Wrong way to winterize a run...

[Jenni Hen]

Would love to see the images...

I'm struggling with the images. The one I uploaded has been trimmed at the top. I might need to take some more pics tomorrow (it's bedtime here in England)

 

[Folly's place]

If you do want to cover your run for winter, the structure will need to be beefed up to carry the snow load. Or be out there at 2am during a blizzard sweeping it off!
Mary

 

[Chicken mob]

I want to know if there is anything a person can do, or has done that one could consider a BAD THING when winterizing a run.
I feel comfortable with how I have handled my coop. I think it will do fine this winter.
But I have seen so many different approaches to a RUN.
I have seen some do NOTHING and other people wrap it up so tight it becomes a mini-greenhouse!
I want to know more about BAD IDEAS when attempting to make the run a little nicer for the winter months.
My plan was to completely wrap half my run with plastic including the sand box under the coop, leaving the other 6 x 18 completely open.
I plan to leave openings for the chickens to pass between the covered portion and the uncovered.
The image below is an approximation of the wrapping I was planning.
Is there anything wrong with doing this? Is there anything in which I should be mindful?

Just do what feels right for you and your girls! Remember that you do need some ventilation in your coop! Good luck!!

 

[Badchickenpun]

I'd agree with WIchick Mama about aiming for the least amount of driving wind. My big mistake was that I put panels on the sides of the run but not the ends. The usual driving wind tunnelled down the middle of the run! Brrrrrr! The photo shows the stone barn (not ours) and the wind funnels up the valley and whips round the barn, so it's surprisingly draughty just there and having only side panels actually made it worse.

So I had to put panels on the ends as well. On the front, the lee side, I put extra holes and string so I could remove them, or open and close them like windows. This was handy as the weather varied a lot and the greenhouse effect was quite powerful on sunny days.

The main panels were PVC roofing sheets, the next ones were offcuts from PVC roofing, the next batch I cut from plywood & wrapped in a plastic bags, and the last ones were just used plastic sacks sewn or stuffed into place.

The roof panels are on a frame that sits just above the walls so there's an air gap. The roof panels overhang by a few inches but I've curved them down to stop anything driving in yet without reducing actual ventilation. I made them curve down by using string and pieces of wood on the side and just baler band tied tight around the overhang at the front.
The mistake I've made with the roof is that the slope isn't steep enough lengthways so some water doesn't run off. And when I wrapped it up for winter, I ended up attaching the roof to the sides so I could no longer lift one end to get rid of the water.
The main mistake I've made with the roof on the little extension (not on the photo) is that the material isn't rigid enough and water puddles in the middle. But also, the overhang isn't big enough and when I try to get rid of the water it showers into the run.

Would love to see the images...