Sponsored Post Win an Ecoglow 20 Chick Brooder from Brinsea with your best tip for winter!

We have posted 2 thermotmeter/hygrometers to help aide us in monitoring both inside the coop and outside the coop temps. They really helps alert us as to when there could be more than one malady the chickens might be facing on any given day. We can pretty much judge the inside humidity as well as freezing temperatures both inside and out using these. This is not just a winter tip, but works well in the summer as well. Too hot, too cold, too moist, too dry helps you determine what if any changes you may need to make or add to your current winter or summers to do list. Drafts, proper ventilation, freezing water, heat or no heat, light or no light, diet, insulation or not, more hay or bedding, cleanliness, dampness, and the list goes on as to things that just a simple product like this can do to alert you whats going on both inside and outside their cozy little home you are constatntly outfitting for them! And most of all, pay attention to your chickens!

Inside coop temp will never excede outside temperature but the idea is to make it warmer inside during the winter and cooler inside in the summer. The hygrometer helps monitor humidity within the coop. This can aide in ventilating properly.
 
Last edited:
700


As you can see, my water barrel is outside the coop and it feeds my PVC water nipple system inside the coop. I used the heated waterpipe as per your suggested site advertized. It worked well right up until the barrel of water outside froze solid! Whatever source you use to store your water in has to be heated as well. Hoping it is not your gutter alone?
 
Garden hotbeds are traditionally used to extend a vegetable garden into the winter or to start them early in the cold spring. They can reach internal temperatures of over 100 degrees! Think of a hot compost pile. I surround our small backyard coop and run, (of 4 chickens) leaving room for the door to let them out to free range in the day, with bales of hay layered with fresh horse (or chicken) manure. As the manure and hay break down, heat is released and provides warmth for my girls. Coarse gravel on the bottom allows for extra drainage, and as the season draws out I continue to add to my hotbed, ensuring there is always heat being produced. Added bonus is planting in the hotbeds in the spring for a vegetable garden! Prep work is all done!
 
I live in the Northwoods and have a small greenhouse I use for starting/growing plants. In the fall I pop out several blocks from the floor, exposing the dirt and clean off shelves, placing large leafs of hay on them instead. The greenhouse was moved this summer so that it now acts as part of the run enclosure making it easier for the girls to get to when the snow gets deep. This gives them a frost and snow free place to dustbathe and Sun themselves even on the coldest days!

My coop is also heavily insulated with large double pane windows that face both south and east to catch any winter Sun. I also have a 2/4 board for a perch so they cover their toes with their feathers when they sleep.
 
Last edited:
Our winters are long and brutally cold, we get down to -30'c mid winter occasionally dipping below -40'c... The primary thing we're doing to prepare for our winters is starting with very cold hardy breeds. We're trying to avoid breeds with big combs and wattles, or lightly feathered breeds.

As for the coop we're building it using lots of advice from this site including: using plenty of ventilation placed away from the roosting area, avoiding drafts, large flat roosts, a heated waterer, allowing more space per bird since they're going to be inside the coop a lot more and if they're huddled together all day looking like they're miserable and half frozen we'll add some heat. We're getting our first chicks this spring... Wish us luck :D.
 
Have two sets of poultry fountains or drinkers for each coop .
In the morning fill one of the drinkers and place in it your coop, bring in the frozen one and let it thaw till the next day then start the whole process over again
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom