Worried About the Weather

[Naturegirl155]

There are several comments about water. I work very long hours (gone 13-16 hours a day) and so my water in both the coop with power and the coop without needed an easy solution. We get down to the negatives at times.
For the coop with power I do what someone else suggested with the horizontal nipples. I the

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For the coop without power I have successfully used a heated pet pad down to -8 that I microwave in the morning and put out water to leave out all day (no need at night). In the worst weather at 14 hours it had just a thin layer of ice on top. I put it under the standard white with red base waterer from tractor supply. This coop was for a grow out group.

Lows are not a big issue if they are draft free and dry on the roost and have some dry space to move around in the day.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me great feedback! I'm a teacher at a charter school so my day is longer than most teachers. Usually I'm gone from 6:30 in the morning and don't get home until 7-7:30 so I foresee frozen water as my biggest challenge too.

We heat our home with pellets and we end up with 3-4 empty pallets in the spring. So far I've made 2 pallet bars on the patio, a pallet garden, a pallet composter, and - most recently - an A-frame style shelter for the chicken feed bucket.

 

[aart]

Grabbing the wire and "boinging" the snow off was probably not a good idea either!
Thanks for suggesting the leaf blower! I never thought to use it for snow before but on mornings like today where the snow is dry and fluffy, it seems like a no-brainer!

But if when it ices, then you get 12" of wet snow overnight(BTDT), better have something ready to prop it up.
Some thin plywood(luan subflooring) and tarp over the coop portion of the run,
and some pavers under the 'rafters' for 2x2x8 for supports might save you a world of hurt.

 

[aart]

Should thread into the same holes, unscrew the cups - screw in the HN's.
I use foil bubble wrap, covered with a feed bag (they like to pop bubble wrap too!) for insulation.

I should have thought of bubble wrap! I just finished an engineering challenge with 3rd graders where they were testing thermal insulators and bubble wrap is one of the materials I provide.

Wanted to explain further the feed bag, it's just part of one cut out to cover the bubble wrap. Will get some pics later.

 

[Naturegirl155]

I’ve seen some pallet coops on here. If I find anything, I will pass it on.
I’ve had my coop since October. It’s not doing too bad. But, I made sure the coop/run was secure with extra hardware cloth and landscaping stones that we had just lying around.
We’ve had some good winds and it is still standing. I reinforced the latches with eye hooks and carabiners - or added it in addition to the latches.
I also gave it a good coat of Thompson’s water seal. I think that has really helped. With the snow, I can see where it blows in when the vent window is open and it’s coming from just the right direction. Grrr... I will remedy that - hoping this weekend. But, so far it’s doing what it was meant to do. We built a cattle panel run around it covered with welded wire after my in-laws dogs were able to get to the chickens with small run extension made of lattice that I didn’t reinforce at first.
We are planning on adding something to the top of the cattle panels so that they are safe from birds of prey. But, the chickens are only allowed out in that when I’m out there and confined to their coop/run set up when I’m not.
I added plastic around the part of the run that is under the coop - then added a tarp to the lattice extension so that they have areas that are dry and can still utilize when it’s snowing.
They seem secure enough, but you just never know with all of the stories I read here.

Thanks so much for taking the time to offer advice! I will DEFINITELY waterseal in the spring if it isn't too late.

Before we had chickens, I spent a lot of time watching the wildlife in our yard and loved checking the trail cam to see what was visiting when we were sleeping (or the dogs randomly barked in the middle of the night). Along with the usual raccoons and skunks and deer we expected to see, we also have fox, coyote, and a 300+ pound black bear who eats my neighbors bird seed and uses my yard as an outhouse!

I know our fence isn't foolproof for anything really determined to get in and I'm semi-prepared to deal with that. I'm hoping the biggest deterrent I have are my dogs who peacefully co-exist and share (and scent mark) fenced in yard space with the chickens.

My pitbull is especially protective of her "babies" and doesn't even let my Coonhound steal food from their feed bucket. Both dogs have been with the chickens since they hatched. Here's a pic of my roo in simpler times! Lol

 

[Naturegirl155]

But if when it ices, then you get 12" of wet snow overnight(BTDT), better have something ready to prop it up.
Some thin plywood(luan subflooring) and tarp over the coop portion of the run,
and some pavers under the 'rafters' for 2x2x8 for supports might save you a world of hurt.

