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

[Shabana]

Hey there
Really really sorry to hear about your beautiful dog. What a gorgeous picture of him with your hens.
Fab job on the coop ! Looks great we are hoping to use some corrugated transparent roofing for our run next year, we have used clear tarp on the roof and bamboo wind breaks part way up each side this year. Their coop itself has a indoor and outdoor side too and the outdoor side is where I keep their food and water.

If the bamboo proves to block too much light we will replace it with clear tarps other than shipping in some hay for their feet I think we are ready

 

[MEMama3]

I lock up my girls once it's dark (since if there is a hint of light they'll all come running out of the coop to see if I have treats). Since they are asleep when I lock up, I sneak in with a waterer of really warm (but not hot) water. It seems to prevent frozen water in the morning most of the time. While there I snag the fermented feed bowl and bring it inside. In the morning I fill the ff bowl and add some warm water to it. I bring it out and set them free. This has worked out pretty well for me in Maine.

 

[Myrth]

Gifa, so sorry for for your loss.

Your coop looks comfy for your birds. Many years ago at a previous home, I built a sunshed, a shed that was glazed on the south side only. It served as a greenhouse, potting shed, and coop. My chickens thrived in it - lots it light for them in winter. I like the light your birds will have.

 

[Alaskan]

I am super excited about my chicken shed additions, so thought I would share.

 

[MEMama3]

I am super excited about my chicken shed additions, so thought I would share.

Very nice! I like your setup. My coop is too small for a remodel, so I'm stuck with a lot of woodda, coodda, shooddas. Especially when it comes to poop trays.

 

[minmin1258]

Love that set up. I have one question though: I was told NOT t insulate unless I planned on puttin up interior walls, because chickens will eat at the insulation. Have you had issues with that?

 

[fenwickchic]

Just now getting caught up on this thread and read your response to my problem - thank you! I've tried and tried to integrate Greenie but it's just not working. Her area is cordoned off by just chicken wire and she watches the rest of them, paces the fence; and they sometimes do the same. I even throw some of her feed and their feed on each side of the fence so they can choose to eat together; but once they are not separated, the trouble begins! So, we've made accomadations for her to be separate for as long as they live. She'll have her own space, own run, just separated by the wire. See my "future" (hopefully before winter sets in) plans for our new run here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/832761/new-run-to-be-constructed-soon#post_12202367

Greenie is only one of her kind this flock. I think she's an EE and there's 3 Golden Comets and 7 white hens. I never thought about that before and maybe that's why they all chased her away all the time, etc.; the (3) GC seem to kind of stick together, so now my eyes are open to another possibility. Maybe we can get one more chicken. Should she be close in age to Greenie or would it matter?

I love your set up! It looks quite efficient. How many chickens live here? What did you use for wire around the run? And do you have any wire going into the ground or out from the sides for predator-proofing? Oh! I just noticed it's a tractor! Wow! I'm doubly impressed now as this is a BIG tractor! How do you move it or does it go pretty easy?! Great idea! Guess you wouldn't have the ground wire then...

I have 6 chickens: 5 hens & 1 rooster. Henny & Penny (red sex links), Goldilocks & Shirley Temple (Buff Orpingtons), Dagny (Brahma) and Charlie Sheen (our Pekin Bantam Roo).
I wish I could take credit for the design of the chicken tractor but that accolade goes to CovertChickOps who posted his design here on BYC. He called it "Hen Hideout" and he has updated his article recently. He very graciously offered the plans to anyone who PM'd him. As for the wire, it is 1/2" hard cloth. As for moving it. CovertChickOps has a video that shows you how easily it moves. The PVC keeps the weight from being prohibitive. That said... DH did not install the "handles" so I cannot move the tractor alone. I need my daughter's help. DH CAN move the tractor alone, so it will probably never get the "handles".
I now need to get it weather protected for winter when we will be putting it up on our concrete patio. So far, I went to JoAnn's fabric store and bought very heavy duty clear vinyl and industrial strength velcro. I have covered the doors underneath the coop so far by fixing velcro to the wood framing and velcro to the plastic making a cover but I have run into a problem with the remainder because there is nothing but wire on the majority of the area I need to cover. The sticky stuff won't hold to wire (duh). I have already tried using cords but we got some very high wind and it didn't hold the plastic well enough. Of course, I don't have grommets in the vinyl. I think I'm going to have to go that route. I only want to cover the bottom half of the tractor with the clear vinyl because I am planning on making a shade tarp/awning out of outdoor fabric (for use in the summer) and have the shade do double duty by folding up against the wire sides of the tractor overlapping the clear vinyl for really cold rainy/snowy days. I want to be able to roll it up so they can still get fresh air and feel like they are outside. They really need a roof covering though in the summer because the clear roofing provides no shade. Thus the "coop cover/shade awning". DH is having a fit because I spent more money on all the fabric/vinyl. LOL It is only funny because he has never, ever in our entire 22 years together said anything about me spending money. (Of course that could be because I don't usually spend much at all.) Wait until he discovers that I will need/want tent poles to hold up the tarps in the summer. LMAO And I finally came up with a name for the chicken tractor/coop once I had the fabric!! I'm going to call it the "Coop-A Cabana". I also bought "chicken design" fabric to make new kitchen curtains, place mats, etc. Lots of winter sewing coming up. I don't think it's the $ issue with the chickens, I think DH thinks I have gone bonkers over these chickens and they are taking too much of my attention! Yet, I have caught him holding them...

 

[Alaskan]

Love that set up. I have one question though: I was told NOT t insulate unless I planned on puttin up interior walls, because chickens will eat at the insulation. Have you had issues with that?

I covered the insulation with a combination of feed sacks and cardboard. So, no problem.

I ran out of insulation though, and it is way expensive, so I didn't get much done.

I eventually want to get the entire roof insulated.

 

[jetdog]

Once they start pecking at the insulation they will continue to.I covered mine with 1/4 luan, just enough to keep them away from it.

 

[SarahMG]

Just finished winterizing my coop! I had to do it very early this year, because all of my girls are missing alot of feathers due to a picking problem from my dominant hen. We had a large left-over roll of underlay from when we put our wood-laminate flooring down, so that's what I used this year instead of having to buy plastic. The coop is nicely closed in now, and the girls had NO problem finding their way into the coop. I added a heat lamp, to make up for the loss of feathers, and the girls seemed to enjoy the extra warmth. Now I just have to make a warmer box for two of my other girls. One is bow-legged and gets attacked by all the other chickens, and the other is the dominant hen that I already mentioned. I'll probably use a wood frame and some more of the underlay, along with their heat-lamp......Hmmmm....We'll see!