Tennessee

[stanglover2001]

Quote:
Just one more reason for me to only have 7 eggs in the bator at a time

I put quite a bit of food into my meaties, but then I just sell them and get it all back and a little more

 

[Jenski]

Hey Holly, isn't that little wet chick MINE????? I think she is. Well OK, she should be.

I need her. Now.

 

[HBuehler]

She's yours if you want or need her

She is one of your mini's and seems to be doing very well..hope that doesn't jinx her

Edited to add she needs company though and has a friend just like her but a wee bit bigger..just a wee bit

 

[believer01]

Hey there - how do you all handle these terrible cold mornings for your chickens?

Actually, I'm looking for suggestions for my girls.......the coop is only 4 x 4', with a nest box hanging off the side. So there's not much room to manuever in there. I hate to keep them locked in but I also hesitate to open up the door when the outside temps are so much colder with the wind chill....currently it's 18 here, with the wind chill making it 9 and it's supposed to dip a few more degrees before it warms up into the 20's. There's 2 silkie mixes and 2 standard size ladies, no real meanies but 2 are on the low side of the pecking order.

 

[Jenski]

Some folks just let their birds weather it out when it is cold, but as I have less space for the girls to hide out in, I figure I have more obligation to make sure their small spaces are comfortable.

I go by what the great speckledhen wrote years ago in one of her posts - - she said she did not let her birds out unless it was at least 20 F. That's what I do here, but in winter when there are many days in a row of really nasty temps it can be a real drag for the birds. So . . . I started wrapping my small pens in 6 mil plastic sheeting in winter. I use a power stapler with small squares of cardboard where the staples are so the plastic does not tear. I usually leave the north and west sides covered top to bottom, and leave generous top venting on the south and east sides. This does a great job of keeping the wind issue down and letting the birds get some exercise.

If they do stay in the coop, they of course must have plenty of food and water. I would also leave a small "stickup" light or flashlight in the coop on the very few occasions I have done this. Gets messy very quickly, though, LOL!

Here's a shot of my oldest pen, next to my patio. I scrounged an old window from a contractor and just screwed it to the pen. It's on the north side, so my older hens can enjoy the view without the winter wind! (They also have a hanging barn-style brooder lamp in there when it's below 20.)

I open the pen doors every day, weather permitting, to let the birds roam the larger fenced yard. Funny, yesterday no one wanted to go out . . . even my tough little roos!

 

[Jenski]

believer01, I found your BYC page and saw the pic of your pen. Is the coop attached to the pen, or does it sit inside the pen? If your coop is not moveable and the doorway is catching some wind today, you could use a couple of screws to attach an old door or piece of wood at an angle over the doorway . . . so the birds can walk out on either side of it, but the wind can't blow straight into the coop. Did I explain that well? Probably not, eh!

HBuehler has done that for her pop doors, and I think it's a great idea. Maybe she has pics??

Anyhoo, if you do decide to try plastic on your fencing, you could use old tarps and small bungee cords (Wal Mart, sporting goods section). I have used those over an old dog kennel and they worked well. Can also use those plastic zip ties, but you have to cut them off when you take the tarps down.

Good luck!

 

[believer01]

Jenski (is it Jen?) thanks for the great ideas! I think I've got the door opening protected for now. During that storm a few weeks ago I made a windbreak with a 4 x 10' panel of double walled plastic (part of the greenhouse I've been trying to put together). Shifted it around when the winds shifted with this storm so that nothing is blowing right into the coop. Also, I made an igloo type covering/tunnel over the pop door out of cardboard.....and it supported the 4" of snow that was on it yesterday! Less angle for the wind to enter, and the girls can sit on the edge and look out.

The nest boxes are attached to the outside on the back. Three of them sleep in the 2 boxes. I know I'm supposed to stop that but they just look too cozy, and it only takes 30 seconds to clean up the poop in the mornings. They gave me 4 eggs yesterday! The RIR is just over 5 mos old and not laying yet. I'm getting about a dozen a week even with all the cold.

Thanks to Annie for her suggestion last month - on these cold nights I fill 4 gallon jugs with hot water and put them in the corners to help. There's no electricity out there. This morning their water dish wasn't frozen!!! Yesterday all 4 jugs were frozen though. Wish I could bring the girls in at night!

 

[HBuehler]

I looked no pics

I have to turn out some of my pens because their pens are set up so I can't leave food and water inside but they only go out to eat and then they are back inside or under the boat
Rest of them do have the pop doors open but they do have a wind break over the tops...see the old door in the pic..it was moved to keep the snow out of the feeder but most of our pens have them or something like over the pop doors or to the Northern side for wind break...a few runs-Northern side have had siding added on the bottoms so the wind can't blow through the runs as well.Under the ramps and along the wall of the shed we have an outside fort of wood leaning up so if they get out and get too stupid to go in during a storm or wind or sun they can get behind it and stay out of the elements as well...

Jen's chickens have luxury condo's

mine settle for more rustic housing but they do have running water and electric

We build so we do have access to lots of stuff that could get more costly but we use House wrap instead of plastic..it breathes unlike plastic but won't allow water or wind through..my new chicken house is completely wrapped as well but it will be covered where as my old shed just screams Lowes all winter long but being it's only 3 sided and the front is all open chicken wire and doors it needs to have something over it.

 

[believer01]

Jen, I got to wondering so I just went to my page, and sure enough, I haven't posted a pic of my pen/coop. Wonder if you got someone else's page? Here's a shot of mine just before the snow started coming! Three of the girls spent the afternoon under the coop yesterday ~ I have some straw in front of the opening to block the wind. It's blowing so hard right now that when I go out to check feed/water in a bit I'm going to put some logs over that area, and move the plastic panel around a bit. Silly horses finally came in out of the wind; they been standing with tails to it for awhile. Dogs have a nice area underneath the back porch, with their igloos, feed and heated water all protected from the weather and a nice area of shavings to lay around in ... which is the girls favorite dust bath spot, btw (dogs are in the barn when the ladies are out).



pic

 

[Jenski]

b01, is this it? https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=74143-just-me-and-my-chickens

Can't really see the full pen in those older pics, but you can still tell the pen type.

Looks like you have things covered - - got your wind break, got your hot water bottles (a great idea, incidentally) . . . I check combs and toes on my birds every day to make sure no one's getting too cold, and watch to make sure everyone is eating and active. If they run around gobbling breakfast in the morning, the night must not have been too bad, eh!

I would not worry too much unless it looked like someone was really dragging in the morning.

Stay warm! Oatmeal for lunch in the pens today!

[Holly, that's such a nice farm scene! Thanks for posting it.]