Overwintering in Northern/Central California

[Lil Chickie Mama]

This is my first time having chickens and though our climate is not severe, I know I should take a few precautions to help my kids (chickens and roos) deal with the switch. What have you done?

Right now my kids are just in an area that is fenced in by cyclone fencing which they get out of everyday so I get my daily exercise chasing them back in

What I call their coop is just a 10X10 6ft high area of cyclone fence that has a door going to the larger area but gets closed at night to keep them in. This larger area is what has the roosts and nest boxes and currently is covered on the top and 2 sides by shade cloth to protect against the sun and heat which has worked wonderfully thus far. However, last night it rained enough to soak the floor of the coop, fortunately just two days ago I finished building the new roost that is covered so no wet kids! Should I just tarp the area that is currently covered with shade cloth or do I need to completely enclose them? What do you do?

 

[canada-goose]

They should be fine. Chickens are okay at below freezing temperatures and a little damp never hurt anyone!

 

[patandchickens]

What about building them a 'roost box' type deal, a small simple plywood (or whatever) not much bigger than to hold their roost. Chickens are ok with a damp run during the day if unavoidable -- but damp *roosting* conditions at night, and no way to get out of cold rain and cold drafts, is bad news.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

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Done! Thanks for the responses. I'm trying to needle DH into building me something, but for now it looks like it will be November at the earliest because rice harvest will be here in a few days (eek!) so for now they are happy with the roost I built them but if we get bad (or good- we're practically in a drought) rains I'll switch it back to the Dogloo that they've been sleeping in since they went outside. I switched to the roost because I didn't want them sleeping right on their poo, but if it gets too damp or windy I may switch back for a little while with fresh bedding of course until a proper house can be built.