Preparing Your Flock & Coop for WINTER

[islandgirl82]

What type of floor is in the shed?

 

[CanaDawn]

What type of floor is in the shed?

Just dirt.

 

[islandgirl82]

Just dirt. 

You may want to consider pavers or something to cover the dirt to help deter digging predators and top it with deep litter which will add even more insulation.

 

[CanaDawn]

You may want to consider pavers or something to cover the dirt to help deter digging predators and top it with deep litter which will add even more insulation.

could do. Not a lot of digging predators around here. They're also not currently on the floor, but up in the cage which is 3 ft up. Can't change that easily - photos tomorrow.

 

[jtn42248]

Photos will definitely help.And, absolutely do talk to the breeder since they are local and have the same weather you do. All of what you have said and the above suggestions will help your birds hold in their body heat. You don't want their space to be "heated" in the same way we heat our houses. If you can wrap their house, provide plenty of ventilation and perhaps put in just a small wattage light bulb that may be adequate. A heat lamp might prove too much and will impede their own ability to regulate their body temps. I am even prepare to bring mine inside and keep them in a large cage in an unfinished room above my garage where temps last winter (when it was 19 degrees for several days running) stayed above freezing. Also, make sure they have food and treats that help them maintain body temps.

The secret is going to be finding that place where you can assist them in keeping themselves warm without over heating them.

 

[tntchix]

Tarps are up on 2 sides of run and adjustable in case it's necessary to move.I used ball bungees, genius product in my opinion.

Put straw bales along bottom for lower extra wind block. Thermometer installed inside coop.

 

[Toodles]

If using a supplemental light source to get 14 hours of light too keep them laying throughout the winter, is it best to have the light come on in the early a.m. or near dusk? I've had chickens for 7 years and always had the light on a timer come on at dusk. They have always laid well throughout the winter but after reading some other posts I wonder if I've been doing this all wrong. Part of the reason for this is that I get home from work after dark and go into the coop to close the door to their run, clean up poop, refill the feeder, waterer, etc. So regardless they are going to have a light come on after dusk most days while I do the chicken chores. If they are already roosting some of them will sometimes get down and eat or drink when the light comes on.

I have a heat lamp on a timer as the winter source of light. It's hanging from a hook from the ceiling of the coop (which is an 8' x 10' insulated shed) in an aluminum brooder light holder. Should I be concerned about a fire hazard? I live in Colorado and it sometimes gets below freezing, the coop can get down into the high teens or low 20's in spite of being insulated so I sometime use an oil filled radiator on wheels which sits on a base of plywood. The base of the heater is about 4-5" above the floor. I use pine shavings on the floor of the coop and keep them away from the heater but the chickens scratching around can sometimes move them near the heater. Again, never had a problem but after reading posts on the subject I'm concerned, should I be?

 

[ReillyJ]

i just got my 4 hens this year (rescues, never had chickens before and i only have 4) and i converted a wood dog house into a coop and they have an attached covered run. THEY FREE RANGE so they're out at least 5 hrs a day.

i'm in Western Washington and the winters are somewhat mild compared to the rest of the country but let's say the average night is in the low 40's/ and sometimes high 30's and occasionally we get 2 week cold snaps (high 20's).

I am very concerned about ventilation and drafts. Also even though my run has a roof and a gutter we put up, it still gets WET inside the run and the floor is concrete so i can't see adding straw or pine shavings just to get soaked. i did put a bit of plastic up on one side of the run that helped a bit but the rain (IT RAINS A LOT here, LOL) just comes in through drips off the fiberglass roof and BLOWS in so... yeah i have no idea what to do about that--they're only in the run for a few hrs a day anyway but i hate it that it's somewhat wet and their feet's on concrete, i do have a childs swimming pool full of dirt in there that they camp in but that's getting wet, also ugh.

But here's the coop: it has 2 large doors (used to be a dog house) and one of the doors i have a board covering it but it still gets air around it as it's not nailed down and the other door is open. Their roost is on the wall that the covered door is on

I was thinking of putting plastic on the open door but i'd have to leave the bottom open about a foot for them to go in/out of the coop

Obviously the coop/run is cleaned out and the coop is full of pine shavings and has roosting bar and nest box, this was right before i did all of that but the door on the right has a board now in front of it (air still does get through the sides) and the left door is open

 

[khawks]

Summer, (warm weather) mode. All windows, plus door, open, for max fresh air/ventilation.

Winter mode. Windows, door shut. Front of coop is open year round, covered only with hardware cloth. No insulation, No added heat, With the exception of the cookie tin water fount warmer. I get temps down into the low single digits, and my chickens have no problems at all. Proven 100yr old Wood's coop design. Back in the day, they had coops like this up into Canada.

I NEED this coop. where did you get it?

 

[iwiw60]

Well everyone...I've been M.I.A. for over a week now and I can see I have a lot of catching up to do!!

My computer crashed last Saturday and I've been going crazy getting it back up and running, which, fingers crossed, is now done. Only really bad thing is that I lost ALL of my files, pictures, etc. ... what a mess!! I'll be reading up here for the next few days to see what everyone has been posting to this thread...bye for now!