My First Winter with Chickens

[J99]

Ok white sand gets hard and matted with urine and needs to be shoveled out, pine shavings isn’t good if it is in a run without a roof
Just dirt turns to mud and straw gets matted and leaves get matted
So over all I have to pick the least from the evils??? Lol

 

[aart]

My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.

 

[Bt2019ChiknMama]

Following! Our first winter, too. Only one coop, though. A little further north than KY; it can get cold and wet. Planning to move coop to a more protected (from wind) location and cover the outside of the hen house with insulation board and maybe tarp the whole thing so they stay drier. On the fence about a warmer, although I got a waterer with a heating element.

 

[Alaskan]

Following! Our first winter, too. Only one coop, though. A little further north than KY; it can get cold and wet. Planning to move coop to a more protected (from wind) location and cover the outside of the hen house with insulation board and maybe tarp the whole thing so they stay drier. On the fence about a warmer, although I got a waterer with a heating element.

The problem with putting a tarp over it all is then there will be zero ventilation.

All of the trapped up air will become super moist and full of ammonia and result in bad frostbite and respiratory disease.

 

[BReeder!]

Ok white sand gets hard and matted with urine and needs to be shoveled out, pine shavings isn’t good if it is in a run without a roof
Just dirt turns to mud and straw gets matted and leaves get matted
So over all I have to pick the least from the evils??? Lol

chickens don't urinate...

 

[BReeder!]

My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.

The mixture of dry fibrous material of different sizes is a good idea. It would help prevent matting, should drain well, provides opportunity for foraging for buds and plant matter, is likely easy to find right in our own backyards, and it will eventually form loose humus rich compost. I'm going to upgrade my leaf pile with other various matter and hope to achieve a good mixture.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Hi, I live in East Tennessee, just over the mountains from you. Like you, our winters are not that bad, we usually get a lot of rain. We occasionally get some snow but that usually not a big deal.

to winterize my coops I just wrap them in plastic to keep the cold winter winds out and to keep them dry from the elements. I don't use heat, they girls pretty much take care of that themselves. I have 7 coops, and all of them are treated the same way. This will be my 10th winter with my flock, so far everyone has done well.

I just wrote an article on this subject, I will post it her for you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/kuntry-kluckers-hacks-for-surviving-old-man-winter.75338/