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

[hennible]

No way. That sounds like a great plan. Mine do fine in an uninsalaeted coop. Your birds will be perfect. I'm in burns lake, just think grouse can do it.

 

[traceyj]

*waves* hi,

 

[hennible]

Lol

 

[Julia62]

I'm in Reno, NV and yesterday it got to 29 degrees in the coop at 6:00am. We put a thermometer in it and have a reader in the house. We have never gotten sub zero since I have lived here but can get to single digits sometimes. I was thinking about a heat lamp but fire danger scares me. I do have a wide roost (2 x 4 with 4" side flat). The run has a solid pitched roof with a tarp covering and I can put side tarps up if needed for snow or rain so their run will stay dry and mostly snow free. Snow was dismal last year

They were fine and perky this morning. We have 4 hens and they all sleep on one side of the roost (I can tell by the poop!). I clean their coop daily.

So, I guess I'm wondering if I should get the heat lamp or not? The coop is 4 x 4 with a slanted roof. It is on 12" posts off the ground. I have a thick layer of shavings for bedding and straw in the nests (3).

 

[hennible]

IMO you don't need the heat... It hits -30 or colder here to the point the lamp doesn't do a thing, the birds do fine ( things are dry, never had any frostbite... Not even on the bird I couldn't get back in the coop for a full week one January ) good luck and good info to you making your decision

 

[Alaskan]

I'm in
Quote:
Just make sure that you have nice wide perches for them (and no silly chicken is sleeping on a thin door edge or something like that), and also watch the feed. They eat WAY more in the winter than in the summer. If they don't have enough food, they will die of the cold.

 

[traceyj]

Hmm wondered why the feed consumption had gone way high. I have some 8" diameter logs in there for their perches, they love to sit on each other on them weirdos!

 

[traceyj]

my coop and run in the snow this morning. We will get about 4' by the end of the winter.

 

[Alaskan]

my coop and run in the snow this morning. We will get about 4' by the end of the winter.

Wow! Those trees make your coop look like it is four inches tall.

 

[traceyj]

Yup! Actually 5'6" tall at apex, so not exactly lofty but the 100' trees do dwarf it a bit