YO GEORGIANS! :)

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It's not so much the cold but the fact of the temperature being almost 60°F yesterday and will get down to 8°F tonight. Too sudden of a drop. I don't know about the rest of you in GA but we have an open air roost and run with a laying house attached on the opposite end (north end). The laying house has four walls but the roost is open on the front side. It's quite nice for them normally. Not sure about tonight. It does have protection from wind and sun on the top of the run as well with tarps. There are large bushes blocking one side of the middle run (they also get to free range in the yard) and we are putting some plastic on the other side today. My DH is also going to hang a heater and a heat lamp in there for today and tonight to hopefully take off some of the chill. Going from warm to a total freeze for a few days is not fun for anyone.
 
@Viollettt sounds a lot like my set up. I have 3 runs, each with a different kind of shelter. I used materials I already had, plus whatever I could get for free. My largest one was basically a s sided lean to. Several weeks ago, I tacked up a piece of plywood to cover the 4th side for winter, to protect them from wind.

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Forgot to share my preparations for the cold last night! We started off layering the coops with an extra foot of shavings and extra shavings in the run where the ducks are in order to prevent frostbite on their feet. My father (the handyman of the family who can make or fix just about anything!) made some heaters for the waterers that attach to the lids. We also added extra light in the coop in order to add some warmth. Haven't checked on the girls yet, well go to the farm later this morning, but I'm thinking they should be fine. I'm already planning for their herb garden this spring!
 
GAFarmGirl87 said:
@Viollettt sounds a lot like my set up. I have 3 runs, each with a different kind of shelter. I used materials I already had, plus whatever I could get for free. My largest one was basically a s sided lean to. Several weeks ago, I tacked up a piece of plywood to cover the 4th side for winter, to protect them from wind.

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I've also got three different runs but I don't use two of them in the winter so far as I've gotten all my birds together for the winter. They are basically broody pens and grow out pens. My DH and I both went out this morning and put up more plastic and also put a little heater in the roost area for tonight. We have it on now so the chickens will get used to it today. Then he also put a heat lamp for in the daytime to shine down on them in the run. It will at least raise the temperature a bit for tonight. As I said before it's not so much them dealing with the cold but the suddenness of the drop (over 50°F) in temperature. As it does here in middle GA. They've never had it this cold before in the two and a half years I've had them. They still appear more lively and happier than I've seen them in the summer around here. Especially that summer with the 108°F for a few weeks. They seemed to suffer much more from that heat. I'm from up north and my DH is from FL so we differ on what is hot and cold.

We also made our pens from scraps, leftovers, side of the road discounts. :) Recycling at it's best. Love it.
 
Yeah same here. I went outside this morning to feed everyone, and the winds killed my ears almost right away! I came back inside and actually got a headache from my ears trying to warm back up.
 

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