winter coming

[gamechicken]

how much cerder saw dust do u need 2 put in a pen and is tin best for keeping out the snow and wind

 

[OkChickens]

Cedar is not good for chickens. The strong aroma can kill chickens. Pine shavings or straw are best n my opinion for begging. Tin works well. What area are you located? Do you get a lot of snow?

Nate

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

ditto on the pine chips
use tarpaper , overlap the edges so the rain runs off, that is lay the first piece lenghtwise along the edge, the next piece over that toward the peak, that will keep out the rain/snow, the tin just protects the tarpaper

 

[lauriej57]

I'm located in Michigan, and our property is up on, I guess you would call it a "knoll". 10 miles from Lake Michigan, and we always have a breeze. The wind comes up over the tress, then down, then back up our little knoll. We can't keep tar paper on our chicken roofs. We replaced it 3 times last summer on both chicken coops. We just, today, tarred the roof of the larger coop. If that works, we are going to do that to do the same to the smaller coop. Both roofs are 1/2 inch plywood.

We've been looking at different roofing ideas. My smaller coop is accessed by lifting the roof, which is a total pain, especially in the winter, it is rotting, needs to be replaced, but it doesn't leak. I've been putting a brick on each corner any time the weather looks bad at all. Which is really a pain, but this roof blew off 2 summers ago. If we had realized when we placed the coop, we would not have placed it so the backside faced the west.

I have thought of tin, or plastic, or fiberglass, but I don't think it would provide the insulation that wood does during the winter. I'll be watching this post.

 

[hallerlake]

Winter? It's Only August!!!! I'm Not Ready To Think About Winter.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
Word

 

[erthymom2]

This time of year I look for and stock up on:

free bales of mulch hay - i stack them three or four bales high around the outside of the coop walls on three sides to create a windblock and add insulation.

Look for bagged leaves also to use as ground covering for inside their penned area - as i get the bags, i keep the bags covered so they stay dry. it gives the girls something to spread around and scratch in later.

straw bales- use inside their pens or coop.

used tarps - i can always find a use for these to use as roof covers over the enclosed pens, or nail up as windblocks on the outside of pens.

 

[rjlanger2]

I used roll roofing. It was 36 inches wide (or tall). Start at the lowest edge and go across (like you would with shingles). The next higher layer overlaps the lower layer so the water can run off. The walls are painted plywood with no insulation. Tarpaper (15 pound felt) works, but it does blow off a lot easier and is prone to tearing. Although winter here is usually mild (daytime above 40), lows at night can get into the teens on occasion and a heat lamp (or two) will usually keep the inside temp above freezing.

It may be a bit early for thinking about winter, but now is the best time to prepare. It's always a lot easier to get the materials and do the work before it gets cold!

Good luck with your project.

 

[lauriej57]

Our rolled roofing always ends up in the neighbors yard.

 

[the Pollo Loco]

Quote:
i'm still hatching...