Protecting run in winter

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Love the tunnel idea! They do hate the snow!

Not my idea for the tunnel it was a family members… I think my Russian will be fine and maybe a few of my youngers but I know my four older ones will not leave the coop if it’s snowy

 

[a320727]

I live in WNY near Buffalo. We get very cold, snowy winters. It’s also very windy. This is my first winter with chickens. I know this is a basic question but when do you put plastic around the run? Is it according to temperature, weather, or just time of year like November? I want them to use this run all winter if possible. It has a solid roof but all the sides are just HWC. Thank you!



I have lived in Kansas, now in California but experienced those cold temperatures and heavy winds. I have always put a heavy tarp all the way around the coop At the top I leave about a foot open but I also have a tarp on the roof that runs over the edge that way they get ventilation and no rain or wind. I use a heat plate when they're babies with the bottom on ground and if the chickens get really cold, they lay on top of it. I have 3 plates on the floor. I also use pine shavings and that keeps them warm too I put it pretty deep. I have 50 chickens and could probably use 4 plates! I only put them on when it's below freezing or close to that temperature. Those heaters are not dangerous nor will they catch on fire.

 

[feliciabrown]

I live in WNY near Buffalo. We get very cold, snowy winters. It’s also very windy. This is my first winter with chickens. I know this is a basic question but when do you put plastic around the run? Is it according to temperature, weather, or just time of year like November? I want them to use this run all winter if possible. It has a solid roof but all the sides are just HWC. Thank you!

I always just put plastic around one side that is most exposed to the wind and the rest is open. I too have a solid roof so the run stays dry for them. I'll be putting my plastic up likely in early November.

 

[Folly's place]

For Buffalo, I'd add plastic sheeting at least to the north, west, and east, leaving a 6" to 12" gap at the top. Maybe also on the south side, if it's also a 'swirling wind' issue, again, leaving a large gap on top, under the eaves. Make sure there's plenty of ventilation and light in there!
Mary.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Anyone in Connecticut wrap their run yet? Just curious. I know its anyday now. Its cold in the AM, but warms up quit a bit. I think I'll hold off another week. My 5 GLW's are molting and seem SO cold in the early morning.

 

[Sueby]

Anyone in Connecticut wrap their run yet? Just curious. I know its anyday now. Its cold in the AM, but warms up quit a bit. I think I'll hold off another week. My 5 GLW's are molting and seem SO cold in the early morning.

I started it this weekend, got the back sides done because I hate doing it when my fingers are frozen. I won't do the front until I hear snow.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

We live in Southern Delaware, tiny state, but the northern part (only 100 miles to my old house) gets Philadelphia weather & the Southern part gets weather that mimics where my sweetheart lived, Dalton & Tunnel Hill Georgia area. Plus, being near the ocean, we get major salt air corrosion, hurricanes & tornadoes (right through my yard!) accompanying those hurricanes (1st 2 really freaked freaked me out! I Still have weather anxiety today) lots of sunshine & at times, lots of wind here, (wind can shift & we've had days where it blew in from all 4 directions! Weather vanes stay busy here!) so all the fluctuations were really something for me to get used to.

I had a schedule living north, it rarely varied. I'd put up the polyethylene Oct & remove it May, that was the weather pattern up there.

NOT HERE! Weather is all over the place & the forecast can change with the wind, seriously, it is so hard to be sure what's coming, the weather man has learned to say "possibility of" then he'll say "pop up" showers, cloud bursts, etc. His is the Only job where he can be wrong daily & still remain employed.

Anyway...I always strive to build & provide safe & comfortable living quarters, but here I realized it's more of a challenge. The coops & pigeon lofts are built set up on cinderblocks for elevation, that solves a few potential problems, air flow keeps it dry...we Do Not want moist, rotting, direct ground contact, which also attracts termites, & also attracts those pesky "basement tenants" that will definitely excavate their own living quarters...skunks, opossums, groundhogs, foxes, mice, rats, snakes after the rodents, etc. Every single shed I've ever had, on or too close to the ground, has gotten these tenants...nope, don't like them. The elevated coop or loft may get a rabbit running through, but the critters you don't want making a home will not enjoy the vulnerability of the space...I can clearly see whatever visitor is under there, once in awhile a neighbor's cat, usually my funny wild rabbits, always just passing through.

