'winterizing' a coop!?

[Sandy16]

Hi everyone! OK, I know that temps are hot everywhere right now, but I'm wondering what to do to get our coop ready for winter. We live in Atlanta, so winters are not horrible, but we do get down to temps in the 20's and sometimes the teens at night. We even had 3 snow days (2"-4") this past winter!!

Our coop is sided with plywood and a layer of old barn siding on top. Is this enough or is there something else we should do? No electricity running to the coop, but we wouldn't mind setting something like that up.

thanks!

 

[elmo]

If you have standard size chickens (not cold sensitive bantam breeds), they should do fine as long as they have shelter from rain and drafts in a well ventilated coop. Chickens are generally far more cold hardy than heat hardy! It's the down coats they come with, I think.

I have very small part Serama bantams that are not a cold hardy breed, but mine did fine last winter even in below freezing temperatures in Dallas. I was worried since it was my first winter keeping chickens, and also because they were so small, so I babied them by bringing them into our attached garage on nights when it got near or below 32 degrees. I even set up a oil filled radiator in the garage to make sure it stayed above freezing.

During the daytime, though, I had them outside in their run. We had several days when it stayed below freezing (in the 20's even) all day, and I was able to observe their behavior. They didn't mind the cold one bit! The only thing that freaked them out was the snow we had for a couple of days. Their run is roofed, so there was no snow in the run, but it was all around them in the yard. They were upset by how different everything in the yard looked.

 

[mangled]

We live in Pennsylvania, and our last 2 winters have been wicked cold. We didn't lose any birds. We had wind chills of -27 last year. Our coop is 3/4 inch OSB, with a shingled roof. We make sure there's enough ventilation, but not any drafts.

I think yours should be okay. If my hens could make it through the cold temps and 31 inches of snow, yours should be okay.

We had to snowblow paths for them last winter. LOL

Em

 

[greyhorsewoman]

Chickens are quite hardy, as long as they have a draft free environment to roost in. What is more important is water. Access to unfrozen water is crucial. In Georgia, I'm sure you won't have a big problem. I am also in Pennsylvania. We don't heat our coop, but have a heater on the waterer during the coldest months. In the barn, we break out the ice in the bucket twice a day and add warm water ... it freezes at some point, but they have access most of the time. We've never lost a chicken to the weather ... even the stupid rooster who stayed out all night and got his head frozen to the ground a couple of winters ago.

 

[ducks4you]

As long as they have:
Shelter from the wind.
and
A place to get out of the wet
they will be happy and healthy.

 

[shellie003]

even the stupid rooster who stayed out all night and got his head frozen to the ground a couple of winters ago.

 

[AlaskGirl]

That's a new one!

 

[cfdf]

Quote:

"draft free enviroment to roast in" HAHAHAHA! Yepper! That's about what my chickens are doing in this 106 Texas heat...roasting....slow roasting!

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:

"draft free enviroment to roast in" HAHAHAHA! Yepper! That's about what my chickens are doing in this 106 Texas heat...roasting....slow roasting!

Now I'm wondering if that was a slip of the tongue or intentional...lol...

 

[greyhorsewoman]

And I am normally so careful to proofread my posts a couple of times ... but roast is what they are doing now, apparently?? Glad I made someone smile.