- Jan 22, 2009
- 1,420
- 6
- 161
great tips all around - here are a few more:
* make sure you take warm - not hot - water out twice a day if you dont have heated waterers... just make sure the temp isnt too hot! some folks argue against warm water b/c it causes condensation but we just keep an eye on that
* we have a regular light bulb 75 or 100 watts to make sure it doesnt freeze too badly
* we put straw down in the run so they will walk outside - no one likes to walk in the snow! i had one little hen who would fly like the wind to avoid it - it was very cute
* make sure everyone is accounted for - we've had a couple hens get scared/cold/they are nuts and dont come in on cold evenings so we hunt everyone down and make sure they get in
* just like us, they will get stir crazy being inside...throw in some 'entertainment food' to keep things lively
* we use a lot of straw so they can snuggle but mostly ours huddle together to keep warm while sleeping.
* we used straw bales piled inside and outside against the walls to keep the coop as warm as possible - this works GREAT. we had at least one -30*nite last winter and everyone was just fine
* i throw in more corn than normal as extra fuel to keep warm - and whole cobs are entertaining for the gals. some folks dont like this approach but it really works for us.
* you'll use more feed than normal so make sure you're ready for a higher feed bill (we were surprised at this!).
* no matter how cold it is you still have to tromp out there... ugh!!!!
good luck!
* make sure you take warm - not hot - water out twice a day if you dont have heated waterers... just make sure the temp isnt too hot! some folks argue against warm water b/c it causes condensation but we just keep an eye on that
* we have a regular light bulb 75 or 100 watts to make sure it doesnt freeze too badly
* we put straw down in the run so they will walk outside - no one likes to walk in the snow! i had one little hen who would fly like the wind to avoid it - it was very cute
* make sure everyone is accounted for - we've had a couple hens get scared/cold/they are nuts and dont come in on cold evenings so we hunt everyone down and make sure they get in
* just like us, they will get stir crazy being inside...throw in some 'entertainment food' to keep things lively
* we use a lot of straw so they can snuggle but mostly ours huddle together to keep warm while sleeping.
* we used straw bales piled inside and outside against the walls to keep the coop as warm as possible - this works GREAT. we had at least one -30*nite last winter and everyone was just fine
* i throw in more corn than normal as extra fuel to keep warm - and whole cobs are entertaining for the gals. some folks dont like this approach but it really works for us.
* you'll use more feed than normal so make sure you're ready for a higher feed bill (we were surprised at this!).
* no matter how cold it is you still have to tromp out there... ugh!!!!
good luck!
