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

[Laurel Meadows]

Bales of hay are fine, but we just put plastic up on the open areas, basically the whole coop and run except for a small area over the people door. It kept the wind, snow, and rain out but there was plenty of ventilation. Our coop and run is all in one unit. This is our neighbor's coop and run visited by our dog when we were chicken-sitting, and our is very similar.

Agree this is a great idea! How do you secure the plastic to your run? We get quite a bit of direct wind on our runs, and they are big- so the only thing we can get to stay up for any length of time is tarps with heavy duty grommets and thick zip ties and bungee cords. We've tried the clear plastic and clear vinyl shower curtains (which looks much nicer) but it tears at the corners

 

[ToniTalley]

Have someone hold up the plastic (or use a few staples) that is heavy and cut somewhat larger than the area needed. Screw on 1X1's or thin wood cut to size along the edges. Wrap the extra plastic down over the wood and staple to the wood strips. I stapled every 6 inches all around. This makes it quite wind and tear proof. Even if it is not tight and flaps around, it should not rip off. This year I want to make the wood frames more sturdy so the plastic can stay on them and I can figure a way to install it all as one unit, and save it from year to year.

 

[Laurel Meadows]

Have someone hold up the plastic (or use a few staples) that is heavy and cut somewhat larger than the area needed.  Screw on 1X1's or thin wood cut to size along the edges. Wrap the extra plastic down over the wood and staple to the wood strips.  I stapled every 6 inches all around. This makes it quite wind and tear proof.  Even if it is not tight and flaps around, it should not rip off.  This year I want to make the wood frames more sturdy so the plastic can stay on them and I can figure a way to install it all as one unit, and save it from year to year.

That sounds like a great way to keep it secure as well as looking nice too! I like the ready made frame idea Seems like it would save a lot of time when its time to winterize!

 

[cabinchicky]

thank you. Yes as for heating brooder tote...I'm getting the lamp hanger from the hatchery-doesn't touch the brooder box at all and I just raise and lower according to what temp they're supposed to be at. I was worried about that as well then I found that.

Some people are using heating pads instead of heat lamps. There are threads on it I am sure.
Some folks cover their runs with plastic in the winter while we use tarps and bungee cords on the sides.

 

[mamatink7]

Some people are using heating pads instead of heat lamps. There are threads on it I am sure.
Some folks cover their runs with plastic in the winter while we use tarps and bungee cords on the sides.

thank you. I may have him do the plastic on the coop as that may work better and w no threat of fire

 

[mamatink7]

Our runs are just covered with chicken wire but for an inexpensive roof that can handle snow load and won't sag with heavy rain, I would probably go with metal panels and make sure they're installed on a slant. They are about $15 a piece in 3' X 8' sections and you can choose colors too.
Lol I understand! We started with 6 and now have many many more than that now

The general "rule" for space for standard size chickens is 1 foot of roost space per bird, 4 square feet floor space per bird inside the coop, and 10 sf per bird outside. You can never go wrong with too much room for the birds' well- being. Too little room and crowding can cause problems like aggression which usually results in injury to the more submissive birds in the flock.

For winter and summer comfort, all our coops are insulated. We've used standard R-13 insulation in some coops and then covered it with osb or plywood, and we've also experimented with layering feed bags in the walls and ceilings and sheeting it with plywood or osb. The feed bags work pretty well actually!!
You always want ventilation in your coops even in winter. It sounds weird to have something open when it's cold, but chickens produce a lot of moisture from breathing. When they're on the roost at night, this moisture wants to rise with the warm air but if there is no way to move that moist air away from the birds, it can hover over them causes frostbite on the combs. So the idea is to try to move air with ventilation. We use a variety of things like vent covers used in homes on your heat outlets like on our small coop:

We don't heat any of the coops and for adult birds we use heated dog bowls for winter waterers.
For chicks, we use brooder heat plates- love them! Much safer than heat lamps and the chicks do excellent with them. For little ones waterers, we made cookie tin heaters for about $8 each and set the chick waterers on them. They worked great!

I think summer heat is just as hard on the birds as extreme cold. Shade is important and if you have black or dark colored birds, they will need it for sure.

thank for your wonderful suggestions. I will show my husband and see what he says

 

[mamatink7]

Bales of hay are fine, but we just put plastic up on the open areas, basically the whole coop and run except for a small area over the people door. It kept the wind, snow, and rain out but there was plenty of ventilation. Our coop and run is all in one unit. This is our neighbor's coop and run visited by our dog when we were chicken-sitting, and our is very similar.

that's a great idea and probably will work better. Thank you much.

 

[OHfarmerswife]

wow!! That sounds and looks amazing! How do they do during the winter? Do you have to heat coops up some how? Husband wanted to but I told him it's not really a good idea. I was thinking about using a solar panel of some sort. Which also will keep light in there and help keep them laying too

We wrap all the coops in heavy plastic with no drafts stays really warm in there. Almost like a green house.

The coops are in under the lean to so totally protected.

 

[Kelfeathers]

We used plastic on our coop this winter. There were more than a few times I wanted to tell the girls to scoot over so I could be warm while I fed them. Unfortunately, they weren't inclined to share.

 

[mamatink7]

...

We wrap all the coops in heavy plastic with no drafts stays really warm in there. Almost like a green house.

The coops are in under the lean to so totally protected.[/quote
Thanks you. Is it like the window protection plastic we use for the house windows or thicker?