OHio ~ Come on Buckeyes, let me know your out there!

[TERRY4]

The biggest thing I do on really cold nights is throw some shelled corn down for the birds shortly before they go to roost.  But I raise pea combed large fowl, pretty hardy birds.

We do too. I mix it with bird seed and rolled oats. Good omegas in oats.

 

[Growmyown]

Hello Fellow Ohioans,
With the cold snap we are having, it is making me wonder if I should insulate the coop I am planning on building this spring. I have not had chickens in forever (since I was a kid back in Minnesota) so I feel like a newbie! The weather back home is much colder than it is here so I am wondering if you guys could share with me any advice on if insulation is needed. I am in Pickaway County, just south of Columbus. Thanks in advance.

 

[chicknmania]

Thanks for the info i suppose i will just let nature take its place. lol Its a Incandescent Light Bulb on a timer sorry i should have mentioned it.

That's probably ok. It's the ones that get really hot that are the problem. Sounds like you've got it covered. In any case, might as well keep it on for another week, anyway....hahaha.....brrrrhhhh!

 

[coop-er]

Hello Fellow Ohioans,
With the cold snap we are having, it is making me wonder if I should insulate the coop I am planning on building this spring.  I have not had chickens in forever (since I was a kid back in Minnesota) so I feel like a newbie!  The weather back home is much colder than it is here so I am wondering if you guys could share with me any advice on if insulation is needed.  I am in Pickaway County, just south of Columbus.  Thanks in advance.

I am in Fairfield county and my coop is not insulated, we did wrap plastic around the open-air part of the coop and put straw bales around the 3 sides that get the most weather. when I checked on them about 2 hours ago they seemed pretty cozy. The inside of the coop does not feel especially cold. They do seem to put off a fair amount of body heat, there are 7 birds in there and they keep close together on the roost. Hope this helps!

 

[TERRY4]

The biggest thing I do on really cold nights is throw some shelled corn down for the birds shortly before they go to roost. But I raise pea combed large fowl, pretty hardy birds.

We do the same. I gave our girls cracked corn, rolled oats, and bird seed before bedtime. We have 5 barred rock and 1 RIR. I sure hope they'll be ok by morning. They have a sturdy wooden coop at the edge of a hill/woods, so it's protected.

 

[ShayBaby]

I'm worrying about mine. They have been ok so far this winter, sans one, but tonight is the coldest it's been so far and with next week being worse...
The coop is only a layer of osb board on 3 sides and holey oak barnwood on one side, and fairly drafty with the doors and windows not sitting tight and the large amount of ventilations up top. Not to mention most of them are bantams. It's slightly crowded out there (chickens and ducks) so they should have plenty of body heat, I've covered the barnwood side in plastic, and the upstairs of the old barn here is chock full of old, clean hay, so I threw loads of that down inside for added comfy and warmth. We'll see how they fair tonight, but I'm still debating whether to risk losses to cold next week or hang a heat lamp and risk it all going up in flames.. Ugh. Come on, spring.

 

[coop-er]

I'm worrying about mine. They have been ok so far this winter, sans one, but tonight is the coldest it's been so far and with next week being worse...
The coop is only a layer of osb board on 3 sides and holey oak barnwood on one side, and fairly drafty with the doors and windows not sitting tight and the large amount of ventilations up top. Not to mention most of them are bantams. It's slightly crowded out there (chickens and ducks) so they should have plenty of body heat, I've covered the barnwood side in plastic, and the upstairs of the old barn here is chock full of old, clean hay, so I threw loads of that down inside for added comfy and warmth. We'll see how they fair tonight, but I'm still debating whether to risk losses to cold next week or hang a heat lamp and risk it all going up in flames.. Ugh. Come on, spring.

My setup sounds similar to yours..osb walls etc...I will go out in the morning and pack in the straw/hay to help with warmth. We are looking at single digits and lots of wind bbrrrrr

 

[ntankovich]

We checked on ours and they seem fine but I'm so worried! How bad is it to give them a setup in my garage during these really cold days?

 

[chickenboy190]

It's going to get -14 this week. Does anyone have advise to keep them warmer?

 

[ShayBaby]

If I had a garage to put mine in, I wouldn't hesitate, ntankovich. LOL.