The 2nd aspect, I wanted durability. Laying out the money up front is better than something I will have to repair over & over. That meant I used durable, quality products & built predator proof. I also wanted ease in maintaining & cleaning, so again, durability & quality, weather proof paint. Comfortable, sheltered & safe, whether human or critter, that's what we all hope "Home" will be, so that's what I strived for in design. Big enough so when we are "cooped up" with 1 to 2 weeks of sideways blown rain or 2 feet of snow with wind creating 7 foot drifts, everybody's hunkered down, dry & happy, not too crowded. I wanted it so they'd be content. So when building, I did insulate, because not only does insulation help retain warmth in winter, it also keeps it cooler on those 100 degree days. If birds can have a shelter without windy drafts, they actually put off quite a bit of body heat & snuggle together. If it gets extremely cold, I do have heated waterers I could set up & I can heat the coop a bit with a radiant type heater I can place in the coop hallway, middle of the bldg, but the only time I ever had ice in water was when the watererer was outside. I keep all water & food inside the coop, so I've never had to use the heated waterers. If the water is sitting directly on the floor, it may ice up, but my waterers are elevated a bit, too.

3rd aspect, wind. Most of the time the wind direction is out of the Southwest but sometimes it will come in from the East or the North so I built the buildings with the pens between them and the buildings themselves act as wind buffers. I've got windows on all 4 sides I can open or close and it has worked very well for the ventilation aspect. I've never really had rain blowing completely in even though sometimes we get sideways rain. Obviously there are occasions where I have to shut all windows and only leave them open maybe an inch for air but I've been very fortunate I have never had sweaty windows Or that stinky wetness thank goodness. I do use wood chips inside the coop and I also sprinkle down some of that stall dry When we have humid summers. So far so good. I also scoop poop under their night perches, That helps keep the coop clean and dry much longer than if I didn't.

About the pens, I have been using the large chunk bark type of mulch, as replacing grass every Oct. was killing my back. I tried sand here, it would just disappear & turn to muddy, slippery mess. The big chunky bark has worked well. The chickens love always turning the chunks over & finding crickets. I wanted to cover the runs with polycarbonate but the runs are pretty big & there would be a lack of slope issue unless I rebuild the pen tops, so what I have right now is working, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I have these cute little pet gazebos, (like a dog kennel) one in each pen, so a Rooster & his girls can all jump up on the perches inside the covered gazebos. They also have doors so they have been invaluable when introducing new birds to the flock, Or outside of the pen's as as a chicken tractor, when I'm there of course, Too many predators to leave a chicken outside of safe pens without supervision around here.

Right now, temperatures at night in 50s & days can be 50s or a surprise of 70s (we are getting a warm 70s week ahead) so most of my flock is still spending the nights outside, in their pens & gazebos, only going into the coop if it rains, is very windy or it starts getting colder.

Alot is going to depend on your weather patterns, so what I am doing won't work for everyone. We only get harsh winter weather 3 mos & it's usually not a straight 3 mos of below freezing, we will get a few harsh days then it'll get into the upper 30s-40s a few days. When we do get snow, it's a lot, but usually only once a year & it tends to melt fast.

I did buy some sun/wind shade cloth, to try it, attached it around the bottom half of 2 pens. It provides shade in summer, wind buffer & privacy, but I took it down as they have plenty of shade spots already & the roosters were actually more nervous...they Prefer a clear view of their surroundings. My Roos enjoy their jobs, watch for hawks & foxes, crow & round up the girls. Can't take away from them.

If we did not have such good drainage here, & an abundance of sunshine, I would get polycarbonate roofing to keep pens completely dry. Luckily, it can rain 2 weeks straight, I can see wild geese "swimming" in a low spot, that's usually grass, not water, near the corn field, then the next sunny day dries it all up!

Sorry I rambled so much, I tend to do that here on this awesome site because my flock is my most favorite subject to talk about & I know y'all can relate to that!

 

[3KillerBs]

We live in Southern Delaware,

I'm in central NC now, but I spent about 5 or 7 years in southern Delaware. A year in Dagsboro and the rest in Millsboro.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I'm in central NC now, but I spent about 5 or 7 years in southern Delaware. A year in Dagsboro and the rest in Millsboro.

I barely recognize it just from a few years ago. Since hurricane Sandy people had been moving here from New Jersey in New York in droves. My place is getting surrounded by development & all roads are jammed constantly. Sad to see farms disappearing. I will probably be moving again. Carolinas are appealing, but I will avoid tourist town beaches going forward. Rolling hills between mountains & beaches perhaps. I'm missing peace & quiet.

 

[Deb4tune]

This is very helpful. How do you have the clear tarps attached? How do you reinforce it?

In Oklahoma we have had trouble with tarps incubating colonies of mice- they like the warm air too. We have moved to insulated panels this year- no incubators- but I've noticed they need to be taken off whenever possible to let sun shine in. Babies need that Vitamin D