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[thndrsno]

One of the things I do , is start with the heat lamp at 30 degrees at night. Then at 20 degree after about a week. Then I only turn it on at night if it get lower than 20 degrees. These temps include the wind chill also. This gives them a chance to build up the stamina and winter feathers. Our coop is well insulated and they learn to stay warm slowly. No shock or stress. If the day temp is lower than 20 degrees, I also leave the heat lamp on. I would much reather pay a bit extra on the electric bill then to have my animals under stress that I can help avoid.

 

[mamashomestead]

To prepare for winter, I have cleared all the the.sand from the coop. Raked all of the leaves from our yard and collected the leaves.from all our neighbors yards. It is not always snowy in my area but is always cold. Deep litter mix is a must. Ill lay down a mix of of one bale fine shavings, one bag of d.e., a half bale of straw, as many magic forks of leaves as it takes and hang this seasons dried sunflowers. Ill add leaves and sun flowers all winter long. My coop will smell of fall until spring appears. Hopefully bringing beautiful secret project chicks

 

[Joan71]

I have an open air coop setup for our location here in SC. I will cover their exit run with clear heavy duty plastic so they will get the sunlight and not the wind. I have a larger pen connected to the run which is covered with a tarp. The bottom of the large pen is open when the weather is good. I am going to fix some heavy plastic panels that can be hung up and taped down when the weather goes windy and frigid on us. This way we can control the temperature inside their area.

 

[pinkrblu]

This will be my first winter with chickens in many years! For my four layers, I have a very small coop inside a predator-proof run with a domed top. The top is covered with a tarp, dark-side-up to help capture some heat. I plan to put grommets on heavy-gauge clear plastic to wrap the sides of the run. This will cut the wind on the cold days, but allow me to quickly and easily take it down, partially or completely, on the warmer days.

 

[gisloc]

We recently bought a new green house which when we had power ran to it, we had power ran to our chicken coop. We live in one of the hottest areas of North Carolina so snow is rare and far. We do not have any children, so our animals are our kids. We have heat lamps in the new chicken coop we built. This is our first winter with our chickens (In the past when my mom had them they just free ranged) so we will keep an eye on them...What ever they seem to need we will get. We spoil them as it is, so if that means insulating the coop more then it already is we are down. What ever it takes to make sure we still have a rooster crowing and fresh eggs in the morning

 

[Elohist1983]

This is my first winter. I have a small coop with 4 hens. I plan to put tarp over the run and use straw inside the run. I may put some extra straw in the coop and some under the coop. I will check their water frequently. I am raising red wigglers in composting bin to feed them. If it gets too cold we will bring them into the garage at night.

 

[Chase Family]

When we decided to put a coop up and get chickens we planned for the Michigan winters. I bought a 4' x 8' shed and put it up in the garage by the door that walks out the backside. I removed the door and framed it in to hold I nice thick sheet of plywood which I then built the chicken entrance through. My chickens will be inside their coop inside the garage which should help them keep warm. During the build power was ran to the coop and timers installed for 2 light fixtures. I will be running a 75W bulb during the day and a 100W black heating bulb for most of the night to keep the coop warm. As one final precaution will be using 2 old twin size matress's inbetween the coop and the outside wall to give them a little more insulation from any cold that should be passed through the wall.

 

[Retvi]

I put plastic sheeting on the top 2/3 of their windows to keep the wind out and I heat their water (to keep it from freezing) with a cookie tin with a light bulb inside. My daughter and I check on them a lot and give them warm food, like oatmeal, warmed veggies, etc. I'll probably be putting a heat lamp in with them too this year.

We also give them loves and cuddles. Not that they are spoiled...

 

[mummysboys71]

im reasonably new to all this but what ive done to make my coop a bit warmer is to put tarpaulin on the outside and left one side of the run free which doesnt face the heaviest of winds hoping this works as it feels a lot warmerin there at the moment

 

[annanimal]

The winters here are mild but it still gets cold sometimes so i made sure that their run was big and their inside space was small so that they all hudle up together.