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

[jburts]

thanks I picked up some christmas lights the soft LD ones that are in cased so no breakage
I have decided only if it gets extremely cold I will turn on the heat lamp bulb for only a couple of hrs like I have been doing,
it is in such a way to prevent fires I will take pics
and put up the christmas lights
thanks for the advice

 

[Alaskan]

no problem, have fun detting it up!


I find the Christmas lights very cheerful.

 

[jburts]

here are my pics of my coup inside with the lights up etc

 

[jburts]

here are my pics of my coup inside with the lights up etc

above are the doors and plexi glass that slide in over the welded wire on windows that are nailed in but still allow air flow to get in and keep the draft out.
under the coup a trap door to take out and clean out and a door that leads to back yard. the nesting boxes, and a special door to latch that racoons hopefully can't figure out
how heat lamp is in anchored it with what the instructions said, but will not need to turn that on unless it gets down in the teens or single digits.
plastic over the run to keep snow and rain out. and it is sheltered from the wind on that side of house.
we are supposed to get our first snow in a couple of weeks.
I usually have to brush the snow off the roof, but I use a long broom works well.
chickens did not seem to mind the christmas lights. they are soft white will see how that works.

 

[Alaskan]

It looks fantastic!

 

[aart]

here are my pics of my coup inside with the lights up etc

The unguarded heat lamp bulb is not only unnecessary but a dangerous fire hazard......
......especially considering the coop is right next to your house/garage/other building.

 

[jburts]

I don't have it plugged in right now, just the christmas lights
I have had it this way for years, I will put a guard on it that I used for the hens when they were chicks
and use it only if it gets down to 0
most of the time it stays in teens sometimes it gets to single digits.
but I don't leave it on all the time,
thanks for the advice

 

[jburts]

thanks heat lamp is not plugged in I guess I should put a guard on it in case I need to turn it on has been this way for years.
so anyway we will see how this winter goes.
it is going to start getting colder here in eastern washington in another week, down to 20's and 30's at night and 30 to 40 during the day
winter is coming
thanks for the advice about the lights.
chickens don't seem to mind them.
the light is pretty soft so it is not glaring

 

[Sand blister]

Got the tarp ready for around the coop. Hopefully I can prevent snow from coming in and sitting the wood of the coop. Easy clip on system

 

[Greggs]

I'm winterizing differently this year. I'm wrapping the coop, but not the run. Mainly because the run is huge now, but also because of lighting. Even with clear wrap it simply feels dark and dank in there and so I've decided not to over enclose it.

My next step is thinking about how to keep water warm enough. Plenty of electric, so I have a few ideas I'm going to try.