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

[write2caroline]

I live in Northern Florida but last winter we had quite a few very cold Days (okay stop laughing) On those very cold actually below freezing (yes it does freeze here) days, Someone posted about using a 5 gallon bucket with a lid and hot water to heat the coop. Well It worked fabulously. I loved that it provided heat and I didn't have to plug anything in all night and day. I got the buckets for free from Winn Dixie, Publix and Walmart from the Bakery Department (just ask...they toss those frosting buckets if you don't ask for them) I did not have to worry about fire or electrical shorts in my coop and my chickens were cozy and happy. I also invested in a can of bag balm and used it liberally on the combs, waddles and feet. They enjoyed the attention and it helps to prevent frostbite.
Caroline

 

[Keara]

1. Ventilation is wayyyyyy more important than insulation!
1a. moister is bad
2a chickens are fine with really cold temps if they can get out of the wind and wet. (I live in vermont)
2. Chickens like to go out in the snow.
3. Make a wind break of some sort (I use old hay bales) to keep snow from drifting into the pop door.

 

[ducks4you]

Quote:
I live in northern Indiana and I was wonderin if a heat tape for water pipes would keep my coop warm enough for my chickens.

First,

!
I live in East Central Illinois, so your average wintertime temperatures are only about 5 degrees colder than us. Heat tape will keep your pipes from freezing, but won't affect the heat that you do not need in your coop. I don't know how your coop is constructed, but if it is wood, and if you have sufficient ventilation you will prevent the accumulation of humidity, which is the cause of frozen combs, frozen feet, and bad health for your chickens, you won't have a problem. Although I cheated last winter, and put my seven RIR hens inside a horse stall in my barn, I am building their coop right now. Here they are, in my wooden barn, without any windows, in a 12 x 16 stall, but with plenty of ventilation.

(My gelding next door let me know that he didn't like 'em there.

) My birds were dry and happy on bedding which rested on top of rubber stall mats on a cement floor. I put their water in a small, deep rubber feeding bowl. When the water froze, it was easy to break out the ice and refill. I also had a lamp on for them during the day, as you can see in the above picture. Believe me, I keep the doors open in my barn during the winter, and last winter I had two horses in the barn contributing to the humidity. All barn residents were dry, happy and healthy.
For my new chicken coop I am tearing about an old wooden playhouse, 7 ft x 8 ft, replacing any rotten wood, and rebuilding it. I love the design because there is a lot of open window space. Some dingbat moved this building from somewhere else decades ago and placed it on a cement slab, where the rain could do a number on it's base.

You need to read this article about open-front chicken houses and ventilation.

http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/fresh-air-poultry-houses2.html

 

[Mrs MIA]

I personally think that it is sad that people in the lower 48 are already thinking about winter, and I haven't given it much thought at all yet.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

I personally think that it is sad that people in the lower 48 are already thinking about winter, and I haven't given it much thought at all yet.

we don't like to work out in the cold anything below 50 above zero

some people loves to think about during a a heat wave

right now we are going thur an Excessive Heat wave

 

[ducks4you]

OK. FINE. Yes, we all understand that even your "tender Tennessee Christmas"es don't even have snow. **Jealous of the warmth**

Well.....you can keep the 120 degree F heat indexes, too!!!

So, there.

 

[ruth]

It's been 109-110 here the last few days with 100% humidity (and that's actual temps, not "feels like" temps). Winter, though I nearly froze to death with temps plummeting to 20 degrees, is still far, far, away. But....I have made it my mission in life to get a wood burning cookstove in this old home before winter gets here because while our last month of summer may be unbearable, I can still function. When temps get down past freezing I start shivering uncontrollably and my hands freeze up. This past winter, with all three units going and the new pellet stove burning non-stop, our old home didn't get above 40 degrees inside.

However, as has been pointed out, our chickens do just fine and will run around in the snow and ice like a day at the beach. As long as the coop is dry and well ventilated they'll be fine. We also put standing radiator-style heaters in our coops and stables for our animals but they aren't really needed - just makes it more comfortable for me to work in there.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

Quote:
hey we got snow here for Christmas last yr and i enjoyed it very much i love the cold weather i just move here from central fl.t
i can not wait to see snow again to bad it is not coming in tonight. i grew up in upstate New York.

 

[cjdmashley]

Vermont winters are brutal sometimes getting as low as -20 or colder. You might look into a small "pot-bellied" stove. our small one kept our home at about 80 degrees all winter. (FIRST WINTER IN MY LIFE I WASN'T WEARING 3 LAYERS!!!

) Up here there is no such thing as a "real summer" you have Winter and Winter Prep. 2 seasons, that's it. We built our coop this year out of VERY thick Log skins from the mill down the road. You can't hear the roosters in the am. so hoping it will be think enough for our never-ending winter. oh so jealous of your warm weather!

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[ducks4you]

Quote:
Wow, this thread is cooling me off. **aaaahhhhh**