Winter warmth in the henhouse

[ORChick]

I am hoping to get a few chicks next spring, for eventual eggs. Their house is still only a few different thoughts in my head, but I'm getting lots of ideas here (for which I thank you all). I'm thinking of a raised building, with enough room underneath so they can get out of the Oregon rain, and also to give them more run space. The house itself will be based on an 8x4 sheet of plywood for the floor (for 4-6 standard chickens). Our winters are fairly mild - it can get into the teens, but doesn't often, and snow comes seldom, and never stays long. I'm wondering how concerned I need to be about the hens staying warm in the winter; in this climate do I need to be thinking about insulation? The house will be placed where I could get electricity to it for a heat lamp, if needed. But then I think of all the chickens living in colder climates, back in the days before electricity. Am I worrying for no reason?

 

[BJ]

I would suggest doing your research...get chickens that are winter hardy. Bantams don't do well in the winter. Use a heat lamp during the cold weather. They will cuddle under it during the nights.

 

[joshchickens]

Hey!! well i live very close to grants pass which is in southern oregon and during the winter i have a heatlamp for my 9 chickens. during the rainy season you just have to be sure that there run will drain or it will be a BIG MESS!! o and make sure the there is no holes or gaps in the chicken coop. thats prett much all you need lol

josh

 

[ORChick]

Thanks BJ and Josh. I'm about an hour north of Grants Pass, Josh. Any advice for our (admittedly wonderful, though damp) climate will be much appreciated. I understand that a tight enclosing fence is a must - our neighbours had murder and mayhem a few years ago when an (alleged) weasel got in. I admit it worries me, but I think I've got enough good info from BYC (and the neighbours, after the fact) to cover that angle. And BJ, my ultimate goal here is breakfast (though I'm looking forward to learning about chicken personalities as well), so I'll be getting larger birds than Banties - don't know what yet; it depends on the local farm supply store. I don't have room for more than 5 or 6, nor enough appetite for eggs, so I can't see ordering from a hatchery. (My neighbours, before the weasel, brought us a dozen eggs as a housewarming gift, in a "large" egg carton. When I opened it they were all banty eggs! Cute as anything could be, but hardly "large". I admit to using that, for quite awhle, as fodder for my "Oregon is so different from" .... where we used to live .... jokes)

 

[greginshasta]

Hi ORChick.

We are nearly neighbors, albeit by a couple hours drive. Just wanted to point out http://www.raineyscorner.com/ which is the place where we purchased our chicks. They are just east of Grant's Pass, on the way toward Medford.

They were tremendously helpful when we ordered our off-season chicks, and in fact ordered twice what we had purchased to make sure that at least one of each arrived in good shape. When they could not identify who was who among those little yellow fur balls, they just gave us the duplicates.

As I say, they are very nice folks. You may want to consider them when you get chicks if you don't have that worked out. Of course, there is also the grange co-op in GP.

 

[ORChick]

Greg, thanks very much for that site. I know our farm store here has chicks in the spring, but I have never paid much attention to exactly what they had - well, except for the emus! I was rather thinking that I would pick out 4-6 of what they had, after some study, and just dream about the rarer ones. But maybe I can be more specific now, with this added information. Thank you.

BTW, I absolutely love Shasta; if I didn't really hate the idea of having to adjust to "winter" (I grew up in the fog on the coast) I could easily imagine becoming a neighbour of yours. But I'm not in a position to be able to think in terms of "summer" house, and "winter" house. I'll send good thoughts to your flock whenever I pass through, driving south to visit the relatives.

 

[greginshasta]

Quote:
Well, it's always nice to meet new friends, so let us know if you are headed this way and we'll invite you to drop by.

Funny, I lived in Marin for the prior 30+ years, and 20 of those were in a home (San Rafael) that got more rain than most parts of that area. I find that in moving to this area, the weather really isn't much different except that we get snow. But the cold, damp rainy Bay Area isn't exactly like living in the desert, so it's not a big transition.

 

[jeaucamom]

Totally off topic.... I grew up in Marin and lived there between 1966 and 1998 up Marinwood. We were neighbors.... Howdy, Suz

 

[greginshasta]

Hi Suz - greetings.

Ya, my place was in Gerstle Park - you may know it. We were at the foot of the hill that divides San Rafael and Kentfield, which tended to grab and hold storms for hours. We got soaked there annually.

Where ya at now?

 

[ORChick]

DH and I lived in the south SF Bay for for 25 years - I still think the Santa Clara Valley has an ideal climate - unfortunately a lot of other people do too, which is one reason we no longer live there LOL. I remember there was a nice little Indonesian restaurant in San Rafael - did you know it?