I get A LOT of questions about our 3 little backyard city chickens making it through this sub-zero WI winter. Here are a couple pictures of our gals in their prefab Farmhouse coop. Hopefully it helps someone doing research!
It is a typical online coop for 6-8 hens, but I wouldn’t keep more than my 3 in there. Run is 7 feet long and 3.5 feet wide. We modified it a bit. Added extra hardware cloth around it, water sealed, and raised their little roost in the coop with a 2x4 to keep feet warm when it’s below zero out. They ‘free range’ a couple days a week in their fenced area outside their coop.
Coop is NOT heated. They DO have plenty of straw and bedding in coop and run (covering the sand), high protein food/treats, a heated water dish, and a dry run with ventilation and no wind to scratch around and do chicken things.
One of them is wearing a chicken saddle because she started moulting some feathers and I got worried about her bare back. Turned their light off and the issue seems to be fixing itself. No eggs, but that’s okay until it gets light out again. No, it’s not a crocheted sweater...I haven’t reached that level of crazy...yet...
Their dad was an Easter egger, and the Moms were Salmon favorelle, Houdan, and Americauna. So they’re all EE’s. All 3 have been fine so far!
It is a typical online coop for 6-8 hens, but I wouldn’t keep more than my 3 in there. Run is 7 feet long and 3.5 feet wide. We modified it a bit. Added extra hardware cloth around it, water sealed, and raised their little roost in the coop with a 2x4 to keep feet warm when it’s below zero out. They ‘free range’ a couple days a week in their fenced area outside their coop.
Coop is NOT heated. They DO have plenty of straw and bedding in coop and run (covering the sand), high protein food/treats, a heated water dish, and a dry run with ventilation and no wind to scratch around and do chicken things.
One of them is wearing a chicken saddle because she started moulting some feathers and I got worried about her bare back. Turned their light off and the issue seems to be fixing itself. No eggs, but that’s okay until it gets light out again. No, it’s not a crocheted sweater...I haven’t reached that level of crazy...yet...
Their dad was an Easter egger, and the Moms were Salmon favorelle, Houdan, and Americauna. So they’re all EE’s. All 3 have been fine so far!
Luckily our city ordinance keeps the chicken math in check. 4 hens and no roosters is all we can have! That does leave room for 1 more....hmm
TY
