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Im in NW tennessee and the weather here is crazy. It don't really get very cold till Jan and feb. It starts back to the iffy weather after that. We get ice storms and you will need to put in a heat lamp and I would cover the tractor with a tarp. Thats what we do with our tractor. WE cover it and place bricks all around the trp on the ground so no draft gets in and the heat lamp is attached to the highest point in the pitched roof and pointed at the water. The water will freeze hard as a rock so you will need a way to keep it from freezing. We have different methods. In the larger coops we use the heated dog water bowls. They work great and hold a gallon of water. I have to pack water out to them everyday but it's better they have water instead of ice. We learned this our first year with chickens. We dumped out their frozen block of ice twice a day. In the smaller pens we use heat lamps pointed at the water bottles. They may have a thin layer of ice in the dish part but they can peck through that. with the ones that are ike the rabbit feeders, we bring them in at night to thaw and take them out fresh warm water in the morning. Of course we check it through the day.
All coops and pens get covered with wood, tin or fiberglass. This year we got fruit trays made out of paper fiber to use as insualtion. There are 125 in a bundle and we got 82 bundles. We're going to line the walls of the big coop, sikie pen and the other pens which are smaller. The smaler pens we will cover their runs with tarps so they can still go out but won't have to suffer the harsh weather and winds.
In my area, it is mostly muddy and wet all winter till the bad part and then it's ice. So to cover the runs actually is better for the chickens so they aren't constantly in very cold mud. Then it freezes at night and it's on their feet. I hate to think their feet are cold.
You can build a heater for the tractor by using a popcorn can and a light bulb. There are insstructions somewhere in this site on how to build them. I just prefer a heat lamp and get the ones that are ceramic, not plastic. The plastic will melt under the heat and can cause a fire. I only use those inside in the brooders because the bulbs I use are only 60 watt.
To anybody that may be close enough to me to be able to take advantage of the opportunity but I know where you can get as many of the fruit trays you want for dirt cheap. They are at an orchard that went out of business and my nephew got the building in the will. There where 7 skid of them. There are other things in there that can be of use like bushel baskets and 1/2 bushel baskets and huge wooden boxes that can be converted to a pen. I know they want $10 for each wooden box. They don't have tops but they would be great to use to make pens. And the wood is thick too. If anybody is interested I can direct you to my nephew and he would be glad to get rid of this stuff. Just bring a truck or trailer. He may give the fruit trays away. I know he would be happy to get rid of them. The building is located around the Union City area in Tennessee. He is off on Fridays and weekends and gets off work at 5pm. Just PM me and i'll give you his info.
Thanks so much! We built an "A" frame run and a peaked roof so ice and leaves would slide off easier. The tractor coop is really small and short for portability, it is 4.5 x 5 feet for 5 wyandottes (plus the mobile run). We move it every day. I have LED rope lights across the top and a 100 watt reptile heating ceramic bulb that does not emit light. I have it triple fastened to the ceiling. I will probably add hardware cloth over the guard, but since it doesn't glow, henny penny isn't fascinated by it as she is the rope lights. She just watches them and coos.
They are on a timer, but no thermostatic plug yet for the heat lamp, haven't found one yet. The lights come on at 4 am, and the heater will be thermostat controlled. I don't have any insulation yet. I would drive out to get some, but it is a really long drive for that. It might be cheaper to buy the foam
I was thinking of a heated dog water dish to sit the waterer in, since it is hanging....I will probably just sit it in the dog dish like I have seen others do. I have a plastic waterer, and will be covering the run with plastic, so am afraid to put a heat lamp out there. I hope we are ventilated and insulated enough. I did put straw on the floor over the wood shavings to give extra insulation since it is up off the ground.
Thanks for the input, Anne
Im in NW tennessee and the weather here is crazy. It don't really get very cold till Jan and feb. It starts back to the iffy weather after that. We get ice storms and you will need to put in a heat lamp and I would cover the tractor with a tarp. Thats what we do with our tractor. WE cover it and place bricks all around the trp on the ground so no draft gets in and the heat lamp is attached to the highest point in the pitched roof and pointed at the water. The water will freeze hard as a rock so you will need a way to keep it from freezing. We have different methods. In the larger coops we use the heated dog water bowls. They work great and hold a gallon of water. I have to pack water out to them everyday but it's better they have water instead of ice. We learned this our first year with chickens. We dumped out their frozen block of ice twice a day. In the smaller pens we use heat lamps pointed at the water bottles. They may have a thin layer of ice in the dish part but they can peck through that. with the ones that are ike the rabbit feeders, we bring them in at night to thaw and take them out fresh warm water in the morning. Of course we check it through the day.
All coops and pens get covered with wood, tin or fiberglass. This year we got fruit trays made out of paper fiber to use as insualtion. There are 125 in a bundle and we got 82 bundles. We're going to line the walls of the big coop, sikie pen and the other pens which are smaller. The smaler pens we will cover their runs with tarps so they can still go out but won't have to suffer the harsh weather and winds.
In my area, it is mostly muddy and wet all winter till the bad part and then it's ice. So to cover the runs actually is better for the chickens so they aren't constantly in very cold mud. Then it freezes at night and it's on their feet. I hate to think their feet are cold.
You can build a heater for the tractor by using a popcorn can and a light bulb. There are insstructions somewhere in this site on how to build them. I just prefer a heat lamp and get the ones that are ceramic, not plastic. The plastic will melt under the heat and can cause a fire. I only use those inside in the brooders because the bulbs I use are only 60 watt.
To anybody that may be close enough to me to be able to take advantage of the opportunity but I know where you can get as many of the fruit trays you want for dirt cheap. They are at an orchard that went out of business and my nephew got the building in the will. There where 7 skid of them. There are other things in there that can be of use like bushel baskets and 1/2 bushel baskets and huge wooden boxes that can be converted to a pen. I know they want $10 for each wooden box. They don't have tops but they would be great to use to make pens. And the wood is thick too. If anybody is interested I can direct you to my nephew and he would be glad to get rid of this stuff. Just bring a truck or trailer. He may give the fruit trays away. I know he would be happy to get rid of them. The building is located around the Union City area in Tennessee. He is off on Fridays and weekends and gets off work at 5pm. Just PM me and i'll give you his info.
Thanks so much! We built an "A" frame run and a peaked roof so ice and leaves would slide off easier. The tractor coop is really small and short for portability, it is 4.5 x 5 feet for 5 wyandottes (plus the mobile run). We move it every day. I have LED rope lights across the top and a 100 watt reptile heating ceramic bulb that does not emit light. I have it triple fastened to the ceiling. I will probably add hardware cloth over the guard, but since it doesn't glow, henny penny isn't fascinated by it as she is the rope lights. She just watches them and coos.
Thanks for the input, Anne
