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

[the poppster]

Poppster, that sounds lovely!!!

my birds seem to be happy. I'm glad I went through the trouble of insulating and venting it makes for a more comfortable home for the "chicka-boos"...."Bucka-boos"...."Silly Birds"...."Buca-bucka-buckys"...a few nicknames for the "birdies"...."my therapy birds"...I love messing with them. Doing things to make a more comfortable, healthy and interesting home for my birds....it's fun for me and hopefully them

 

[bigmrg74]

Winter is here. Had a whole lot of nopes today when I opened up the coop this morning. Even had a "not for all of the mealworms in China!" out of one the girls.

 

[Alaskan]

they can be pretty silly about ever stepping on snow

 

[Minflick]

No snow here in coastal California, BUT, egg laying shut right down pretty much the day I put in the winter tarpage so the inside coop stays dry.... Vacation, hurrumph! Who do they think they ARE!



Next Spring the roof is getting changed a LOT!

 

[the poppster]

No snow here in coastal California, BUT, egg laying shut right down pretty much the day I put in the winter tarpage so the inside coop stays dry.... Vacation, hurrumph! Who do they think they ARE! Next Spring the roof is getting changed a LOT!

the "Tarping" might have scared them just enough to stress them....if this happens...they can stop laying...I try to get my birds used to new things....move the run "Furniture" around....no tippy toeing....I talk, sing and holler at my birds,the neighbors think it's funny...they laugh when I reprimand one of the Roos for being to pushy with an unwilling hen....or if they start a big "squawk fest" and I tell them "All right you guys! That's enough of that!"....and they quit squawking...they think the birds listen to me and do what I tell them...I doubt it...but they do shut up pretty quickly. Sorry about getting off the subject. Give them a little while...and some yummy treats out there under those scary tarps...and they will start laying again. I tarped the roof of my run and my birds refused to come out of the coop for days....till I broke down and brought out the BREAD! Works every time.

 

[Minflick]

I've got some stale bread, we can try that... BUT - they have enjoyed being in the non-mud portion of the run the clear tarp provide, and they've been out there every day. The silver tarp is to keep the egg boxes dry, and it's doing it's job...

You can tell I'm a newb at both building and coops - I managed to get the coop situated such that the back closed side is the side most of the rain comes from, BUT, I didn't extend the roof to the sides for the rest of the rain, and since I don't want a flooded coop, I'm going to have to change things up a bit. I've been lazy this past year, but as soon as the rain ends this spring, I'll be out messing with the coop.

 

[the poppster]

Oh I understand that....I'm always tweaking this and that with my coop and run...didn't mow the grass more then once this past summer...moved welded wire fence from one area to another...just couldn't let that nice grass go to waste! Sister thought I'd lost my mind....neighbors just watched and smiled....hey! The Birds Loved it....it was like a maze for visitors and the UPS guy. Almost took to putting up arrows to guide them through it....but what's the Challenge in that? My run is covered and the floor is covered with coarse sawmill sawdust. Mixed with peat moss, garden dirt, and sand. It's about six inches higher than the surrounding ground. The water drains through it. Stays pretty dry.

 

[Minflick]

Your run materiel sounds great - how do you keep them from kicking it out of the run? Everything to about 3 feet outside MY pen is covered in fine dirt they have kicked out of the run. I just stood and watched them kick stuff around one day when I had them out of the run. Holy moly, chicken legs can move stuff!

 

[bigmrg74]

Your run materiel sounds great - how do you keep them from kicking it out of the run? Everything to about 3 feet outside MY pen is covered in fine dirt they have kicked out of the run. I just stood and watched them kick stuff around one day when I had them out of the run. Holy moly, chicken legs can move stuff!

when we were done with our garden this fall, I put our portable run around the garden and had them go through the garden scratching and rototillering that up for us.

 

[bigmrg74]

It's still summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, but we all know that "Winter is Coming". Thought I would bump this thread up again to help out the newbies who might want to start worrying about it.