Wyoming Unite!!!!

[Kalalyn21]

Quote:
Just let me know about a week or two before you want eggs.

 

[furbabymum]

Quote: I want eggs! lol Also, how much?? Also, how do you pay over this site??

 

[insanity]

You really should let us Wyomingites have first dibs when you start selling in the spring.

 

[Kalalyn21]

I will for sure. I'm going to try and get NPIP certified. I'm actually in Idaho by about half a mile so I have been in contact with there AIG office to start the process. So hopefully when I start shipping eggs I will be certified. I have some of my eggs cooking now with some other shipped eggs. Mine will hatch out as whos your daddy for now til I seperate them. My main focus will be my marans. I will have blue black and splash hopefully. All my marans are from local breeders in Idaho. No one really had them in my area and I love the dark eggs. I drove 4.5 hours to get some from one of the breeders. The other gal was about 1.5-2 hours away. Been very happy with them.

 

[KatieJo85]

Laramie!! We have designed our coop and will begin building in the spring. Does anyone have advice about winter insulation? We can't decide if we want to lift the coop to give the ladies shade underneath in the warm months or leave it on the ground. Our property is full sun and no wind breaks.....yet. We are planning on 30-40 hens.

 

[insanity]

Hi,
I built my coop last summer.8x12 fully insulated with electricity, basically just like you would a house. We sacrificed ventilation for insulation (no vents only the door and 1 opening window). In the summer we open both and it is enough. Closed up with a heat lamp it stays above freezing but I have to watch the humidity. We used 6 1/2 ft wood privacy fence with buried wire at the bottom for the run ( about 35x45) it helps alot with the wind and only one flighty bantam can fly over it.The fence also provides some shade throughout the day. It comfortably holds 25-30 birds but could hold a few more.If the weather is nice they go outside more but nobody will step in snow so it gets crowded in bad weather.






The poop boards help alot with mess. I did add an auto door to keep out the feral cats.
I'll try to get some exterior pics when I go feed. Hope this helps.

 

[KatieJo85]

It does help indeed. We will probably put the coop on short posts and store hay bales underneath in the winter for insulation. I want to plant my "orchard" around the coop for shade in coming years and to create the needed wind break. How do you keep their water from freezing?

 

[insanity]

Inside the coop stays above freezing if I run a heat lamp even in the coldest temps. I do have a hanging water bucket with a heater but haven't used it yet.

 

[insanity]

I planted a plum tree in the run but the hens chewed it up pretty fast. I'll try again with protective fencing next time.

 

[furbabymum]

Laramie!! We have designed our coop and will begin building in the spring. Does anyone have advice about winter insulation? We can't decide if we want to lift the coop to give the ladies shade underneath in the warm months or leave it on the ground. Our property is full sun and no wind breaks.....yet. We are planning on 30-40 hens.

I want to see pics!

My birds NEVER leave the coop during the winter. Not once. It's the wind. Even when it's not cold they'd rather not venture out into gale force winds. I do have a barn so space isn't an issue for all my birds. Anyway, the wind is what you need to consider. I've had my birds in the barn a few years and I'm starting to get the hang of this wind/snow thing. The problem with the snow here is that the wind blows it through even the smallest cracks. I've had my entire barn coated in snow. So I put up plastic sheeting on all the "leak" areas. Around the door we don't use, a few cracks between the roof and the walls, that kind of thing. The next concern is how you water your birds when it's freezing. Last year I had a heated dog dish and I watered them that way. It was IN the coop. This was BAD! Even though my barn is super ventilated having the water in there, warmed up, was causing enough humidity to give my birds frost bite. This year I've been dragging water out of the house ever morning for them. Next year I hope to have a closed nipple system set up.

I'd lift the coop if your ladies don't have shade any other way. My birds will venture out morning and night but during the afternoon they are all inside the barn sleeping off the sun.