Hello everyone! We moved to upstate NY(near Syracuse) last year. We are southerners who found out we don't winter well! That is a topic for another thread
. We have 2 Pygmy goats and 8 chickens. Three of the chickens are mature Sex Link who are laying well. The other five are the RIR chicks we purchased this past spring. I would estimate they are about 2 months away from laying. This past weekend, a guinea fowl showed up outside my back yard fence. We let him/her in since he/she was trying really hard to get into the free-ranging area of our yard. The guinea seems to have acclimated to our flock and all seems well. My question to all of you knowledgable folks is regarding a winter shelter. We have a temporary coop and house for the critters, but are building a permanent chicken coop/goat shelter this weekend. Any and all recommendations for insulating and securing our shelter would be appreciated. Do you recommend a heat source in the coop for this area? We also would love any links or suggestions regarding watering systems that won't freeze up. Thank y'all for all the great suggestions on the other threads and I look forward to this discussion!
. We have 2 Pygmy goats and 8 chickens. Three of the chickens are mature Sex Link who are laying well. The other five are the RIR chicks we purchased this past spring. I would estimate they are about 2 months away from laying. This past weekend, a guinea fowl showed up outside my back yard fence. We let him/her in since he/she was trying really hard to get into the free-ranging area of our yard. The guinea seems to have acclimated to our flock and all seems well. My question to all of you knowledgable folks is regarding a winter shelter. We have a temporary coop and house for the critters, but are building a permanent chicken coop/goat shelter this weekend. Any and all recommendations for insulating and securing our shelter would be appreciated. Do you recommend a heat source in the coop for this area? We also would love any links or suggestions regarding watering systems that won't freeze up. Thank y'all for all the great suggestions on the other threads and I look forward to this discussion!
