by a stout tin roof on large posts. I'm thinking half of this will be closed off with tarps or OSB, whichever I can afford!, and there will be a people door and a pop door to let the birds out under the remaining covered portion for outside time.
Heard today from WolfWoman that Christmas lights are a viable option for supplemental lighting, so I'm going to get a string or two of my extra white LED lights on a timer. Pop in some 2x4s for thicker roosts so they can keep their toes warm. Will do some variation of the cookie tin water heater, or maybe just order a heated livestock water bucket online. Deep litter method using Sweet PDZ and good ventilation to keep moisture and ammonia at bay. No supplemental heat. Maybe build some new nest boxes out of blueboard insulation to try to keep from having frozen eggs?
It's very important to me that I have winter hardy birds, so I hope to take good care of them without babying them. I don't want any wimps around here for breeding season!
