# Winter has come



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

Well we are experiencing the first snow of the season here in the high country of Colorado. 
Curious what winter preps people do, I know I am no where near ready. Is have to put plastic on the windows, clean the stove pipe, drain my pond, move my coop.. Gotta love fall season. When you work til you fall...


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## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

I am not ready for winter yet. I know its just around the corner but I keep putting everything off. We need to plastic the outside, insulate the pump house, get a heat lamp ready and mounted in the pump house, get a couple bales of straw for the coop, tune up the snow blower, and clean out our "red" shed so all the bikes, mini bike, lawn mowers ect will fit till Spring.


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## kahiltna_flock (Sep 20, 2012)

Winter showed up here this morning. Snow is falling and sticking. I was still harvesting the rest of my garden this weekend. Hoses are still out and need to be drained....wasn't ready for this one. Most if the leaves on the trees are still green. So much for fall


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## kessy09 (Jun 16, 2013)

We have to put a layer of hay over our septic field, get our propane tank filled up, get hay bales for around the greenhouse, take the mower off the tractor and put the blower on, clean out the garage so both vehicles will fit in there again. I want to get command start for our minivan...get the last of the pumpkins and potatoes out of the garden, deep clean the house. There is just too much. We go from fall temps 10-15 degrees Celsius to -35 Celsius usually within a few weeks. They're calling for an early winter this year too.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

early and moist.. Lots of snow in the air.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

This is the time I close one flap on my open air coop and leave one flap open. As each week gets colder, I add more weather protection to the coop and slowly move things in place to where things will be for the winter. Heated water, heated fermented feed, chicken sun porch on the southern side of the coop, etc. 

Leaves starting to fall here and I hope to store a good bunch for winter bedding and also rake a good deal of them into the coop....don't want to waste any leaves! Since we are getting a feeling that this winter will have lots of snow, I'll be adding some dusting areas this year for long term coop time when the snows are too deep.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

I still need to move my coop to the other side if the run so that the windows catch better sun light. I will be stacking hay bales on the windy side to create a slight windbreak. 
I need to mulch and cover the garden, and the list goes on and on .. Haha, soon we will be in the white stuff..


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

Alright. So I have started to bag and store forest litter( leafs, needles, bugs and stuff) hoping to get a good stock for winter. 
I will be moving the coop from the shady part of the run to the sunny side, wrapping the whole thing in house wrap, then adding 2 register cents a foot off the floor on either end. 
I plan on using some heavy plastic to make a windbreak on the west and half the south facing sides, and making a roof over a section of the run to insure less snow near the pop hole. 
I will be replacing the open air windows with some cheap used ones from craigslist, they will be able to open and close as needed, something my old windows would not do. 
I have opted out of the heat, however I will still be lighting to coop as well as heating the waterer and the feed trough. 
I am not willing to spend a lot on a heated waterer. Will cheap heat tape for pipes by good enough?


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Probably not at the temps you get.

Be careful about buckling down too tightly on the coop with plastic...be prepared to really watch moisture retention in the coop when using plastic. Unlike wood, plastic doesn't allow any airflow at all...I found that out last year, my first winter with a hoop coop.

I battened it down with plastic all over...looked like a plastic bubble. Soon found condensation dripping off the ceiling and my litter was holding dampness and cold from that level of humidity. I found I had to open that coop up greatly, more than I even thought would be needed due to the use of plastic to block wind instead of being in a traditional wooden coop.

This year, I expect a worse winter but I'm not using near as much plastic protection on this coop. Cold is not near as bad as wet and cold, so remember to control humidity more than you control cold in harsh climates.

Here's a pic of my "bubble wrapped" coop...which was changed later when the snows started and moisture started to collect inside this plastic. I wound up removing all the plastic off the front of this coop except the plastic on the door and also opened up some of the areas in the back that had plastic on them also. I moved these plastic wrapped hay bales away from the base of the coop to let air flow in once again and everything righted itself after making these changes.


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## Bluerooster (Jan 19, 2013)

powderhogg01 said:


> Well we are experiencing the first snow of the season here in the high country of Colorado.
> Curious what winter preps people do, I know I am no where near ready. Is have to put plastic on the windows, clean the stove pipe, drain my pond, move my coop.. Gotta love fall season. When you work til you fall...


  Where 'bouts in CO are you?
I've got a spot in Jasper, and I haven't been out to winterize it yet. 
I hope my BIL did it last time he was there.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

I am in central co. CC county


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

As i live in the deep South. My winter prep is a little easier. I tacked up some plastic on two side of the coop. i will as time goes on tack some plastic on the front and maybe use a heat lamp for the coldest nights. Beyond that I will lay down a little heavier straw on the floor of the coop. To keep the frost off of the hens feet.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

You use a heat lamp and you live down south?  You prep more for winter than I do and I live in the mountains of WV.


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## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

Glad I live near Galveston, tx. My winter prep, I took away the fans, misters, "chicken pools".


