winterizing ideas

[javelina21]

Hi all,

This is our first winter with our 4 girls & I'm worried about them. We have a 4x4 coop & an 8x8 attached run. They're both mobile. We're in West Michigan (about 3 hours north of Chicago), so we get lots of lake effect snow, but the temps aren't terrible --the average in Jan is 18F. We have very few days below zero. I think we're okay on coop insulation, but I'm not sure on ventilation. So far we've had some moisture show up on the interior windows. If they're going to be warmer than air temp, there's going to be some moisture, but how much is acceptable?

Also, I'd like to cover the run to keep the snow out, but I'm short on ideas. It has a flat top, and as I said we get a lot of snow (usually heavy & wet), so a tarp won't work without collapsing my run from snow weight. Any ideas would be appreciated because I'm stuck!

Thanks.
-Laurie

 

[simplynewt]

Laurie, would it be possible to put a board lengthways on the run to drape the tarp over above your run (sorta like a Vee) where the snow could fall off either side of the run? Or build a stand to mount the board to so the board is above your run 6 to 10" . Just throwing an idea out there for you.

 

[javelina21]

That's a great idea! I was imagining much sturdier (aka heavier) solutions, and since the run is mostly 2x2's with 2x4's at the corners, my ideas would have collapsed it just as fast as the snow.