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

[tiki244]

The things I learned was that the space for my chickens was too big, so they could not keep it warm. This year the space they stay in will be smaller. In a smaller space even a light bulb can generate enough heat.


And I am going to re-insulate my coop. And the other thing is even though my coop was insulated, there was a major air leak by the door, so weather stripping on that is essential.

I had a window on the southside for sunshine, but it ended up leaking more heat and letting in more cold air. Again I will have to weather strip it very very well. And I read about a coop that had a large mirror in the coop to also reflect the sun into the coop for more warmth. I think that is a good idea. IF there is any sun.

 

[Beekissed]

You'll want to be careful with the mirror, I think! My folks had a hand mirror that caught the sun coming through a window and reflected it back to a chair and caught it on fire! Probably a freak accident but makes one think....

 

[yotetrapper]

<< Now I only plug it in on reeeeeeaaaaally cold nights--like, mid-20s or lower>>

hahhahahahhaha I believe we have a southerner in our midst. It's mid20s and lower from nov-march here.

 

[yotetrapper]

<<These look like some good ideas for heated wateres. I especially like the five gallon one; heck, that'd last a half-dozen hens a week.
http://www.snowcountrypets.com/products … erers.html
>>

Wrong. 5 gallons will last 50 chickens 4 days. Oughta last 6 hens 3 weeks!!

 

[drumstyx]

I use a heat lamp in my coop and put the water inside. Make sure you put the lamp far away from the roosts.........I made the mistake of hanging one at a distance I thought was safe and ended up with 2 hens that burned their tails feathers off...very bad move, but luckily it was only the feathers that were burned......they looked pretty pathetic that winter!!!

 

[lleighmay]

This will be my first winter with chickens, but I plan to use a lot of ideas I've learned from folks at BYC, plus some of my own.
The windows I've put in are all double pane glass that the (very generous) guys at the salvage yard gave me because they said they'd been there for years and nobody wanted them. I hinged them at the top and used cabinet hardware (the kind you use to keep the lid of your kid's toy chest from slamming shut on their fingers) so they open at the bottom, keeping rain out and letting air in. I figure I can play with opening different ones depending on prevailing weather systems and temps. I'm planning to put weather stripping between the windows and the frame before winter but haven't done it yet. I'm also planning to put some smaller vents in the top of the coop (think maybe 6x6" on different sides) just for airflow and depending on prevailing weather systems.
I plan to insulate the inside of the walls with either fiberglass (or, more likely styrofoam panels) between the studs and then cover the whole thing with either masonite, paneling, or osb (whichever is cheapest at the time) painted gloss white for cleanup purposes and light refraction.
My coop (which was probably built in the 40's and is being refurbished by me) has a large door I use for them to go out to the run since it's warm, but will be building a pop door either in the original door or the adjacent wall so the opening into the coop can be greatly reduced once the weather changes. The pop door will also have weather stripping in case I have to leave it closed for a few days due to extreme conditions.
Our normal winter temps here in the mountains are in the low 30s, but can go down to single digits for several days in a snap. Unless things get extreme I'm planning to use a similar watering system I use for my dogs/goat- two waterers so that one can be filled with hot water in the morning and the other one can be upturned in the sun or brought into the house to thaw (I set it in the shower) and then refilled for the next morning. The water cools down quickly for drinking but takes a long time to freeze because of the starting temp. I've found so far this works for everyone. My waterers will be inside the insulated coop for the winter which will also slow down the freezing.
If worse comes to worse I can run an extension cord from the house and use a heat lamp but I currently have no wiring in my coop. I've also been looking into tent heaters (such as Coleman) in case things get really ugly for several days. I figure I could put one in the storage/entry section of the coop to avoid the potential of setting their bedding on fire and then leave the vents open in case of fumes. I've slept in tents with heaters with no problem but would still want an escape for any fumes that might develop, however minimal.
It's extremely windy where I live; I'm still debating whether to put a tarp or some similar windbreak around the bottom of the run on the windward side(s) so they're more comfortable outside if they choose to be. My current thinking is that I'll probably do this because it won't cost much and I want them to be able to be outside if they so choose. I would only enclose them in the coop 24/7 if conditions were truly hideous but I do want them to be comfortable.

 

[English Chick]

Dont know if this will work. however a lot of new homes being built in the UK are being insulated with sheeps wool to keep the warmth in.....food for thought perhaps.

 

[Mom 2em All]

My coop is not large enough to stack hay but I do have electric out there. It is 6X3X6. It is up on cinder block, and I put moisture barrier along the inside walls. I tried to put in insulation, but honestly, it was hard to do in that small space and I got frustrated and quit. The east wall is insulated behind the nest box to the floor. I have a 2X4 for the roost. Their roof is shingled. I have vents on the south wall, opposite side of the pop hole. Pine shavings on the tiled floor, hay in the nest box. And my door (which was rough cut and has gaps which work as venting) is on the west side, out of the wind.

My coop is situated so that the walk-in door faces my house. (And incidentally, my dryer vent.) The chicken yard is solid on three sides. The south side is enclosed by the coop and one wall of my house. The west side is the back wall of my house. The north side is a privacy fence. The east side of their yard is open, but I have a split rail covered by hardware cloth(6' high) and trumpet vine, honeysuckle and morning glories growing (hurry and GROW!) to cover it also. Also climbing rose bushes that block the view of the coop on the east side. There is a pine tree in the north-east corner and also the big huge maple tree right outside the split rail- these act as a wind-break. I planted low-growing evergreen shrubs on the north side. The entire area is 23 ft X 20 ft.

I just added a roof over my pop hole because for some reason, my silly chickens think it is taboo to enter the coop when it is raining. (No, MOM! We want to play outside). They will huddle underneath their ramp to the pop hole, instead of actually going inside. I gave them a roof so they have more room for shelter.

My biggest concern at this point is the ground, when it is covered in snow, ice, mud and slush. I need some way to make it where it wont be mud and slush. (I have bad thoughts of poor chickens standing in mud and skating across their yard on frozen feet). If I used something like wood-chips, what a pain that will be to shovel an area for them.

 

[ozark hen]

As a suggestion for your ground problem...last year we tried unrolling a large round bale of hay, not straw, in the run. Our chickens free range but they do have a large run that gets muddy outside the ramp and their door. The hay was like a thick blanket and of course full of seeds for them to scratch for and bugs under that thick blanket all winter. In the spring enough seeds fell through to bring up some nice green sprouts very early so they had a treat in the very early spring. Snow still laid on top of it but the mud was gone and the chickens were up off the bare ground. You could unroll a bale anywhere you wanted it. Hope this helps you.

 

[purr]

Quote:
I sas that too ,and I was thinking they must mean 20 below they can't mean 20.