What are you doing to get your coop/run ready for winter?

[SteveBaz]

Moved all the shavings into the run from the sleeper and coop.
Laid down some fresh sand and DE (diatomaceous earth) about 4 / 2 cup scoops and mixed it in the coop.
Opened up about 1/2 a compressed wood chips bag and laid it down in the coop and the brooder box about 4" deep.
Raked up all the old dirty wood chip into a pile and covered it.
Waiting for a big leaf drop from the maple tree to mix in to all the old shaving before spreading it around the run.

 

[Rosaleen]

Lots of good ideas!

 

[Rosaleen]

Quote:
Walmart

 

[Imp]

Leaves are just starting to fall here, I'll be saving those for the run.
I brought the coop heater inside and cleaned it up, and made sure it worked properly.
Ready to go. Now the long range forecasts are saying maybe no winter this year. Oh well goes along with the lack of summer.

Imp

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

Quote:
I didn't think of hay bales. You just gave me an AWESOME idea. Thanks!

(I'm outside of Kansas City, and it's my first winter with my girls too. It's gonna be a cold one.)

 

[TDM]

Soon we will pull our mobile hen houses off pasture and move them next to the dairy barn. The roofs are all insulated to retain heat, and the theoretical stocking density is two square feet per bird. However, the chickens naturally like to congregate in as few wagons as possible for warmth at night, so the density is probably around 1.5 square feet per bird while the other available wagons remain sparsely populated. We keep the runs cleared of snow, which is part of the normal routine when clearing out the barnyard. There is no supplemental heat added, and we have no problem with frozen eggs in the nest boxes.

 

[remuda1]

Quote:
I love the pictures you post. If I were a little farther north, I might just show up on your doorstep for a tour of your place! I think your setup looks great and from the posts I've read, your philosophy always makes good sense. It brings to mind high productivity with a smaller, healthier, smarter way of thinking.

 

[MadameDork]

Quote:
I live in the same area as you and this is my first winter with chickens. Since the Seattle area has a somewhat mild winter, do the girls need that much winterizing here? I want to make sure their run is covered in case we do get some decent snow. But other than that, as long as the water doesn't freeze, they should be alright, right? I know the dogs water rarely ended up frozen solid, but frosted over a little, which I would watch closely.

 

[darkmatter]

I close my windows and trade out the plastic waterers for those rubber tubs. No electricity or water to the coop for over 2 decades. The rubber tubs rarely freeze inside the coop with the management of a sub-ground level dirt floor composting pit. I'm down in the morning and evening as a minimum anyway to open up/close the pop door, so carrying a jug of water is no big deal.

 

[chick-in-florida]

y'all need to move to florida - much easier!!