Soooo cold lately. But, the chooks are comfortable. This is my 3rd winter, and I’ve got the winterizing process down pat now. During the first winter, in 2007, I was quite concerned that the girls would get frost-bitten. At first I closed the coop each night to keep in the warmth, but before long I learned that it wasn’t at all necessary. The main thing is to keep the wind out. So, here’s my routine:
First, pick up some supplies:
The reptile heater is plugged into an outdoor extension cord and placed in the coop. The floor is covered with wooden chips and the whole thing is draped with clear bubble wrap. It is important to use clear wrap, and a heater that does not generate light, because the chickens’ internal clocks respond to daylight hours. When it is dark, they go to sleep. Sleep = no eggs.
Wow nice set up.
We keep our girls(5) in a pen 4’x8′ in a greenhouse (12×20).
We use water bottles that are used for rabbits and they do get frozen over night so we change it in the morning and again in the afternoon.
We use a troulbe light, the kind for fixing cars, it is on a timer for the right number of hours and it seems to work well.
What do you do to keep them amused? It seems awfully boring for them over the winter compaired to what they get to do in the summer. We move them about the garden in a pen on wheels.
One of the girls has lost alot of feathers on her neck and I was wondering if the others are bullying her due to stress from the boredom?
Hi Stephen,
5 girls? You must be getting some decent egg production. Right now I am not getting any.
One suggestion — You could take your water bottles in at night and put them out each morning, since the chickens won’t be using them at night anyways.
In terms of amusement, other than tossing in some food treats for them to scratch for, we don’t really do anything. They have the option of coming out of the coop, but they seem to prefer to stay in.
The one losing feathers could be moulting. It’s an odd time of year to moult, but it happened here as well.
Best of luck and enjoy!
GOOD GOING.
YOU HAVE OUR SUPPORT HERE (MY WIFE AND I).
WE LIVE IN MISSISSAUGA AND IN A FOURTH FLOOR CONDO SO THERE IS NOT MUCH ROOM FOR A CHICKEN OR TWO.
MY UNCLE (THE FIRST ENVIRONMENTALIST I KNEW) IN CORNWALL ONTARIO ALWAYS KEPT TWO CHICKENS IN THIS DOUBLE WORK GARAGE. AND OCCASIONALLY BOUGHT OVER A DOZEN OR SO EGGS AS MY MOM (HIS SISTER AND WIDOW) HAD TO SUPPORT 7 KIDS.
AGAIN WE SUPPORT ALL YOU DO HERE AND HOPEFULLY MISSISSAUGA WILL ALLOW BACKYARD CHICKENS IN THE FUTURE.
DONALD AND DAHLIA JULIEN
905 891 0431