Winter is almost here!! Share your tips and tricks for coping the elements with your chickens!

[crealbilly]

I'm on my second big hay round this year. Both my chickens and turkeys love eating it. I roll it out in there yard, they scratch, peck and eat it until its mostly nothing but small tiny peices.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Couldn't agree more... no more fill and flip for this guy. I have a vertical PVC pipe nipple waterer that im abandoning though in favor of 5 gallon double walled waterer.

I like the double walled waterers best. I like the ability to be able to move it where ever i need it, they are very easy to fill and super easy to clean.

I tried the horizontal nipples, after a few days i had to abondon them also because the chickens and turkeys could not catch on to them. The were very happy to get there double walled waterer back and so was I.


http://www.strombergschickens.com/product/Double-Wall-Fount-8-Gallon-Capacity/1-7-gallon-founts


I have this waterer - the plastic handle broke off after the second fill and it spills water all over the place when your flipping it and will leak water if not perfectly flat...

Ive read reviews on plug-in fill and flips and they are not good. I don't use these.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I don't heat mine, and went with black rubber and this what I have found, down to the high twenties, the black would absorb enough heat to keep the water open during the day, little ice on top at night. But below 25 degrees, and it would freeze pretty hard and the nipples would not work.

I dumped the water at dark, and carried down warm water in the morning. Once it got into the teens, I cannot use the nipples. I go to the smaller black rubber bowls. They will freeze solid by late afternoon.

I don't have electricity at my coop, which keeps me from having electrical fires. But only limited warm water for my girls. They seem to do fine.

Mrs K

Mrs. K I've read that about the water nipple issues in the cold as well. If they are not used all the time they will start to freeze up... A water tank heater isn't enough. And also if the water isn't providing enough pressure from above. I think you and I have different winters than some of the others. I keep meaning to ask my thread about what they've found for waterers...as I've seen some discussion on it here recently. Aart has me thinking....LOL.

Any reviews here of heated water base? I pretty much decided heated base with double walled steel waterer is the route im going this winter. Although i am going to paint the outside of the waterer black and place it so it has southern exposure. l live in southern IL and can experience a couple of weeks were thw temps can drop into single digits (F) at night and not get above freezing during the day.





Thanks

I think those bases are good. I have a friend with one. She's in her 3rd year of chickens. I believe they want a pretty penny for them though.

Yes, I do that too...Actually have some growing right now...Also alfalfa horse hay is great...Chickens and Ducks enjoy eating it...I hide some scratch or peas in the flake of hay and they peck away and scratch...Lessens the boredom of winter...My Ducks like alfalfa cubes soaked in water with tomatoes, peas, and raisins...

Cheers!

We do bales of hay in the run in the winter too. They love scratching through it. I put Fall Oak Leaves in the run. And then let them tear into bales of hay and between the two they have a nice cushion of litter to keep the feet off the cold frozen black dirt (clay up here). They LOVE searching for seeds through it. I also have a few pine poles that are layed a foot or so off the ground from hay bale to hay bale. A place to roost for a bit and warm up toes. Hay bales are also nice place to sit in your Carharts and watch winter chicken TV.

This was last year's set up.


Don't forget a Dusting Bin..... And a Bowl of grit for processing food when the birds cannot get to gravel with snow cover.


These were REALLY nice bales of Hay. Got it from a Dairy farmer who was also in the sod business. They've since retired. Miss those bales of kentucky blue grass!

 

[aart]

Mrs. K I've read that about the water nipple issues in the cold as well. If they are not used all the time they will start to freeze up... A water tank heater isn't enough. And also if the water isn't providing enough pressure from above. I think you and I have different winters than some of the others. I keep meaning to ask my thread about what they've found for waterers...as I've seen some discussion on it here recently. Aart has me thinking....LOL.

Yeah, the vertical nipples are a waste of time, pfft....and I use an aquarium heater that keeps the water about 65F....no foolin' around here!

 

[crealbilly]

Yeah, the vertical nipples are a waste of time, pfft....and I use an aquarium heater that keeps the water about 65F....no foolin' around here!

I like the whole nipple idea but what i dont like is the beeding ia constantly wet underneath the nipples. I decided im moving water outside the coop. This will make the chickens happy and me too.

