We've had a couple frosts, tonight we're expected to get our first hard freeze, and I had the day off so it was a good time to get the ladies' home ready for winter.
First, I hauled two Gorilla carts of dirty bedding out of the coop down to the compost area and gave them 4" of fresh shavings (in the permanent coop I'd throw them in the run, but this area will go back to lawn once we've built the new coop so DH doesn't want the heavy layers of shavings piled up there). Every couple weeks I toss in either some more shavings or some pine straw -- cleaning out about every 6-12 weeks depending on the conditions so we should be back to half-decent weather by the time I need to do it again.
Next, I pulled the chick-tight inner fence of plastic garden netting since they're big enough now, at 22 weeks, to not just scoot through the electric netting. (Chipotle, the California White, might be able too, but she just flies over when she wants out).
Next, I morphed the pen to give them access to fresh grass and more winter sunshine.
Finally, I set out some intact straw bales to act as wind baffles. This area can get storms from any direction so I laid them out to provide shelter from any direction.
The only thing I'm lacking is a means of heating water so I'll just have to keep rotating out waterers when we get our few weeks of freezing-during-the-daytime weather.
BTW -- I know that horizontal nipples work with heated water, but do they break if they freeze in an un-heated waterer if one gets left out too long by accident?
First, I hauled two Gorilla carts of dirty bedding out of the coop down to the compost area and gave them 4" of fresh shavings (in the permanent coop I'd throw them in the run, but this area will go back to lawn once we've built the new coop so DH doesn't want the heavy layers of shavings piled up there). Every couple weeks I toss in either some more shavings or some pine straw -- cleaning out about every 6-12 weeks depending on the conditions so we should be back to half-decent weather by the time I need to do it again.
Next, I pulled the chick-tight inner fence of plastic garden netting since they're big enough now, at 22 weeks, to not just scoot through the electric netting. (Chipotle, the California White, might be able too, but she just flies over when she wants out).
Next, I morphed the pen to give them access to fresh grass and more winter sunshine.
Finally, I set out some intact straw bales to act as wind baffles. This area can get storms from any direction so I laid them out to provide shelter from any direction.
The only thing I'm lacking is a means of heating water so I'll just have to keep rotating out waterers when we get our few weeks of freezing-during-the-daytime weather.
BTW -- I know that horizontal nipples work with heated water, but do they break if they freeze in an un-heated waterer if one gets left out too long by accident?