Good call! New England can be unpredictable and if I prepare for the worst, we'll have another rainy warm winter but if I don't prepare, I'll be up to my eyeballs in snow damage.

I do have a few 8 foot landscape boards in the garage that can be used as mid supports. When I was designing the run, I was trying to balance cost, size, and strength. I initially wanted to go 16ft wide with posts running down the middle of the coop supporting the 2x4s on top but my post hole digger(aka my husband lol) vetoed that design and we compromised at 12 feet with no support and landscape posts on deck in the garage just in case.

The only thing that kept me from using plywood over the coop section was a desire to keep as much natural light streaming in to warm the coop as possible ... but if we get snow dumped, the sun's not going to shine through snow blanketed plastic!

You have been so helpful in assisting me in thinking through all of my options. I love figuring stuff out and part of being an elementary school science teacher is teaching kids how to learn from their mistakes (like I often do), but I also try to teach by example the importance of collaboration and I don't want to make a costly mistake with the lives and health of my little flock!

I started following you as I'm sure you have already answered questions for others on BYC that I will no doubt have as well!

 

[daxigait]

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me great feedback! I'm a teacher at a charter school so my day is longer than most teachers. Usually I'm gone from 6:30 in the morning and don't get home until 7-7:30 so I foresee frozen water as my biggest challenge too.

We heat our home with pellets and we end up with 3-4 empty pallets in the spring. So far I've made 2 pallet bars on the patio, a pallet garden, a pallet composter, and - most recently - an A-frame style shelter for the chicken feed bucket.

Sounds great. I get old ones from the industrial park. My favorite project with pallets and reclaimed wood is my goat toy/jungle gym. The adults lay over and under depending on the weather, but the kids run up and down and jump around. Better on this than my coops.
Sally and Fire have posted pictures on the Incubating with friends thread, and they may be linked from the notes section on the first page.
Here is the goat toy though it is off topic. It may be an idea to put three or four pallets together like it for a temporary fix to get through the winter. If you build with screws it will be easy to tear down later.

 

[daxigait]

Good call! New England can be unpredictable and if I prepare for the worst, we'll have another rainy warm winter but if I don't prepare, I'll be up to my eyeballs in snow damage.

I do have a few 8 foot landscape boards in the garage that can be used as mid supports. When I was designing the run, I was trying to balance cost, size, and strength. I initially wanted to go 16ft wide with posts running down the middle of the coop supporting the 2x4s on top but my post hole digger(aka my husband lol) vetoed that design and we compromised at 12 feet with no support and landscape posts on deck in the garage just in case.

The only thing that kept me from using plywood over the coop section was a desire to keep as much natural light streaming in to warm the coop as possible ... but if we get snow dumped, the sun's not going to shine through snow blanketed plastic!

You have been so helpful in assisting me in thinking through all of my options. I love figuring stuff out and part of being an elementary school science teacher is teaching kids how to learn from their mistakes (like I often do), but I also try to teach by example the importance of collaboration and I don't want to make a costly mistake with the lives and health of my little flock!

I started following you as I'm sure you have already answered questions for others on BYC that I will no doubt have as well!

What about that semi transparent plastic they use for green house type sheds. It is like a plastic version of barn tin?
Corrugated polycarbonate roofing panels I think.

 

[tigger19687]

@Naturegirl155 If your Hubby is handy have him MAKE a new coop. The ones on line are cheap.
Or you can do what I did. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-resin-plastic-coop-construction-thread.1198632/

older carport frame that I COULD put a tarp over but only did a small section.
Coop is a Rubbermaid 7x7 shed. Went up easy. Click the link and you can see my whole process on making it.
I rent so this is a temp for the next 2 years

 

[aart]

Wanted to explain further the feed bag, it's just part of one cut out to cover the bubble wrap. Will get some pics later.

Here's the waterer.

....and the 2x2 run roof prop, there's notch cut in end so it doesn't slide off.
This one stays up all winter in a weak spot, I have others if we are expecting a heavy overnight snowfall.

 

[NY Chicky]

That looks nice! I wrap my chicken yard/run with 20 guage clear vinyl - it works great! The top has a roof already and there is open areas around the perimeter at the top so plenty of fresh air. It cuts the wind down, and not too much snow gets in so the girls are pretty happy in there. I have water in the coop on a heated base plus I bring out warm water every morning for out in the run...