It may be August but the first frost is just around the corner

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BantyChooks said:
They're pretty much useless for nights here without heavy modification and effort. I suggest if you get one, use it during the day and just dump their water at night. A few hours without water won't kill them and it would be frozen solid anyway. As for your lights question, some use them---I don't. Nice for them to have a bit of a break from egg laying when they need so much energy for heat.

What area of ON?
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Good to know. I was wondering if they would be any good for the cold -40 days in January. I'm outside of Ottawa.
 
Your chickens will spend a considerable amount of time outside in the cold and snow once they get over it. A bale of alfalfa or cereal grain plopped down in the run will satisfy the scratching and pecking need. I would enclose the area under the coop and block it to prevent drifting snow. Provide a dust bath under it (cat litter pan with some dirt or wood ash) if the ground freezes hard.
 
Chichi_08 said:
I realized today that the cooler weather and shorter days are just around the corner. Being new to backyard chickens I want to ensure that the ladies are comfortable this winter. We live in Ontario so very cold snowy days are inevitable. I plan on covering the run in plastic, but I'm not sure how often they will want to come out of the coop with the cold days. Any suggestions on how to keep the warm? Entertained? Should I provide them with extra light during the days? Thanks!
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I like your coop roof and ventilation, tho you might need to baffle the venting a bit due to the low height of coop. Would need to see the inside before making any specific recommendations.

You might seriously consider putting a solid roof on the run, as well as covering the sides during winter(leaving a few inches at top of walls for ventilation), to keep the snow out of the run. Appears to be a bit short(~3'?) to be in there shoveling...and the mesh will likely grab/hold snow and sag or collapse unless it's closely monitored.

I really like the suggestion of making under the coop part of the run, covering sides all the way up in winter. I have an 'under run' and it's great for in winter as my run does not have a solid roof. My run has larger mesh and is walk in height, so I knock snow off of it and shovel, which gets old and worrisome during night storms with heavy snowfall.
 
X2 what aart said.
Make under the coop an access for them.
Cover the run with planks of wood that you can scrape off the snow and HEAVY plastic on the sides but leave a good 4 inches open around the upper part for Ventilation.

Anyway you could raise the Coop up another foot or so ? That would give better access under and easier for you to clean the coop. Plus I am thinking you will have snow at Least up to the bottom of the coop.

Fab coop BTW !
 
tigger19687 said:
Nah, Frost is that stuff that Fairies leave just to make you panic and Think it is cold hahaha

@Flock In Texas , when I moved just south of Dallas we got 1 foot of snow. They all blamed me :( I just laughed and said that I needed to share some of New England weather so they knew what I came form.
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I remember the storm. I was praying that my carport wouldn't collapse. I live in Waxahachie/Red Oak, just outside the city limits of Red Oak. It was mid-February.
 

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