Illinois...

[Justso]

hi everyone,
new chicken mom here, I've had 3 Rhode Island reds for about 6 months now, starting small.. I've been warned that my addiction will grow.. i had read SO much conflicting info about what is best going into winter that I am TOTALLY confused! I am in Chicago, hoping to hear from somewhere near me, with similar weather, thoughts on freezing water, to heat or not to heat? what type of bedding do you use in your coops? do you give them access to the run everyday in the cold temps? down to what temp?? HELP?? obviously this is my first winter.. I'm a mess.... go easy on me

I'm in the W suburbs. I personally started with an A-Frame coop for my very small flock. It was perfect with a nice 3" gap running along either side of the bottom (covered with hardware cloth) and a 3" gap running along the top covered with aluminum stovepipe, which allowed venting at either end of the coop. I started out bedding with hay, but have switched to pine shavings. They break down faster and are easier IMHO to compost. In the winter, I like to leave a big brick of it for them to break down over time. My chickens love to tear stuff apart! My neighbor likes the pine pellets.
The key component I feel is ventilation. If you don't have enough of it the inside will become very humid and cause frostbite. You would think these leaves them too exposed, but it doesn't! Even in the coldest weather, I never heated. The only time I ever did was when I had a single hen her first winter. I do heat the water now, I have a nipple waterer wrapped & insulated with a metal cloth heater, this kind

I used to change out water every day, but now am way too lazy.
Good luck! Let me know if you want to know anything else.

 

[Faraday40]

hi everyone,
new chicken mom here, I've had 3 Rhode Island reds for about 6 months now, starting small.. I've been warned that my addiction will grow.. i had read SO much conflicting info about what is best going into winter that I am TOTALLY confused! I am in Chicago, hoping to hear from somewhere near me, with similar weather, thoughts on freezing water, to heat or not to heat? what type of bedding do you use in your coops? do you give them access to the run everyday in the cold temps? down to what temp?? HELP?? obviously this is my first winter.. I'm a mess.... go easy on me

There a few of us from the Chicago area & yes, winters are tough.
Everyone has different opinions & you have to find what works for you.

Personally, I have an insulated coop & put plastic sheeting around the run from Nov-March. (Turns it into a sort-of greenhouse) Ventilation is important so you don't trap moisture inside. I do not use heat lamps & have never tried supplemental lighting. I do heat my water. (5 gal bucket with horizontal chicken nipples) Chickens always had clean water - even during the artic blast with -40'F wind chills! Mine has auto turn on & off. I carried it inside for cleaning & refilling once a week.

I met someone in the city who simply carried out fresh water 2xs per day. It froze, but required no electricity at all. (His coop was only a few steps from the backdoor, so not a long snowy walk.)
A neighbor decided to add a light bulb to her coop & another brings hers into the garage when temps drop below zero. There's no right or wrong way.



Yeah, I'm not looking forward to those days.....



If you do decide to make a bucket waterer, I recommend the splurge for the horizontal nipples. The vertical nipples drip as the chickens drink, so ice forms below. Those also can freeze when we get to the single digits -even when the water in the bucket is liquid. I had neither problem with the horizontal nipples. (like these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Horizontal-Side-Mount-Poultry-Chicken-Watering-Nipples-/161294591700?hash=item258de826d4 )

Inside the bucket I have a heater like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovato...r=1-4-catcorr&keywords=5+gallon+bucket+heater

That was the most expensive part, but I've used it 3 winters so far.

There's a few other interesting ideas I saw about using heat tape & another using a heated dog bowl as a base for the standard chicken fountain.
Life is with animals is easy when you can use the hose. Start thinking about how you're going to change your routine after you winterize the line.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I started out in April of last year with 3 girls also. I started out with a nice little coop for them. Then the addiction changed everything. I ended up hatching 6 CCLegbars in October. My little coop was too small for 9 chickens, so ended up building a temporary coop in the garage. My garage is not heated, and even though they were double insulated, coop inside of a garage, it still got to -8. And they were fine. I did have a heated dog water dish in there that was elevated on a brick, to help keep the straw out. It only turned on when the temp dipped below 32 degrees. It worked wonderfully, but they still ended up with straw in the water. Faraday's set up is the way to go. I did the deep litter method in their coop to help keep them warm and plenty of ventilation. My son is in the midst of building my large coop. Its a small house, lol. I learned my lesson last year not having a run attached. I had to shovel every morning before letting them out, even on the really cold days they still came out but not as long as usual. I believe they would have been happier in a run enclosed with plastic, to help keep the cold wind and snow off of their feet. Good luck, this site really helped me in the beginning and is still helping me. Great source of info and lots of different ideas to choose from.
.

