# POLL: winterization



## NYhillbillies (4 mo ago)

Please be specific! What works, what doesn’t work….?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Make that FL option AL and you'd have what I do with mine. 

@Poultry Judge is in OH. He'd be a good one for ideas. I'm not sure we have anyone that lives much further North than you two.


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## imnukensc (Dec 5, 2020)

I don't do anything, but I live in SC so maybe that qualifies as "Other."


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yeah, we deal with keeping the heat down here in the south. 

Basically keeping the coop draft free but with ventilation is about the only thing most do. Even those that hit zero on a regular basis don't do much when they're coops are right.


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## Lillith (10 mo ago)

I live in North Dakota, and I'm pretty sure there are some Canadians on here, too. 

My coop is insulated and has electricity, but that's about it. It's pretty solid and draft free. We get at least a couple weeks of temps dipping into the negative 20s or even 30s during the winter. For the most part, the chickens are fine. My coop is quite large, so I have noticed when my flock is at lower numbers it's difficult for their body heat to keep it warm and the tips of their combs get frostbite. I'm going into this winter with 18 warm bodies (compared to just 7 last winter), so they'll likely do better, but I did purchase a "Cozy Coop" that's set to only turn on at 0 degrees, and I only plug it in when those temps are sustained. Right now we're fluctuating between single digit temps and then randomly bumping up into the 20s or 30s, so the coop is still retaining heat from the warmer days. This keeps them acclimated to the cold temps so they still have some tolerance for it.

I do a deep litter method in the winter. I do throw out the really soiled stuff, but for the most part I just keep adding a layer of clean litter on top of the old and mixing it around some. It's pretty much frozen all through the winter, so not mucky or messy. It all gets cleaned out in the spring and makes wonderful compost.

You're supposed to keep moisture out of the coop in winter to help prevent frostbite. Preferably, you would have your waterers outside, but I need de-icers to keep the water liquid, and the electricity is inside the coop. They don't like to go outside in the winter, anyway. I use nipple drinkers in a big storage tote to reduce spillage and evaporation into the coop.

They eat a lot in the winter. Check their food often. I give them corn treats in the winter to help them make heat, but I also use it to coax them outside for some fresh air, haha! They are weenies and don't like to go outside when it's cold. I otherwise do not change their feed, I just expect to purchase more of it.

I don't put any tarps or anything over my run, mostly because they'd blow away and they'd never hold the snow load, so I don't bother.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

I like the Florida option! Here at the sanctuary, we have a heated waterer in the coop, extra hay provides additional insulation and the drafts are limited. There still has to be some air circulation and the coop cannot be airtight. In the meantime, I have never been able to successfully prevent the turkeys and peafowl from roosting in the trees all winter. In extreme wind and sleet, they will fly into the sheltered portion of the run which also provides a windbreak. They don't like wet icy wind but I often wish they would seek the available shelter.


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## NYhillbillies (4 mo ago)

imnukensc said:


> I don't do anything, but I live in SC so maybe that qualifies as "Other."


Rub it in…….


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## NYhillbillies (4 mo ago)

Lillith said:


> I live in North Dakota, and I'm pretty sure there are some Canadians on here, too.
> 
> My coop is insulated and has electricity, but that's about it. It's pretty solid and draft free. We get at least a couple weeks of temps dipping into the negative 20s or even 30s during the winter. For the most part, the chickens are fine. My coop is quite large, so I have noticed when my flock is at lower numbers it's difficult for their body heat to keep it warm and the tips of their combs get frostbite. I'm going into this winter with 18 warm bodies (compared to just 7 last winter), so they'll likely do better, but I did purchase a "Cozy Coop" that's set to only turn on at 0 degrees, and I only plug it in when those temps are sustained. Right now we're fluctuating between single digit temps and then randomly bumping up into the 20s or 30s, so the coop is still retaining heat from the warmer days. This keeps them acclimated to the cold temps so they still have some tolerance for it.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for your detailed explanation on winter life for your flock! Our coop is a small screened ‘room’ built inside a new 10x12 wooden shed that we ran electric to. Its uninsulated, the floor is linoleum with wood shavings. There’s plenty perch area, 2 nesting boxes, a hanging feeder and heated water dish. 
The shed has 2 windows on the same side, and a large upper vent above the double doors and in the rear.
I will be posting pics hopefully this week for critiqing purposes, as I’m unsure about proper ventilation. 
The flock cane to us full grown & year round free-rangers, so snow doesn’t bother them. A blessing!


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## NYhillbillies (4 mo ago)

We do have a flat panel heater, but it seems so weak…


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

NYhillbillies said:


> Thank you so much for your detailed explanation on winter life for your flock! Our coop is a small screened ‘room’ built inside a new 10x12 wooden shed that we ran electric to. Its uninsulated, the floor is linoleum with wood shavings. There’s plenty perch area, 2 nesting boxes, a hanging feeder and heated water dish.
> The shed has 2 windows on the same side, and a large upper vent above the double doors and in the rear.
> I will be posting pics hopefully this week for critiqing purposes, as I’m unsure about proper ventilation.
> The flock cane to us full grown & year round free-rangers, so snow doesn’t bother them. A blessing!


