Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[kokosmom2]

Winter question:
I'm not having a outdoor run with my new coop. The area the chickens will be in is about 41 feet by 30 feet...the coop will be sitting in there. Should I build some kind of run in that area for winter and cover it with plastic so they get outside? I thought I could just let them outside in the snow/cold, but after watching some youtube videos this morning, now I'm not sure. Or are they smart enough to stay inside in the snow/cold even if I open the door?

 

[jvls1942]

chickens prefer to stay in during the winter.
if you condition them, they will go out in just about any weather.
I wouldn't worry about covering a run for them.
that just creates more work for you.
you have to keep the snow from caving in the roof.
I don't know what utube you watched.
but sometimes too much information is not good..
try to be practical. don't get too emotional about chickens..
treat them humanely , and don't pamper them

.......jiminwisc.....

 

[CherMoz]

Koko - My chickens love to go outside in the winter. They have a "sun room" just a highly mulched area that is covered with woven green house plastic. It warms up nicely in there on even the coldest sunny winter day. It gives them more space and I don't have to shovel a spot for them.

 

[kokosmom2]

chickens prefer to stay in during the winter.
if you condition them, they will go out in just about any weather.
I wouldn't worry about covering a run for them.
that just creates more work for you.
you have to keep the snow from caving in the roof.
I don't know what utube you watched.
but sometimes too much information is not good..
try to be practical. don't get too emotional about chickens..
treat them humanely , and don't pamper them

.......jiminwisc.....

Some guy in Central WI was the youtube. He covered his run in plastic because it was -15 outside with a lot of snow. I'll shovel an area for them outside if I need to, just like I do for the dogs to potty. I'm not real emotional about the chickens...they don't even have names...they are there to lay me eggs

 

[bigzio]

Yep, I agree that you can switch to layer after 16 weeks. I have a small bread tin tacked to the side of the coop for my oyster shell. High enough like Jim said to keep them for scratching bedding into it.
Yep, you need either shavings or straw in the nest boxes, so the eggs have a soft landing and others can lay in the same nest without breaking eggs. Occasionally one gets broke, then you need to remove it and the soiled bedding and replace with some fresh stuff. I prefer nests at least 18"X 18"....but many others get by with smaller ones.
Dang Jim, pomps will eat up way more than $100 to fix the tire. Hope you can manage to find enough help and save some bucks.
I posted this prolly 3 pages back...I see it was $388 now.
bigz

 

[jvls1942]

yep, $368.oo included labor, new tube, new rim.
I put the old rim on C L Wausau for $30.oo.

sold 6 chickens this morning. have 4 inquiries for the rest.

as always:
1st come 1st served.

 

[kokosmom2]

As I read my last post, I certainly didn't make myself very clear. I won't have a run directly attached to my coop. The coop is just going to sit in the fenced in area. I don't know yet if I'm going to cover the area with bird netting. The fence is 4 foot high field fencing and then I'm going to bury and put in hardware cloth on the inside of the field fencing. There is a lot of weeds, flowers and crap in that area along with one stump. I'll have a gate to enter the area so I can get to the coop.
Truthfully, I don't know if this is going to work. Are the birds going to fly over the 4ft fence? I've been told that if they have enough food/water/greens/etc to eat, they won't fly over but until they mature more, I'm not so sure.

 

[jvls1942]

kokomo, all the food in the world won't keep a chicken from testing a fence.
I had a 4 ft fenced in area , about 100ft x 100ft.
. the chickens roosted on the fence.
some facing out, some facing in. in the morning they all took off in the direction they were facing.

I fed and watered inside the fence. so all I had to do was open the gate and the outies went in.

you have to stop getting your information from some of those other forums. too many of those people are newbies giving out wrong information.

.

 

[kokosmom2]

so I'm going to need to cover the top with bird netting unless I clip their wings I guess. I don't want the chickens to get out...my female dog will kill them. I so wanted to let them free-range the entire yard..I have 1.1 acre....but that isn't going to happen now because of the dog.

 

[jvls1942]

train the dog .