The Middle Tennessee Thread

[HBuehler]

when the leghorns freeze to death over night

They get a heater though it's cheaper than heat lamps even in that big of an area.It only bumps it up to the 20's or so since there is no insulation in there.The legs just can't handle it well so I will put them in with some younger birds in the small coops when it gets down to the teens and will have a 110 watt heat lamp
I like to offer the heat and let them decide how much or little they need to be comfortable.The birds that roost closest to the heater must enjoy warmer toes than the one's away from it.
Now my baby house is 65 tonight but with all that insulation and it's full of warm little rabbits so it doesn't take much..hopefully there will be a brooder with some Mille Fleur Cochin's in it soon out there

 

[CarolJ]

I read on another thread of a couple folks who have open air coops all year long - in the northern USA. I imagine they're the exception - not the rule, though. I don't plan on heating my coops for the winter - except of course for the brooder. Now if it dips into the single digits or even teens for longer than a day or two, I'll probably put a heater in there until the weather warms up a little. But I read that chickens generally love the cold weather much better than the hot summer weather. We'll see.

 

[alaina]

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[CityGirlintheCountry]

I guess I'm the mean chicken mommy. I don't heat anything out there. If the temps drop too low I sometimes put a milk jug of hot water in there, but that is about it.
I do keep babies in the house until they are feathered out, but then it is out the door. I do add babies into the silkie coop. The babies just snuggle in with the grown birds and hunker down in the cold. They seem to do fine.

 

[DMRippy]

I read some of that thread too. I also read a thread about how they can handle really cold weather. I also read a thread that said they never used a heat lamp on their chicks ever! They put them next to the water heater and slowly moved them away till they were fully feathered.

I take everything with a grain of salt. Everyone has an opinion and you have to glean what you need from it. I think in teens and lower, since they don't usually last more than a week at a time around here, some heat would be needed. Hubby has already been running through his head what to do when it gets really cold. We have a three car garage kinda set up. They are all open. The center has a 3 walls and we could close the other with plastic or something and put a kerosene heater in there for the night if needed.

the new breeding pens..... no electricity there. We will just have to wrap them up with some plastic to keep the wind out I guess or move them all....

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I guess I should also add that I don't generally hatch babies out in late fall or through the winter. I have the occasional broody hen during the cold months, but they have always done great. I quit doing incubator hatches in late summer/early fall so everyone has time to settle in before it gets too cold. The one year I had babies in late October, they ended up staying in the house for almost two months before the weather cooperated so I could move them out. It got a little stinky there towards the end.

 

[alaina]

I have never used any kind of heat except a water warmer to keep water from freezing, my coop is an old dog kennel and is mostly open, I have tarps on one side, and the back is closed in, but 2 sides are open, never had any problems....so far....

 

[dixieland]

I think that you have to do what works best for you and your animals...There are lots of people who support the theory of no-heat, open air runs, There are also a great number of people who have insulated heated coops... I have a great amount of respect for both sides of the debate......
My babies are kept inside a heated, well insulated building until they are about 3 months of age. I do this because I can easily keep them warm, and I work out there, so I get to handle them and interact with them all day long, which makes it easier when they do move outside to the coops....
My outside houses have lots of fresh air, but no direct drafts on the roosts and two walls are tarped off in the winter for extra warmth...So far, so good.....

That being said, if I had a husband as talented at building as Holly's, I would have my coops the same way as she does. Her coops are first class all the way...

 

[EconMan]

Ok guys, need some help...I have a buddy that I gave a few pullets to from eggs that I hatched. Well, turns out one is not a pullet. lol We both live in Murfreesboro and can't have any Roosters. He's an EE that I hatched from some eggs that Anne gave me this summer. He's 19 weeks old, Black w/ some gold leakage starting to come in. Very good bird. My buddy has 5 yr old and 2 yr old girls that are out with the chickens a lot. He can be picked up and handled easily.

If you know anyone interested, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[DMRippy]

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I did get some coop ideas from my visits to Holly. I liked the central building that all the birds shared and I did incorporate that in my main coop area. I do love that i don't have to go into the run to get eggs, feed them or water them. I don't HAVE to visit my birds, I just like to

My runs are basically and open air coop with a roof. The coop part is in the central part so that is mostly out of a draft. I could use the central part for growing out chicks. It has occurred to us to better use that area. I may build a grow out pen for that area next year. I need to put some pics up so that you can see what I have an could make suggestions on changes down the road.