 

[aart]

Quote: Vertical nipples are much more likely to drip and make a wet mess than the horizontal nipples.
What kind are you using?

 

[crealbilly]

Currently have 6 vertical nipples in a 8' length of 4" PVC pipe that extends the length of one wall in the coop. As mentioned before i tried horizontal nipples in a 5 gallon bucket and both my chickens and turkeys couldn't catch on to them.

I decided im moving water outside this winter and buying heated bases for both of my 5 gallon double walled founts. I'll be painting the outside of the founts black and placing them where they have good southern exposure. There are not many winter sunny days in the heartland of southern IL but painting the outsides black may help some... If i still have water freezing with the heated metal base and the outside of the founts painted black, i try wrapping the founts in foil faced insulation and see if that helps.

Im bound and determined to keep their water from feezing this winter. I will not go through another winter carrying water from inside the house and out to the coop twice a day again.

Raising fowl should be enjoyable... toting water to them twice daily during the dead of winter is not my idea of enjoyment.

 

[Karen1958]

What about a door on the coop. My coop that my husband bought was dissapointingly flimsy so he built it inside on one side of our tiff shed, cut a door, just put a perminent roof in the hen yard. Have tarp on west side & east side of yard to keep wind & rain out as much as possible. We did not put a door on the entrance to the coop. Do we need one? Is a door for safety or warmth? I do have straw in the coop & just upped the wattage of bulb to 150 for light and warmth. What do I need to do for door, really don't want to spend $200 for auto door. Live in Portland Oregon

 

[Bogtown Chick]

The chicken chores keep me "going" --which I think is good for me, especially in the winter...so I guess I don't mind the toting or doing what is necessary to keep them watered, etc. Nothing like an icy blast of Winter Cold to wake you up in the morning. LOL. Makes you feel alive for sure! Ha!
Plus if I'm going to avoid frozen eggs. I need to run down to the coop 2-3 times a day anyways on those cold days.

Karen 1958 you are talking about a Pop Door? I'm not sure I'm following all your questions. A door to a coop should be about access, cleaning ease, predator protection, and yes protection from the elements.
Be careful when mounting a higher wattage bulb. Fluttering wings can knock bulbs down into the bedding and start fires. I don't think your birds need the light for warmth if they are feathered out already. Oregon is temperate...? right? Are you below zero Fahrenheit often? But with your rains and relative humidity you'll want to be sure the coop is well ventilated. Also a light on all day and night is not that great for them. They need cycles of light and darkness.

Aart I'm going to look through your pictures and see if I can find one of your watering set up. or do you have one handy you can post?
The Boys on my Minnesota Thread are saying the Horizontal nipples. I tried nipples once with my flock when they were about 5 months old. They looked for their fount the whole time. Even after I showed them with their beaks, physically holding them to the nipples and showing them what it did. They didn't want to deal. LOL. So I'm hesitant to even invest in a change due to what they know etc... and what they potentially won't take to. Sounds like Drinking cups won't work as well in our temps.

 

[crealbilly]

Vertical nipples are much more likely to drip and make a wet mess than the horizontal nipples.
What kind are you using?

What about a door on the coop. My coop that my husband bought was dissapointingly flimsy so he built it inside on one side of our tiff shed, cut a door, just put a perminent roof in the hen yard. Have tarp on west side & east side of yard to keep wind & rain out as much as possible. We did not put a door on the entrance to the coop. Do we need one? Is a door for safety or warmth? I do have straw in the coop & just upped the wattage of bulb to 150 for light and warmth. What do I need to do for door, really don't want to spend $200 for auto door. Live in Portland Oregon

Live in Southern IL - I dont close the door on my coop during the winter, nor do i provide them with any supplemental heat. I attended a few nutrena seminars at the local farm store. Both times they siad the same thing supplemental heat can be a bad thing for chickens. If the power goes out for an extended period of time they can freeze to death because they became dependant on the supplemental heat. The way it was explained is that as the seasons change they adapt to the cold. but if supplemental heat is involved and its gone for an extended amount of time its like a shock to them and they could freeze to death.

I'm in the process of replacing all my RIRs with BOs as they are more cold hardy than RIRs. Some breeds do better in the cold than others, i guess is what im saying so you'll need to research your breed to be sure.