Today we wrapped the run in plastic in hopes of creating a bit of a warm solarium for the chickens and to give them protection from the winter wind. This will also keep the snow from drifting in and mucking up the sand in the run. Seems pretty cozy already. All they need now is a hot tub! Pampered chickens for sure!
The girls were a bit freaked out at first and wanted nothing to do with being in the run but soon they found that it wasn't that scary. They then discovered that some green goodies got trapped between the plastic and the hardware cloth and had to gobble up all they could.
We also added a homemade water heater to keep their water from freezing in really cold weather. It was super easy to make. My 12 year old son made it in less than 15 minutes. We haven't had to plug it in yet because the temperature inside the coop has not gone lower than 31 degrees and we haven't had to deal with frozen water. It's simply made from an old cookie tin (Thank you fellow Freecylcer) and a lamp assembly bought at the hardware store for about $7. Add a 40 watt bulb and you've got enough heat to keep the water from freezing.
Hi Linda -- So glad I found your blog! Love the homemade water heater. and love that barred-rock face eyeing the morsel of greenstuff.
ReplyDeleteI need to get the water heater ready but it has been crazy warm/mild out here in MA. Looks like your girls are all ready for winter.
ReplyDeleteLauren, I love the barred rocks. My aunt (who is an avid knitter)came to visit last weekend and took one look at them and said "I want a sweater that looks like that!". :) Me too!
ReplyDeletecake chick, I wouldn't let that mild weather fool you. Our temps here in WI are plummeting as I type. Upper teens by the end of the week. Brrrr!
I love your sun-shiny-yellow hen! She looks like an Easter present! (My hens are all in gray tones but I didn't know what I was missing until I saw yours, lol).
ReplyDeleteI put a link to this story on my blog- since I too am dealing with freezing temps and water heating, and I am anxious to see how your system works out- I've been using a bulb OVER their waterer, with limited success (it gets slushy), but then my bulb is halogen and there may be a great difference in heat generated by a regular bulb. I thank you for sharing your insights and experiments.
PS your barred rock hens' curious face made me laugh!
We had slushy water a couple nights ago. So for the next night we did plug it in and it worked very well. I've also been impressed that the temperature inside the coop has been 15 to 20 degrees warmer than outside over night.
ReplyDeleteHow clever are you! That beats paying nearly 50 dollars at the feed store! Great job!
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