Homesteading Chicken Coop Build, Chickens, Pond, Garden & Projects

Chicken wire isn't much against real predators like you have. My girls get locked up tight every night except the other night I locked up early and well, one didn't get with it and go in. Yeah, a pile of black feathers right in front of the gate. I'm thinking either 'yote or bobcat since there wasn't any blood. Could have been an owl, too. Wish it had been an old hen instead of a young pullet. You have an eye candy flock!

It's hard to imagine 15 ft. drifts blocking the way. We get our fair share of snow, usually around 5 ft. That's plenty for me. Your original idea of a doggy door in/out of the garage sure seems to make sense for you. Heck, anyone who lives with much snow would appreciate that.

Good luck with your new endeavor and enjoy the eggs!

 

I tend to agree. I have 6 Ameraucanas and 2 Rhode Island Reds and they do fine even when it’s zero degrees outside. They hunker down together inside the coop, out of the wind and snow. In winter I make sure to keep plenty of straw and/or wood chips inside for them to bed down in. The hardest part for me during the winter is keeping on top of the water situation. It inevitably freezes so I’ve got two containers that I keep rotating out.

 

It hasn't been to bad for me with the water freezing in winter. Last winter it only froze once on twice on me I can recall. The year prior it froze a lot, few days here and there and was a real PITA doing that before work each morning. I usually move the water into the coop during winter so it does not freeze as fast but it still ends up freezing. That's what led me to this whole rain barrel kick am on. Phase I is almost completed, I just need to add an overflow to the rain barrel, I have the material just need to do it.

We got a good storm earlier in the week, downpour pretty good (just before this cold spell) and I was amazed at how fast this thing filled up. It's 30gallons and it's almost half full just from that one storm. Phase II which will require me to run out electric (spring project) and I will be adding PVC pipe into the coop with water nipples and a water pump. Phase III will be adding a deicer for winter time. For now I was just eager to collect water to see how it would all work out. It's nice not having to walk all the way back to the house to fill up the water, I can just use this for now. As you can see I have a screen over the gutters and I also have a screen on top in the gutter where the PVC and the gutter meet.

 

Got around to adding the overflow which was really needed. We had a few storms over past few weeks and man that thing filled up quick. Also did a little tweaking with some silicone around the gutter hole area. I need to hit the end piece again I missed it yesterday. Not sure I can do much about this but def seems to be a little sentiment getting in, gives the water a little tinge. Other issue is the lid has some deep grooves and fills up with water. I know the mosquitos will have a field day come summer time with that standing water. Not sure how much it matters I have a billons of them anyways out back in the summer, but maybe I can rig something where the top is covered and does get water. Really makes re-filling up the water so easy having this. Was a farm last weekend for a church gathering and they had a few goats. Looks like he put in hand pump water well. Didn't get a chance to ask him how far he had to go down but that's another option perhaps, after I did all this work, ha!!!

 

What do you all use to keep your chickens water from freezing? I just got my chickens last month and its getting cold here in PA. I've seen a few options but would like to hear what works for you all. Thanks!

 

Same

 

Thanks! Those are the heaters/waterers that I have been looking at. I need to get something this weekend. It looks like it will be in the teens overnight this coming week.

 

I need electric out by the coop, planning on the project this spring. Hopefully!

 

We ran a power line to our coop to power a heated water bowl and daylight bulb (on a timer) to give the girls longer daylight hours, as our sunrise is near 7:30 and sunset about 4:30, and they need more light to maintain egg production, now we just need the girls to cooperate

 

Same

 

I have a powerbar that has the heated bowl, radio and time 24/7, the timer is for the light only it comes on 2hrs before sunrise, set for 2hrs, then comes on again about sunset time and goes off 2hrs later, trying to give the girls 14hrs of light a day.