We followed Andrew’s suggestion, and sited the coop close to the house for the ambient heat in the winter. The skirt of the Eglu sits on a wooden frame (thank you Victor), in order to allow about 8 inches of wood chips above the patio floor. Comfy underfoot and lots of room for scratching. Later, we covered it with clear plastic to keep it dry while still allowing the light in.

Because of our cold Toronto winters, I bought 2 heated dogs bowls for the water. They plug into the outside outlet and sense when the temperature goes below freezing. When both bowls are filled, there is enough water for 2 days. The Eglu comes equipped with one container for Grub and one container for Glug. The Grub works great year-round keeping the food clean and dry. The Glug works great too, except during the winter freeze.

I added a ceramic heater to the coop, which I bought from a pet supply store. The reason for the ceramic heater as opposed to a light bulb? The heater doesn’t produce any light, which would mess with the hens’ internal clocks. They would think it is daytime, all the time.    Egg producing “factories” use lights to trick the hens into laying enthusiastically all year round. Normally, their laying behaviour is reduced during the winter months. Surprisingly, I found that they continued to lay quite well throughout the winter. We were worried that the girls would get uncomfortably cold during the winter months, but their feathers filled out, their weight increased, and they did just fine.