"winterizing?!" Please help ASAP!!!

[equinehugger3]

I live in northern Wisconsin, so it can get pretty cold! I was wondering what I need to do to my coop to keep my Blue Cochin and Jersey Black warm this winter... Yeah. I'm looking into buying about 3-5 more chickens, so I'll probably have more than just my two before winter starts...

THANK YOU!!!

BTW I added pictures down there on the fourth post... Thanks!

 

[Luckytaz]

Can you tell us something about your coop? So we know what your dealing with.

 

[LadyinRed]

Pictures help also if you've a camera! At least when it comes to figuring out stuff!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

For my coop, I close the summer ventilation and only leave the winter ventilation open, once it gets cold. My coop is very open in the summertime. We also plug in a heater for the water, when the freezing temperatures hit. The run is covered, so I don't have to shovel the snow out of the run unless it's a badly blowing storm. We already added supplemental lighting, as the days got shorter. Not everyone does that.

 

[equinehugger3]

Quote:
My coop is pretty small, like a 3-6 hen coop. Sorry I shoulda posted pictures on here before. It's actually a little bigger than it looks in this picture... and also it's cleaner, this was before I knew what to do to make it better. Now I have pine shavings in there.

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[WoodlandWoman]

With only a couple of chickens, you could always use a heated dog water bowl in the winter.

 

[equinehugger3]

Quote:
Thanks!

 

[True Grit]

It looks like you have about 2x4 so 8 sq ft? That is about right for 2 chickens. If you put some bales around the coop and run this winter maybe you can get a 3rd chicken and feed them outside in the run. That's what I'm planning to do. Make sure you have adequate ventilation up high and seal any holes up. I have a heat lamp that has a ceramic heat emitting bulb in it but a lot of folks say you don't need supplemental heat.

 

[equinehugger3]

Quote:
Okay, thanks! They spend most of their day outside in the garden and stuff, so it's gonna be a bummer for them when it snows. They were hatched in March, and they went outside first when they were maybe a month or two old, when it was really nice out, so they've been getting their first cold weather lately. Thank you!

 

[PetRock]

Is your roost a 2 x 4? And is it placed so your chickens roost on the 4 in. side? That's important so they can cuddle down over their feet to keep them warm.