What to do to winterize:
If the wind is blocked, they can be tempted to go outside.
Going outside is good for them, and will actually help them stay healthy.
Sometimes they are picky about having to walk on snow, but you can try to keep the snow out of the run, or toss dried grass clippings, straw, leaves, whatever, on top of the snow.
I like to toss whatever they like the best, out in the snow to tempt them out.
If you lock them in completely, and don't let them, or don't talk them into going outside, you can have the following problems:
1. They will start to eat each other or peck at each other (very difficult to stop once they start)
2. The amount of poop in the coop will greatly increase since they are spending all of their time in there
3. The humidity in the coop will greatly increase simply from the moisture in their breathe
4. If you add a heat lamp to the mix, the increased temperature might unfreeze their poop and lead to higher humidity and high ammonia in the air
5. If they don't leave the coop, you are forced to give them their water in the coop, which increases the humidity even more
Do you see how giving them supplemental heat can often increase health problems? Several people have posted saying that they had chickens come down with respiratory problems when they used heat lamps, but the same people had no illness without heat lamps.
Also, the humidity issue....it is high humidity that GREATLY increases frost bite risk, NOT the cold by itself.
I put my water outside, in a spot that is covered, so that area stays mostly snow free.
All you need to winterize is
1. BLOCK the wind! If you completely block three sides, and keep the forth side completely open, that works well, since then there are no drafts at all, but there is still lots of ventilation and reduction in humidity levels.
2. Block as much snow as you can (or have lots of bags of leaves, grass clippings, hay, etc on hand to toss on top of the snow)
3. Make sure the perches are at least 4 inches wide where they perch (OK, I use 4x4s and 2x4s with the wide side for the perch, and we all know dimensional lumber isn't a full four inches, but close)
4. Remember that they will eat lots more than they did in the winter, so make sure they don't run out of food
5. Make sure they have lots of space, and if they don't have enough space, try to toss them scratch or scraps two or three times a day, as an activity to fight off the temptation to eat eggs or each other.
As to that last point, mstk, it looks like your coop is next to your greenhouse. Is there some way to let your chickens have a tunnel or some such to go from their coop to the greenhouse? Or, could you pick up the entire coop and move it into the greenhouse?
My coop is connected to my greenhouse, and the chickens get access in the non-growing season. I have the greenhouse connected by a very drafty/ lots of wire walls, but covered thing (I call it a shed) that then connects to my coop. The shed has lots of venting, and my greenhouse isn't tight either, so it works well, and no high humidity or frostbite. I think also, since there is a large open pop door between the shed and the coop, that helps too. I just mention all of that, because if you were to put the coop in the greenhouse, you might have humidity issues, if your greenhouse is tightly built. You could always take off one door at the end of the greenhouse, and replace it with an open wire one, for your ventilation.
Schoenherr.....that size coop might be OK, depending on the personality of your hens...but it is pushing it size wise. I would figure out some way to get them to use the run in the winter. I have had chickens start to eat each other in the past, when I had more chickens as well as less space, and once they started, i was not able to get them to ever stop.
I am not sure how much snow you get, I get oodles
If you need suggestions on how to set up the run, just ask.
If the wind is blocked, they can be tempted to go outside.
Going outside is good for them, and will actually help them stay healthy.
Sometimes they are picky about having to walk on snow, but you can try to keep the snow out of the run, or toss dried grass clippings, straw, leaves, whatever, on top of the snow.
I like to toss whatever they like the best, out in the snow to tempt them out.
If you lock them in completely, and don't let them, or don't talk them into going outside, you can have the following problems:
1. They will start to eat each other or peck at each other (very difficult to stop once they start)
2. The amount of poop in the coop will greatly increase since they are spending all of their time in there
3. The humidity in the coop will greatly increase simply from the moisture in their breathe
4. If you add a heat lamp to the mix, the increased temperature might unfreeze their poop and lead to higher humidity and high ammonia in the air
5. If they don't leave the coop, you are forced to give them their water in the coop, which increases the humidity even more
Do you see how giving them supplemental heat can often increase health problems? Several people have posted saying that they had chickens come down with respiratory problems when they used heat lamps, but the same people had no illness without heat lamps.
Also, the humidity issue....it is high humidity that GREATLY increases frost bite risk, NOT the cold by itself.
I put my water outside, in a spot that is covered, so that area stays mostly snow free.
All you need to winterize is
1. BLOCK the wind! If you completely block three sides, and keep the forth side completely open, that works well, since then there are no drafts at all, but there is still lots of ventilation and reduction in humidity levels.
2. Block as much snow as you can (or have lots of bags of leaves, grass clippings, hay, etc on hand to toss on top of the snow)
3. Make sure the perches are at least 4 inches wide where they perch (OK, I use 4x4s and 2x4s with the wide side for the perch, and we all know dimensional lumber isn't a full four inches, but close)
4. Remember that they will eat lots more than they did in the winter, so make sure they don't run out of food
5. Make sure they have lots of space, and if they don't have enough space, try to toss them scratch or scraps two or three times a day, as an activity to fight off the temptation to eat eggs or each other.
As to that last point, mstk, it looks like your coop is next to your greenhouse. Is there some way to let your chickens have a tunnel or some such to go from their coop to the greenhouse? Or, could you pick up the entire coop and move it into the greenhouse?
My coop is connected to my greenhouse, and the chickens get access in the non-growing season. I have the greenhouse connected by a very drafty/ lots of wire walls, but covered thing (I call it a shed) that then connects to my coop. The shed has lots of venting, and my greenhouse isn't tight either, so it works well, and no high humidity or frostbite. I think also, since there is a large open pop door between the shed and the coop, that helps too. I just mention all of that, because if you were to put the coop in the greenhouse, you might have humidity issues, if your greenhouse is tightly built. You could always take off one door at the end of the greenhouse, and replace it with an open wire one, for your ventilation.
Schoenherr.....that size coop might be OK, depending on the personality of your hens...but it is pushing it size wise. I would figure out some way to get them to use the run in the winter. I have had chickens start to eat each other in the past, when I had more chickens as well as less space, and once they started, i was not able to get them to ever stop.
I am not sure how much snow you get, I get oodles
If you need suggestions on how to set up the run, just ask.
