Winter is Coming! Checklists, tips, advice for a newbie

[Bogtown Chick]

A flurry of posts and a flurry of people who haven't read all the way through this awesome thread.  A flurry of good patient helpers.  I'm so glad I don't see flurries outside. Hahaha

Trying an experimental thing inside the coop this year.  Reflectix on the walls.  Think foiled bubble wrap with radiant reflective properties.  I have upcycled old windows and doors and boards in my coop and I don't ever have frost on the windows...my 1/2" off center lets me see daylight between boards and no frost on the windows....thankful for that.  But I tell you those weeks with -25 upon -25 are wearing.  And I'm hoping to add to the efficiency of the coop with bird and solar input from the windows with the use of this stuff. It's an experiment.  And I'll keep you posted.  I saw it on a popular blogger's new coop. And she said it "wasn't" insulation.  But I feel that the bubble wrap type construction is a type of insulator nonetheless.  It's not very thick though...and I think it will help without making my chickens less winterized.

 

[aart]

A flurry of posts and a flurry of people who haven't read all the way through this awesome thread. A flurry of good patient helpers. I'm so glad I don't see flurries outside.

Trying an experimental thing inside the coop this year. Reflectix on the walls. Think foiled bubble wrap with radiant reflective properties. I have upcycled old windows and doors and boards in my coop and I don't ever have frost on the windows...my 1/2" off center lets me see daylight between boards and no frost on the windows....thankful for that. But I tell you those weeks with -25 upon -25 are wearing. And I'm hoping to add to the efficiency of the coop with bird and solar input from the windows with the use of this stuff. It's an experiment. And I'll keep you posted. I saw it on a popular blogger's new coop. And she said it "wasn't" insulation. But I feel that the bubble wrap type construction is a type of insulator nonetheless. It's not very thick though...and I think it will help without making my chickens less winterized.

Will the reflectix cover all those gaps between boards?

I use that stuff on my heated waterer.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

It will aart so I've been thinking about just trying it on lower half of coop and leaving top boards in covered or adding more ventilation. But those windows of mine are old glass panes not sealed so tight so im not sure how different it will be. I'm prepared to start tearing it off the wall if it does some adverse things.

 

[william1945]

i have 2 small freezers in with my chickens and keep them full of water never freeze

 

[aart]

It will aart so I've been thinking about just trying it on lower half of coop and leaving top boards in covered or adding more ventilation. But those windows of mine are old glass panes not sealed so tight so im not sure how different it will be. I'm prepared to start tearing it off the wall if it does some adverse things.

Only time and observation will tell.....beware that they do like to peck at that stuff, you'll lose a few 'bubbles' if they have access, but I didn't see any affect on the birds.

 

[jburts]

ok here is my chicken coup, it is out of the wind, next to the house in a corner with a huge snowball tree over it behind the coup is the back yard fence, which is a door under the coup that leads to out side in the fenced back yard when I let them out.
or while I'm at work they stay in the pen and coup area.
I have clean out doors with bolts on them to keep out raccoons etc, and in the winter I put this plexi glass sliders we made over the windows, they just slide in so that air can still flow through.
in the back of the coup that window I use a plastic material to board it up helps to keep it a little warmer,
air flow gets through the top I have some insulation in the coup, also, plastic over the run to keep snow and rain out so it stays pretty dry.
I use a heated water since I go to work and can't be there to refill water after it freezes.
I have railroad ties that border the run with the kennel and I put chicken wire around it this year, to help block out where something small could get in.
you can see there is some snow this was taken last year, we did not get a lot of snow,
I have seven chickens now got four this spring.
I put pine chips in the coup and make it thicker, and I do have a heat lamp that just takes the chill off, so the coup will stay above freezing, and for egg laying,
so far no problems during he day no heat lamp it only stays on in early morning hrs,
I also put pine chips on the cement under the coup to help with thier poop easier to clean up, in summer I just swamp it out with the hose.
pretty easy winterizing the coup, we get sun usually during the day so it warms it up, we have had some mild winters lately, and it is supposed to be another mild winter.
live in Eastern washington.so it does have the potential to get down in the teens at night.and sometimes single digits.
I do have to clean off snow off the roof so that it does not get to heavy, I have roof under the plastic.
and my wonderful husband designed and built this for me and my chickens

 

[jburts]

ok here is my chicken coup, it is out of the wind, next to the house in a corner with a huge snowball tree over it behind the coup is the back yard fence, which is a door under the coup that leads to out side in the fenced back yard when I let them out.
or while I'm at work they stay in the pen and coup area.
I have clean out doors with bolts on them to keep out raccoons etc, and in the winter I put this plexi glass sliders we made over the windows, they just slide in so that air can still flow through.
in the back of the coup that window I use a plastic material to board it up helps to keep it a little warmer,
air flow gets through the top I have some insulation in the coup, also, plastic over the run to keep snow and rain out so it stays pretty dry.
I use a heated water since I go to work and can't be there to refill water after it freezes.
I have railroad ties that border the run with the kennel and I put chicken wire around it this year, to help block out where something small could get in.
you can see there is some snow this was taken last year, we did not get a lot of snow,
I have seven chickens now got four this spring.
I put pine chips in the coup and make it thicker, and I do have a heat lamp that just takes the chill off, so the coup will stay above freezing, and for egg laying,
so far no problems during he day no heat lamp it only stays on in early morning hrs,
I also put pine chips on the cement under the coup to help with thier poop easier to clean up, in summer I just swamp it out with the hose.
pretty easy winterizing the coup, we get sun usually during the day so it warms it up, we have had some mild winters lately, and it is supposed to be another mild winter.
live in Eastern washington.so it does have the potential to get down in the teens at night.and sometimes single digits.
I do have to clean off snow off the roof so that it does not get to heavy, I have roof under the plastic.
and my wonderful husband designed and built this for me and my chickens

also I used welded wire for the windows and they are hammered with nails in place.

 

[bigmrg74]

Thinking next weekend I'm going to be parking my tractor and getting it all set for Winter.

 

[Alaskan]

Stupid white stuff has arrived.

 

[LadyCluck77]

Alaskan, I read somewhere that snow on Halloween is good luck!

It's always a toss up here, we've had blizzards, but this time we still have a lot of leaves left on the trees because the weather has been weird.


Today is November 1st, cold rain, past few weeks temps have fluctuated, between the 50s and down to the 20s at night.
This could have been snow today so I won't complain!
Most of the flock is in molt, including one very hard molt who looks like a fully plucked chicken. She shivers a lot, takes time standing on one foot with the other tucked in close.
The gentleman at the feed store suggested calf manna. Haven't tried it yet, but am toying with the idea.
One silkie is broody, need to move her to a wire cage because it is not a good time to have chicks.

I am liking my automatic door opener & closer. It uses a light sensor. So far no one has been left out at night and it opens in the am when we have sometimes already left for work.

How are everyone's winter preps going?