Winterizing Run

[SubArcticFowl]

This is a very timely post. I have already started my prep by setting up a heated water dish in the run and hanging Christmas lights in there. In two weeks I'll be wrapping the outside of the run in 6-mil poly.

I am a little unsure about how to manage the pop door. My run is very secure and I currently leave the pop door between the coop and run open 24/7, but I'm a little worried that might be too drafty come cold weather. I could either open it before I leave for work or get an automatic door. I do want to keep the food and water in the run to cut down on moisture in the coop, but 7AM is still pretty darn cold and dark for the chickens.

 

[Alaskan]

This is a very timely post. I have already started my prep by setting up a heated water dish in the run and hanging Christmas lights in there. In two weeks I'll be wrapping the outside of the run in 6-mil poly.

I am a little unsure about how to manage the pop door. My run is very secure and I currently leave the pop door between the coop and run open 24/7, but I'm a little worried that might be too drafty come cold weather. I could either open it before I leave for work or get an automatic door. I do want to keep the food and water in the run to cut down on moisture in the coop, but 7AM is still pretty darn cold and dark for the chickens.

If your run is secure then there is no reason why you shouldn't keep the pop door open.

Especially if you are going to make the run sheltered.

Ventilation is important.

 

[Sally PB]

I did have clear plastic along the east side and south to keep the snow out.
The ladies were good as long as there is no snow or big winds in the run.

Mine came out every day too, except when we had a very bitter cold spell with single digit highs. The tarps on the roof and the shower curtains on the west side kept almost all the snow out.

I made them a snowman. They ate the eyes and mouth (sunflower seeds) and pecked at the body until it collapsed.

 

[aart]

I’m wondering what ways some of yall winterize your run.

I don't.

 

[CKfarm22]

I don't.

Do you still let your chickens out?

 

[CKfarm22]

This is a very timely post. I have already started my prep by setting up a heated water dish in the run and hanging Christmas lights in there. In two weeks I'll be wrapping the outside of the run in 6-mil poly.

I am a little unsure about how to manage the pop door. My run is very secure and I currently leave the pop door between the coop and run open 24/7, but I'm a little worried that might be too drafty come cold weather. I could either open it before I leave for work or get an automatic door. I do want to keep the food and water in the run to cut down on moisture in the coop, but 7AM is still pretty darn cold and dark for the chickens.

I close the pop door at night and open it in the morning. But they have two windows and a ventilation thing we got at home depot that allows ventilation all the time

 

[aart]

Do you still let your chickens out?

Yep.
Unless there is a storm raging or it's very, very cold, usually I let them decide.
There is a small(4x8') protected area under the coop they often hang out in.
My coop is big enough, and I keep the population small enough, they can stay inside for days without any crowding issues.

 

[suburbanfarmermi]

Believe me, DL KNOWS how to do this kind of thing! Her run is awesome, and her building skills are prodigious. (If I lived near her, I'd beg and grovel to be her apprentice.)

I'm in Michigan too. Here's a picture of my run from last winter. You're looking at the west side, and it's covered with shower curtains. They wrap around the NW and SW corners about 3'. I used zip ties through the shower curtain grommets, and laid the excess length on the ground. I covered that with leaves to hold it down; eventually the snow held it down too. The shower curtains held up well enough that I can use them this year too.

The black tarp on the roof is the black/silver heaviest duty tarp TSC had, tied with zip ties. (I secure a lot of stuff with zip ties.)

Behind the run is my garage, to the right of the run is the coop. So the east side was in the lee of the garage, the south side had about 3' open past the coop. The west side was covered, the north side was mostly open, but there are some trees in that direction to act as some wind break.

I had heated water in the run, but no supplemental heat in the coop. I did put some Christmas lights in the run, but only had them on during daylight hours. It was pretty dark in there; I hope using clear roofing will make it less so this winter.

Thank you for your advice... Very helpful

 

[Sally PB]

But they have two windows and a ventilation thing we got at home depot that allows ventilation all the time

Ventilation all the time is critical. Even in the winter. There has to be a way for their warm, moist breath to escape without the moisture condensing on anything -- like their combs and wattles, which can lead to frostbite.

 

[CKfarm22]

Ventilation all the time is critical. Even in the winter. There has to be a way for their warm, moist breath to escape without the moisture condensing on anything -- like their combs and wattles, which can lead to frostbite.

It’s small so it’s not that much ventilation