Starting to Winterize, have some Questions!

[KimKimWilliamso]

In an effort to winterize our chicken coop/run for our first winter with chickens, I have a few questions, and hope that the more experienced poultry keepers will take the time to answer my questions, even if you feel like your beating a dead horse and repeating yourselves!

I HAVE 1 BUFF ORPINGTON, 1 PLYMOUTH BARRED ROCK, 1 EASTER EGGER AND 1 SILVER LACED WYANDOTTE ALL PULLETS, AND A MILLE FLEUR ROOSTER. I LIVE IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA, CANADA WHERE WINTERS GET AS COLS AS -40C AT TIMES, WITH SIGNIFICAT SNOW FALL.

1) What do you do with your food/water in the winter?

We currently have an oversized feeder and a fairly large waterer that I cant imagine fitting into our coop (built small for the small 5 chicken flock I have) through the winter. Right now I have them sitting under a stand I built for shade but I cant imagine it keeping snow out.
Will chickens walk through snow to get to a feeder? Or does it need to be inside? Will they forage in snow if I hand feed them twice a day?

2) Will chickens eat wheather stripping?

My husband and I have less than perfect carpentry skills and there are several small gaps around the two doors on the front of the coop. We were going to place straw bales on the two sides of the coop (the back is against a wall to a shop) for insulation through winter but I need a way to make the front draft free. Will they eat wheather stripping? Any other suggestions? I could always post photos if need be.........

3) Why is Ventilation so confusing to me?

My husband and I constantly fight over ventilation for the coop. Currently the only ventialtion is the gaps on the front door, the gaps between where the roof and the side walls meet (about 4 feet long and 2 inches wide on either side) and several small hole saw holes along the roofline. So far it has worked well through the summer (with the two doors being open during the day), but reading around, I hear the winter is a huge concern for moisture and cold air mixing and causing resp infections and frostbite. I want to ad some more hole saw holes, but this time the size of coffee mug tops, all around the tops of the roofline. but hubby is convinced this will cause the coop to be drafty and cold and lose any heat we might have kept in with the straw bales.
My Roosts are low the ground and there is tons of wasted space above the roosts that if (IMO) is properly ventilated could be great for the winter without wind and snow getting to the hens. What do you think?

4) Does my Run require any kind of snow cover?

I have a coop placed in a large 20 Feet by 55 Feet run. The run has no built in cover, however for shade and rain protection in the summer they have the space under the coop, as the coop is on stilts 4 feet high. Also they have a structure I built to raise the food off the ground which they can fit under as well, and that is about 2 feet by 6 feet. Should I tarp off a corner of the run near the coop to keep snow from falling there at all? I have some Tin Panels I could use to make a covered area, Im just not sure if it is necessary.
My husband is convinced that with the trees on one side of the run, and the shop on the other, there wont be much snow in there anyhow, but I figure wind blows, and drifts are made, etc.

5) Should I be concerned about my rooster?

He is a Mille Fleur and has feather feet. Should I trim the feather through winter to keep ice from forming on them, or is he hearty enough to deal with that?

6) Will opening the door of the coop during the day lose heat?

Is it okay to keep the coop entrance open at all times during the day? If I tried to heat the coop to a toasty 5 degrees Celcius, would the transition between outside temp and coop temp affect thier health?

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

If you would like to see pictures of my set up, please click on this link, which will lead you to a public album where I have posted some pics.
My rurally located satellite internet does not load pics onto this website very well.



https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150784544255286.389153.626985285&type=3&l=065a7e07f7

 

[mickey328]

Chickens will eat almost anything, given the opportunity. Rather than weather stripping, could you put a piece of metal or wood on the inside so the door will shut up against it? It just needs to keep them out of direct wind.

Whether they'll forage in the snow...that might depend on the bird. It'd probably be best if you could have an area where you could shovel or sweep the snow mostly off...just so they don't have to walk in the deep stuff.

Ventilation is essential...even in the winter. Otherwise the ammonia from their waste will build up and cause serious health issues. As long as you don't have the wind blowing directly ON the chickens, you almost can't have enough Try putting some openings up high where it can blow through the top over their heads on the roost.

Tarping or otherwise covering some of the run near the coop is a good idea...it'll provide some snow protection. You can even set a heated dog waterer in the corner...to keep the chickens away from the cord...that way they'll have water instead of ice

We leave the coop entrance (the bird sized one) open all day, only closing it at night after they've gone to bed. That way they're free to come and go at will. For the most part, they only go in during the day to lay, but as the cold weather comes, I'm sure they'll use it a bit more.

Hope this helps some,
Mickey

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

Thank You so much for your advice! I hadnt thought of strips of metal for keeping drafts out of the door cracks, I have some tin lyin around, might try to rig something up with that. I will also see if I can build some sort of covered area before the snow comes, and put the food out there, with the heated water dish. I have a free feed feeder that is huge, but to prevent food from getting wet and freezing i guess I will just feed them thier daily amount each AM instead of loading the feeder with several days worth.

Another question.....

My husband found these panels, that basically radiate heat when hooked up to a solar panel. (He works in the solar industry) He was thinking of putting one in the chicken coop behind the roosts, to help keep it warm in there. Would going from a warm coop to the cold outside temps back and forth, make them sick?

 

[mickey328]

A heat source isn't a bad idea for really, really cold days. You'll only want to heat it a little though, so the temp change back and forth isn't too great. As long as you keep them draft free on windy days, and it's above freezing, they should do very well. A thermometer in the coop is an excellent tool...and cheap, too

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

We were thinking of just rigging the heat source up so it would keep the coop from dropping below zero. We shall see if we can make that work.

 

[mickey328]

sounds perfect!

 

[seventreesfarm]

We don't get below 0F often, but when we do we usually have 40-60mph winds and snow. We also get terrible wind/rain storms in the late fall, so we tried to build with that in mind.

Our main coop is 16 x 16, with one 8 x 8 area covered and mostly wind-blocked. There is an 8 x 16 section is kind of like 2 rooms with a door between. One room is enclosed on 3 sides and the front has fenceboards spaced out maybe 1/2" apart on bottom, chicken wire on top. We call this the lounge because it has some perches, but mostly they just lounge here, scratch up bedding and make dust baths when the weather is bad. The other room is less open and has an insulated ceiling, a pop hole, and a 2 x 3 screened window into a covered but open area we're turning into a pullet run. This is where they usually sleep, and where the nest boxes are.

Right now the gals have their food & water in the mostly open area, but as the weather turns we move it into the lounge. When it gets really cold we move it into the nest area and plug in a heated bucket with a built-in thermostat. We also hang a heat lamp over part of the perches and this is plugged into a thermostat too. That way it only comes on when temps get below freezing, and the hens can cuddle under it or not as they choose. The more enclosed area holds heat better but still has ventilation along the eaves and through the window & pophole.

Before we had this set up we had to tote hot water out when it froze. No fun! We also have a trough under the downspout during the rainy season and plug a heater into that too. Our baby coop is small and fully insulated so a smallish light bulb keeps it warm enough. There is an outlet on this coop for plugging in water, and feed & water go under the coop.

Most hens I've had didn't go out in the snow, mostly staying inside or under covered areas, so we have made changes to block wind lower down to give them plenty of space.