 

[MeepBeep]

My son is in the midst of building my large coop. Its a small house, lol.

My coop is bigger than many houses

In regards to heating one should weigh the pros and cons based on their individual circumstances and make an educated decision... If you choose to heat do it safely and don't cut corners...

In a non-heated coop ventilation is essential to lower the risk of frostbite, but even then ventilation will not eliminated frost bite dangers as the temperatures drop and this should be considered if you choose non-cold hardy breeds...

I don't hide the fact that I choose to heat my coop to about 35° it's the right choice for me since I don't want to risk any frostbite or exposure issues on my less than cold hardy birds aka my peafowl...

On the flip side I fully agree that heating is not the best choice for many others...

 

[Justso]

Good point on cold hardy breeds making a difference in your decision, if I remember right RIR's are cold tolerant. It also matters as to how big your coop is vs how many chickens; a small area with many chickens will be warmer (and more humid, lack of ventilation=frostbite). CLady73, how big is your coop?

 

[Faraday40]

Materials advice:

Because I had a lot of vertical space in the run (& B/c my neighbors were throwing out some closet shelving), I decided to add an upper level.
Some of the flock enjoys sleeping there, so reused feed bags & a hose work as temp poop boards. I bought plastic trays because winter is coming & at some point I need a way to clean without the use of the hose.

I use course sand in the run, but I was wondering if anyone had another chicken-safe / sift-able alternative.
My other ? is how to deal with the bit of rain/snow that may come in from the side. (I don't want the trays to fill with water.) The roof is mostly drip-free, but some precipitation can come in via the sides. I leave some open areas along the top sides for ventilation. Maybe drilling tiny holes in the trays will allow water to drain out?


Yes, that hen is wearing a chicken-saddle. The "eyes" are my idea of scaring hawks away.
The rabbit cage is for my upcoming broody's hatch.

 

[Faraday40]

While I was taking pics of the run, my silly hens were singing their daily duet.
Since I had the camera in my hands.....

 

[Justso]

 

[ChicagoClucker]

While I was taking pics of the run, my silly hens were singing their daily duet.
Since I had the camera in my hands.....

They make a great team. They figured they would hold choir practice while waiting for the favorite nest.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

My coop is bigger than many houses

In regards to heating one should weigh the pros and cons based on their individual circumstances and make an educated decision... If you choose to heat do it safely and don't cut corners...

In a non-heated coop ventilation is essential to lower the risk of frostbite, but even then ventilation will not eliminated frost bite dangers as the temperatures drop and this should be considered if you choose non-cold hardy breeds...

I don't hide the fact that I choose to heat my coop to about 35° it's the right choice for me since I don't want to risk any frostbite or exposure issues on my less than cold hardy birds aka my peafowl...

On the flip side I fully agree that heating is not the best choice for many others...

I thought I posted from my phone, but not seeing it. So, if I am double posting, sorry

I totally agree. If you choose to have breeds that are not cold hardy, then you have to have a safe plan to heat. I was just letting her know what I did in my own backyard flock because I was a newbie once too and I also asked for advice. I was ever so grateful for this site. Even though I read just about everything there is to read, confusion and doubt set in. What works for one may not work for another. When I was planning this new coop, my husband said why not have a slab poured and have some heating put in for the coop. It was tempting, but decided against it. I have all cold hardy breeds, so not necessary. Plus we plan on moving within the next 5 years. I learned that even though I let my guys free range all day long, that they would be happier with a run for the winter months. You do your homework and learn all you can when you decide you want to start your backyard flock. You go with what you think would be a good fit for you and your chickens. Then, I believe its a learning process as you go. You see what works and what doesn't. You make changes, even in the smallest of areas, like what to put their feed in so there isn't as much waste and so the waste doesn't attract mice. When I started out, I asked if I should heat their coop and there was someone on this site that told me they have a 3 sided X large coop, the front is just open caging. She has her coop facing south so the sun will warm it during the day during the winter. That works for them, and not for others.