New Chicken Momma Here!

[TibbyB]

Hi everyone I’m Tibby! We live in Central Kentucky and are new to chickens. We have 6 beautiful Orpington ladies! (Four buffs and two lavs) We got them back in March from our local feed store when they were days old, and I just love them! Back in August, we got our first eggs and that was so exciting!
Being new to this, whenever I had a question and googled it, Backyard Chickens would pop up. It’s become my go to, so I finally decided to join!
I chose Orpingtons for their docile demeanor and boy are our girls sweet! I also knew that they would fair well in colder climates.
Now that the temps are starting to drop, I’m wondering what are some suggestions for winter proofing their coop?
They do not free range. Our coop has a long run which is covered. We’re thinking of putting something up on one side to block the wind.
I’d appreciate any suggestions.
Hers a few pics of our sweet girls and their coop.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello Tibby, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
The first thing I'd do with the run is replace the flimsy chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth. And install a predator apron if you don't already have one.
Then you can wrap the run in clear shower curtains or poly reinforced clear tarps leaving the top foot of space open for ventilation.
I don't see much ventilation in the coop. That is the most important feature to keep the birds warm and dry in the winter.
I'd also add some perches in the run along with some dry organic material for run litter. You can use wood chips, dry leaves or dry pine mulch. Whatever is readily available to you.

 

[janiedoe]

Hi Tibby, welcome to BYC. Your coop is beautiful. I agree with everything @DobieLover said. Please do some quick research on the importance of ventilation in the coop, it saves lives.

 

[Blue Raptor]

Hi everyone I’m Tibby! We live in Central Kentucky and are new to chickens. We have 6 beautiful Orpington ladies! (Four buffs and two lavs) We got them back in March from our local feed store when they were days old, and I just love them! Back in August, we got our first eggs and that was so exciting!
Being new to this, whenever I had a question and googled it, Backyard Chickens would pop up. It’s become my go to, so I finally decided to join!
I chose Orpingtons for their docile demeanor and boy are our girls sweet! I also knew that they would fair well in colder climates.
Now that the temps are starting to drop, I’m wondering what are some suggestions for winter proofing their coop?
They do not free range. Our coop has a long run which is covered. We’re thinking of putting something up on one side to block the wind.
I’d appreciate any suggestions.
Hers a few pics of our sweet girls and their coop.

Welcome to BYC!! I agree with DobieLover’s post. Make sure they have plenty of unfrozen water in the winter as well!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi Tibby and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[Grammy60]

Hello Tibby and welcome to BYC We are happy you are here. Nice coop

 

[WingsysRoost]

Hello and welcome to BYC, Tibby! Glad to have you here!

Your coop is beautiful! I agree with what everyone else has said about how to winterproof your coop.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Hi everyone I’m Tibby! We live in Central Kentucky and are new to chickens. We have 6 beautiful Orpington ladies! (Four buffs and two lavs) We got them back in March from our local feed store when they were days old, and I just love them! Back in August, we got our first eggs and that was so exciting!
Being new to this, whenever I had a question and googled it, Backyard Chickens would pop up. It’s become my go to, so I finally decided to join!
I chose Orpingtons for their docile demeanor and boy are our girls sweet! I also knew that they would fair well in colder climates.
Now that the temps are starting to drop, I’m wondering what are some suggestions for winter proofing their coop?
They do not free range. Our coop has a long run which is covered. We’re thinking of putting something up on one side to block the wind.
I’d appreciate any suggestions.
Hers a few pics of our sweet girls and their coop.

from Central Texas! Beautiful ladies you have there! As long as they have plenty of ventilation in the coop, but stay out of direct drafts they'll be just fine. My run is not covered, but I did put up a tarp on the north side to block the wind. That's all I will do as far as "winter proofing" goes.

 

[arwoon]

Welcome to BYC!! I'm so glad that you decided to join us!
Your floofers are adorable

 

[TibbyB]

Hello Tibby, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
The first thing I'd do with the run is replace the flimsy chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth. And install a predator apron if you don't already have one.
Then you can wrap the run in clear shower curtains or poly reinforced clear tarps leaving the top foot of space open for ventilation.
I don't see much ventilation in the coop. That is the most important feature to keep the birds warm and dry in the winter.
I'd also add some perches in the run along with some dry organic material for run litter. You can use wood chips, dry leaves or dry pine mulch. Whatever is readily available to you.

Thank you for your suggestions. Truly appreciate it! The coop picture didn’t show the other side. There’s a window that’s covered in hardware cloth. They got a great breeze in there in the summer heat. It was HOT in Kentucky with that heat wave we had!
I’d like to replay he chicken wire. We got the thickest one, but I would prefer the entire thing covered in hardware cloth.