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

[K Epp]

If they work way up north where you are it should do great here.

 

[Alaskan]

Anyone have any experience with heated chicken waterers? I saw some of those at the feed store last week.

see my post above yours.

I do not understand it....other people manage to get all of those gizmos and gadgets to work......

However, at my house we have tried:
- two separate heated dog water bowls
- the metal heated base specifically designed to go under a standard metal chicken waterer

we totally busted all of the above as well as the seals on the standard metal chicken waterer.

Anyway...we now use and have NOT broken for a couple of years now: a black rubber horse feed pan and when it freezes solid we put in a stock tank deicer that is safe to touch plastic as well as safe to run dry.

 

[K Epp]

I thought the chicken waterer was different then the dig bowl. I've got to get feed tomorrow so I'll get pics

I saw a utube video were a guy made one out of a cinder block and a extension cord with a light bulb.

I've still got about 3 months until I need to sorry about it. Its the coldest here January & February. Sometimes end of December is cold, but not the deep freezing. Although this year is supposed to be worse than last. Last year was bad for us.

 

[Blooie]

We're supposed to have record lows tomorrow night - 32 degrees. And we could get a skiff of snow to go with it. Oh, goodie - and so it begins! This will be my first winter with chickens, although we had snow in April and May, as well as a quick squall the 6 of June. I put them out when they were 5 1/2 weeks old and it snowed a day or two afterwards. They did just great with no supplemental heat in an uninsulated coop and even spent time out in what was then a makeshift run. So I'm not worried....I figure Mother Nature is much better at providing what they need than I am.

 

[hennible]

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=50b49209-1440-4af3-b21b-cc9dee0b1d06
This is a link to the type of waterer I was talking about. I need this for the chickens, and something more duck friendly also.

 

[K Epp]

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=50b49209-1440-4af3-b21b-cc9dee0b1d06
This is a link to the type of waterer I was talking about. I need this for the chickens, and something more duck friendly also.

Pretty sure that's what my feed store has.

 

[hennible]

I'd like to find one that's metal if they exist just tougher. When it hits -20 or worse plastics so brittle.

 

[Alaskan]

This is what I use for the chicken water
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e07419-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&gas=rubber pan

I use something like this for the ducks. They can dunk their heads in, but not crawl in to take a bath, that is the trick. You need to pick the right size for the ducks you have.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail....6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&gas=3 gallon bucket

 

[Alaskan]

I'd like to find one that's metal if they exist just tougher. When it hits -20 or worse plastics so brittle.

that is why I like the rubber pans so much. They are excellent in the very cold weather. I think the metal waterers freeze up too fast.

 

[LadyCluck77]

Ladycluck, Thanks for the reply. I'm in NJ so we do get snow and supposedly we're in for a lot this winter. I was planning on covering the run, which encloses the coop, but I wasn't sure if I needed to seal up the coop also. My thinking, and please anyone correct me if I'm wrong, was if I cover the run it will keep the wind, rain, & snow out of the coop as well as the run.

One chicken owner earlier in this thread posted a picture last fall of his preps- he used a support structure with roofing and some side cover to keep the snowdrift out of the run- I was EXTREMELY impressed/inspired by those pictures and that is how I try to prepare my area for winter.


These are his pictures (not mine) but it's exactly what I always wanted to do for my preps:




It has some kind of sturdy roof which the snow can fall off of and clear plastic secured to the sides of the run as well.

Just be cautious about the weight of the snow, an underlying structure and supportive roofing is probably the best way to go if you plan to cover the run. Not everyone covers their runs, though. I do, because of my climate. I still brush mine off a few times during every snowstorm.
I get lots and lots of snow- Each storm can dump two feet on us in the span of several hours. I'm in the mountains of Maine, plus we get very damp and very cold weather- so of course not everyone on this thread will need to make too many changes- you will find lots of people have different ways to do their chicken stuff, there's really no right or wrong.