Needing Reassurance - They Will Survive the Cold, Right?

[aart]

You could try wrapping the run with clear shower curtains to block the wind and it gives it the greenhouse effect when the sun is out.Mine is a lot warmer in the run with the shower curtains plus it doesn't block the sun.

awesome ! do the hold up in strong wind?

I imagine it depends on the fastening technique and the location in relation to prevailing winds.

I bought mine off Amazon, heavy duty commercial grade holds up well I zip tied the heck out of it so the wind doesn't grab it, so far so good. I will feel better when we get some snow around the bottom I won't shovel it to give it some weight.

Could you post a link to the product you purchased?

 

[jetdog]

I would love to but I am not that computer savvy I have no idea how, I just did a search on Amazon and found a commercial grade one, it's 72 inches x 108 inches.

 

[Scott H]

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...aps,256&rh=i:aps,k:clear+vinyl+shower+curtain

Just click on the address bar...it will turn blue...then right click...select copy.....then on your reply page hit the the url button at the top and right click in the url bar.....select paste. Give it a try.

 

[ll]

I ordered a clear tarp from mytarp.com
it is better than a shower curtain because it has grommets on all sides for tying down! I don't use staples - not reliable & the hens could eat the staples that may pop out.

I think if you put winter plastic on the run to keep it dry & block the wind, it will be perfect.

 

[aart]

Would be nice if they stated the mil of the plastic. I've read that all clear vinyl shower curtains are not created equal.

 

[jetdog]

That's right that's why I went for the commercial grade one figured it would be more heavy duty.

 

[ehanson]

Hi everyone, thanks for the suggestions. I love the candle idea! I've been trying to figure out how to determine whether or not there are drafts on the roosting bar and it was totally stumping me. I'll definitely do this the next gusty day we have!

We're now back up to a balmy 23 degrees and things seem fine. I like the tarp idea, but I think I'm going to wait until we get some snow just to see what happens. We had a light dusting last night, and we're expected to get a foot today. There was almost no snow in the run this morning, so I'm thinking that the way the coop is situated it doesn't get too much blown snow. We'll see!

 

[FrozenWings]

For ours, we put foam in the windows, built window shutters, wrapped clear plastic over the screened windows (still allowing for ventilation), caulked the plexi-glass window, and made a ceiling from the clear plastic up to the exposed corrugated roof. I think if the birds are able to remove themselves from the elements of wind (draft), moisture, and frozen ground, they should be able to survive cold temperatures. I think that using your light as a heat source to not allow the birds coop to drop below 0 F degrees may also be an option, but think safety first. I know my son has some heat lamps for his lizard that don't get much hotter than a light bulb.

The fact that the nesting is frozen may suggest that the coop is one moist, due to climate? Two, the coop may never really be warmed up with the sun during the day time. Maybe you can do something to warm the coop during the day until your deep compost starts doing it's thing?

-Frozen Wings

 

[ehanson]

We ended up wrapping most of the run in plastic. Really glad we did! The snow we got was super fine and dry and would've blown straight in. Threw a bunch of straw down in the now sheltered part of the run and the ladies seem pretty happy. I offered to let them run around the in the snow, but you can see they were pretty skeptical:

 

[Granny Hatchet]

they look very content