Winter Problems

[silkielover5]

so i want to hear what you guys do for the winter. i have about 30 silkies, rosecombs, showgirls, cochins, and 1 egyption fayoumi in this coop. the EF roo has to be seperated cause he injured his leg, and he is very aggresive with other roos and will rip them apart

i also have the rosecombs seperated because of problems with mixing them with the flock. so the EF and the rosecombs water freezes every night, and i feel bad cause the EF is always cold and shivering. the main waterer is heated and i cant figure out how to keep the other 2 waterers defrosted. i also need to hear how you guys keep warmth in the coop.
My dad wants to build like a dog house with a heat lamp in it that would fit all my birds and would keep the heat in that house, i like that idea but im worried about my rosecombs and EF. there is no possible way i could add the EF into the flock, i already tried that last week and he caused me cochin roo to start bleeding

 

[nonsuch]

Hi, it sounds as though you do need a heat source, especially since the Roo is shivering. I also live in Wisconsin, and it's going to get much worse very soon. Do you have a basement? Perhaps you need to make an area for a few of the Roos that don't get along? You could try a plastic dog crate and a puppy play pen around it - covered with wire so they don't fly out. I'd put sheet plastic down with shavings on top. Just a suggestion.

 

[silkielover5]

Quote:
thats a good idea since my dad wont let me put another heat lamp out there. we do have a pretty big wooden brooder he might fit in (hes Huge!) we only have a few cages he can fit in cause hes pretty tall. tomarrow ill have to make a spot for him, but my dad wont even let the rabbits down there.....

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

If you can't put heat lamps in the coop, maybe you should stick to breeds that handle the cold a bit better...

I agree with the other poster about maybe moving a few into the basement if thats possible.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If it were me, I'd sell the ones I couldn't integrate into the coop. I think your roo won't thrive if he is shivering.

The other option would be to have a dog kennel setup (be sure to line the bottom part of the fencing with something so racoons can't reach through) and a dog house or hutch in there, with a 100 watt light bulb for warmth. Heated dog dish for water.

Sorry I don't know!

 

[silkielover5]

my EF roo we have had for 3 years and he normaly does fine because he is actully with the other birds in the coop during winter. but since we took him out for the 4h county fair and another show we had, hes been terrible with the roos he grew up with! he almost killed one and that was the line for me. thats why hes seperated that and because of his leg. he only likes one hen so i might put her in with him today. its his sister

 

[mstricer]

How many roosters do you have?

 

[silkielover5]

Quote:
we have 2 coops. the one i tried to add him in with a few days ago 4 mature roosters and around 15 hens. the coop he originly was from has 6 roosters and 20 hens he grew up with most from the coop he was from