The idea for ventilation is to have one vent high in the ceiling and one across from it low to the floor. The idea is that it draws air from the ground and the upper vent allows for any damp air to move up and out.

You might want to experiment with that upper vent by closing it off partially if it's that big. Your doors are the lower vent since they're not air tight. 

The flat panel shouldn't be hot. It's just to try to keep the temps from dropping too far.


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## Lillith (10 mo ago)

NYhillbillies said:


> We do have a flat panel heater, but it seems so weak…


They're definitely not going to warm up the coop like a space heater because it's radiant heat. It transfers heat from one object to another, so things like the Cozy Coop will warm up chickens or objects that are near it, not necessarily the whole space. I would not recommend placing a heater near the food or water, because then the big bossy hens sit in front of it and eat and poop all day while the lower tier hens freeze and get hungry. I typically put mine near the roosts, which are opposite the feeding and watering stations, so they have to leave the heat to eat and drink. The roosts also get a bit of that radiant heat to keep them slightly warmer at night for the chickens.


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## NYhillbillies (4 mo ago)

Poultry Judge said:


> I like the Florida option! Here at the sanctuary, we have a heated waterer in the coop, extra hay provides additional insulation and the drafts are limited. There still has to be some air circulation and the coop cannot be airtight. In the meantime, I have never been able to successfully prevent the turkeys and peafowl from roosting in the trees all winter. In extreme wind and sleet, they will fly into the sheltered portion of the run which also provides a windbreak. They don't like wet icy wind but I often wish they would seek the available shelter.


What do you do with the hay for added insulation? Inside the coop?


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## NYhillbillies (4 mo ago)

Lillith said:


> They're definitely not going to warm up the coop like a space heater because it's radiant heat. It transfers heat from one object to another, so things like the Cozy Coop will warm up chickens or objects that are near it, not necessarily the whole space. I would not recommend placing a heater near the food or water, because then the big bossy hens sit in front of it and eat and poop all day while the lower tier hens freeze and get hungry. I typically put mine near the roosts, which are opposite the feeding and watering stations, so they have to leave the heat to eat and drink. The roosts also get a bit of that radiant heat to keep them slightly warmer at night for the chickens.


In thinking about our roost situation, I’d need more than the one panel heater. We have 3 hens & a rooster that cluster together (you’d think you were looking at a Twister game) and 1 loner hen (the littlest, the lowest in the pecking order) and 1 semi-loner hen who sympathizes with the littlest, and sometimes shuns the others.


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## NYhillbillies (4 mo ago)

robin416 said:


> The idea for ventilation is to have one vent high in the ceiling and one across from it low to the floor. The idea is that it draws air from the ground and the upper vent allows for any damp air to move up and out.
> 
> You might want to experiment with that upper vent by closing it off partially if it's that big. Your doors are the lower vent since they're not air tight.
> 
> The flat panel shouldn't be hot. It's just to try to keep the temps from dropping too far.


I love your ideas! Tomorrow is coop cleaning day, so I’ll bring the phone out & take pics for everyone’s critiquing. Thank you !


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'd love to lay claim to the ventilation setup being my idea. It wasn't. I had to learn that stuff from somewhere too. It's what makes forums so invaluable for learning how to try to keep our birds healthy.


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## Superbgiggles (1 mo ago)

My coop is insulated and has electricity, but that's about it. It's pretty solid and draft free. We get at least a couple weeks of temps dipping into the negative 20s or even 30s during the winter.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Farenheit? Wait, it's still early for me and I've barely touched my coffee. Are those actually celsius temps? Either one is awful cold but celsius is unimaginable since I live in the deep south US.


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## Kblas (4 mo ago)

robin416 said:


> Make that FL option AL and you'd have what I do with mine.
> 
> @Poultry Judge is in OH. He'd be a good one for ideas. I'm not sure we have anyone that lives much further North than you two.


I voted other because I am in Alabama as well . Right now it's s in the 50s.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

@Kblas are you going to get pounded tomorrow by the storm. 

And now we have to play like we live in the North next week with the cold blast coming in.


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## Kblas (4 mo ago)

robin416 said:


> @Kblas are you going to get pounded tomorrow by the storm.
> 
> And now we have to play like we live in the North next week with the cold blast coming in.


We do have rain all day Wednesday but the actual storms look to be south of us. The cold is the worst! The funny thing about it is that what's arctic to us is warm to some people lol. Brrr!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I grew up in MI. We knew how to cope with it, had the things needed to deal with it. Down here? Not so much. Chances of any of it being used were slim to none. Well, maybe slim.

Maybe this will finally knock the bugs back down.

I'm in the SE corner. They're calling for possible excitement tonight. 😖


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

NYhillbillies said:


> What do you do with the hay for added insulation? Inside the coop?


The hay is used as additional winter insulation on the floor, the birds like scratching in it.


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