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## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

This weather has been nuts lately. It should have snowed at least once by now and we're still mid 70's. So needless to say I have yet to get my butt in gear for winterizing. Oh I did get my 40 watt light out there to get the ladies laying again. Next weekend I plan to get a couple bags of wood chips and completely clean out the inside of the coop. I will also get the plastic to run around the coop. Boy I can't wait till I build a new one next spring.


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

Bee said:


> You use a heat lamp and you live down south?  You prep more for winter than I do and I live in the mountains of WV.


Actually we do get a lot of ice and some snow. The temp can drop to to the low 30's at night in the winter. So while the heat lamp might be over kill.. the plastic and the extra straw on the floor is a necessity. To keep both the wind and rain/ice out. Next year I will be looking forward to building a different coop.

This one is my first one so it is not exactly what I would call the best.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

Low 30 is warm where I am. Were talkin never passing the single digits


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Yep...low 30s is spring weather here. That's when the lawn starts greening up and flowers start to bud. We had a very mild winter last year, with very little temps below freezing and it messed up the whole growing season, the bugs, everything. 

We are hoping for a good, old-fashioned winter this year..snow, cold, ice, etc. Laying in the firewood, stocking up on stored water, canning up soup stock, storing up chicken and dog feed...I have a feeling we are going to have a doozy.... and I'll be sitting by the fire reading a book. Life is good.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

This is winter folks. May your preps and hard work pay off. I expect a doosey of a winter folks, Batton the hatches and get out those winter projects. Time to stoke the fire and relax


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## bcfox26 (Jul 11, 2013)

I've done nothing to winterize here in Texas. Do I need to do anything? I thought about a heat lamp but seems like the majority say not to?


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I wouldn't worry too much in TX. Your enemy will be the wind and if the coop blocks out most of the wind, you are golden. No heat lamps..never necessary, even in much colder climates.


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## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

bcfox26 said:


> I've done nothing to winterize here in Texas. Do I need to do anything? I thought about a heat lamp but seems like the majority say not to?


unless you are up in the panhandle, I say nooooooo. Just think of those chickens in Alaska, no heat lamps, and they are fine. Even the week long really cold we get should be ok. You know, when it doesn't get above 50.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

To be honest my flock is more active on cold days then warm ones. And it's not been above 45 since Friday here. 
Man I gotta get down to Texas this winter, do some pig and coyote hunting.


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## bcfox26 (Jul 11, 2013)

Jim said:


> unless you are up in the panhandle, I say nooooooo. Just think of those chickens in Alaska, no heat lamps, and they are fine. Even the week long really cold we get should be ok. You know, when it doesn't get above 50.


Kind of in the panhandle but not. Ha. Basically in between what people refer to the panhandle and west Texas. Technically people call Lubbock west Texas but i think of west Texas as other areas. Lol


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## bcfox26 (Jul 11, 2013)

And yesterday and today were our first days that we weren't in the 70s. I walked out to take care of the chickens and had to put a little jacket on. Yep I'd freeze in other places. Ha


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## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

bcfox26 said:


> And yesterday and today were our first days that we weren't in the 70s. I walked out to take care of the chickens and had to put a little jacket on. Yep I'd freeze in other places. Ha


lol, that is like me. When I have to put on shoes, socks and a t-shirt with short sleeves, rather than flip flops and sleeveless shirt, it is a cold day! And, when I have to pull out my jacket or coat, it is tooooooo cold to really be outside, nothing that can't wait a few hours to a day...


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

I have added in a hay bale wind break around the west and north walls. I will also be adding a roof over this section of the run. One thing I was surprised with was the deep litter did not hold snow, so where the DL is going strong the snow had melted off right at sun up.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Think the composting of the materials makes it a bit warmer? I'm thinking it probably does.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I did some initial winterization today, leaving more open areas of good ventilation than last year. I'm still learning how to control ventilation in this hoop coop but I'll get there.

The first pic is my southwestern wall that gets a lot of sun in the winter, so I create a sun porch there and I also feed on that side to keep the FF warmer.










The front door and a right side window that protects one of the roosting areas...left more space at the top of the door this year for up flow ventilation.










Wing windows in the back next to the nest boxes can be opened or closed, depending upon the need....










Northeastern wall is going to be banked up and packed down with leaves where I'm creating insulation/litter storage. When full it will be covered by the tarp flap on that side and will be my auxiliary leaf storage for the very last part of the winter, when all other stored leaves are gone. It will also create some neat, pocketed warmth while also allowing air exchange on that side.










Just started on that today but it won't take long to have that space full to the brim with leaves...we have tons of leaves this year and many more to fall.










This pic shows the inside view of the back of the coop with middle panel and upper side panels covered in plastic to block the wind. I left an open strip at the top for more ventilation. The bottom areas will not be covered with plastic but there may be some hay bales placed there on the outside.










And that's my initial stages of winterizing the coop. I usually move the dog's house next to the pop door entrance and build a windblock there using his house and hay bales. That puts him sleeping right where I need him and it keeps him and the chickens snug as bugs.


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