Looking for Winter Advice- What do you wish you had known

[cajunlizz]

Quote:
How far below zero? We went down to -26 and I had no added heat.

WOW , is your COOP insulated ?

 

[LoneCowboy]

My girls are pretty spoiled. Their coop is 2x4 construction and fully insulated. I hang a heat lamp over their waterer so it won't freeze and it also keeps them warmer. When it snows, I shovel their run before it melts so it doesn't make the ground muddy and gross. The ground is nice and dry underneath. They seem just fine and happy with that. If I feel especially sorry for them, I make up some nice warm oatmeal and mix it with their food.

 

[mem79]

This is also my first winter with any chicks. They will be teens here is PA by the time it gets cold, but I'm not sure they will think its cold compared to Michigan, etc. I am a southerner, so if I can survive here, I'm counting on chicks being able to!
My coop was bought used and pretty well built with a shingle roof, etc. I understand to use a water heater & hay. What I am confused about is how to keep all drafts out but have it well ventilated. In my head, I"m seeing them as opposites. Can someone help me out here as to how to be able to do both at the same time?

 

[swampducks]

Quote:
I think of drafts as places air seeps in that the birds can't escape from. Ventilation is controlled seepage that you can close off if necessary, it wouldn't blow directly on nest boxes or perches.

I've got draft potential around the man door in my coop. I can fix that with a piece of weatherstripping. Currently my only ventilation are the 2 windows. If I need to close them tight in a blizzard, for instance, I'll probably need to drill some holes at the peak to allow for air exchange.

 

[BuckeyeDave]

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My chickens must be the least spoiled. I heat the waterer, give them a nice thick base of pine shavings and to make sure the wind is slowed down a bit, some bales of straw on the windward side of the coop and that's about it. They're animals, they really have just about everything they need to handle the cold, do the same things for them that the tiny little birds do for themselves. Water, food and plenty of nesting, it'll keep down the fire risk and save some energy.

God has prepared them for winter better than He prepared us, they can handle everything but the extremes.
Peace,
Dave

 

[cajunlizz]

SUGGESTION :


If you decide to put sand into your run area , put the sand about 4 inches thick ....

We did put sand down about 6 weeks ago and having to ADD MORE .


Works great tho

 

[BettyR]

I am usually getting really tired of the heat by late October when the thermometer is still hitting 80 during the day but you folks are making me absolutely giddy with joy that I live where I do. The only time we close up the windows on the coop is during a hurricane. It very rarely gets below 40 degrees here.

We do have some cold days from time to time but it hasn’t gotten cold enough to damage any of the leaves on the avocado tree my kids gave me for Mother’s Day a few years ago.

 

[cajunlizz]

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where in Texas are you ?

I am in Lafayette , Louisiana . This year has been unusually HOT . Hoping for at least a COLD WINTER this year . Need to KILL the bugs .

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
where in Texas are you ?

I am in Lafayette , Louisiana . This year has been unusually HOT . Hoping for at least a COLD WINTER this year . Need to KILL the bugs .

About 100 miles South of Houston.

 

[cajunlizz]

Quote:
where in Texas are you ?

I am in Lafayette , Louisiana . This year has been unusually HOT . Hoping for at least a COLD WINTER this year . Need to KILL the bugs .

About 100 miles South of Houston.

Oh really . My husband's family lives 50 miles South of Houston . CLUTE texas . Close to Lake Jackson . Where are you ?