Winter in the Hen House

It's winter here in Canada.

Oh boy is it winter.

Our girls have it pretty good though.

They have an insulated coop, its a recycled 7' x 8' shed.

It's our first winter with chickens, so I wasn't too sure what to expect.

Luckily The Chicken Chick Kathy Shea Morino has been a HUGE help!

This gal has a helpful blog all around...but some GREAT tips on wintering your flock.

Here is Eagle posing oh-so awkwardly in front of the thermometer.

I like to check on it...now and again...just to keep track of how conditions are in there.

For example...today was -10 degrees C with a windchill of -19 degrees C.

Inside the coop...it was -5 degrees C.

Not bad!

We go for thick bedding to keep the cold from coming up through the floor.

I also added an indoor dust bath for the winter.

Oreo checks the weather through the window.

Yup...these girls are doing alright!

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Our only issue is water.

We didn't want to put out too much money on a heated waterer...

but our metal waterer freezes up like you wouldn't believe.

In the meantime...I have been rotating the plastic waterer with the metal waterer out a few times a day.

Not the most efficient method...but I don't mind.

It gives me a chance to check for eggs before they might freeze.

Perhaps I'll save up for a heater for next year...or unless this winter cold gets out of hand.

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When there is a mild day, we do try to let them outside.

They love getting out...but don't like the snow or ice on their feet.

Strong, cold winds also keep them from making it back to the coop on their own.

They love eating snow.

(We discovered that they love to eat the snow off your boots)

These chickens love getting under our deck and making a great big dust bath.

Guess its like going to the spa...

There are three hens in the above photo...go figure.

They love snuggling while bathing.

How are your animals this winter?

The Run is Done!

Well its been an interesting 2 weeks at our house!

We fell into some chickens, scored a decent shed that needed some love

and built an awesome area for them to run around in.

Once the chickens had arrived, we gave them a few days to settle into the coop.

I had read that chickens might start laying eggs anywhere they liked if

they didn't get a sufficient amount of time in the coop.

Kinda like potty training...but better!  We get eggs!

We didn't have to wait long for them to get 

comfy and start laying eggs.

We had a few the very next day!

Just the other day we accumulated our first dozen.

One of the ladies lays some monster eggs!

They almost didn't fit in the extra large sized cartons...

(NOTE:  they are not double yokers...sadly)

After a few days of being cooped up, (no pun intended) the ladies were getting a bit stir crazy.

We hustled the run along...even though the intermittent rain kept us on our toes.

We also had quite a few visitors to the yard...everyone wanted to see our newest 

family members!

The shed/barn itself is 7 feet wide and 8 feet long.

The run extends out from the back of the shed 16 feet long.

That makes the entire run 7 feet wide x 16 feet long x 6 feet tall.

Total cost for the materials for the run $130.00 and that included the galvanized bin for the feed.

Total COOP & RUN cost $440.00

We added a dust bath in a salvaged tire (found by the side of Desert Lake rd).

Soon we'll add an area for the food waste that the chickens will hopefully

turn into a lot of green gold! (aka compost)

What do ya think of the completed chicken coop and run?

Finishing touches to the shed...

We have been under the gun for the last week.

It has been construction central around here!

If it's not the saw going...it's the drill.

Our peaceful spring has been interrupted in the most delightful way!

Soon that noise will be replaced by the trill of chickens.

The completely renovated shed...before...

...and after its handsome paint job!

The front door was originally one large door.

I was concerned about allowing too much wide open door

to tempt the chickens with thoughts of escape.

The right hand side is one long door which has a slide lock on the top and the bottom.

The left hand door is a dutch door.

We can peek in and check on the ladies whenever we like!

The bottom portion locks to the large door and the top door 

is secured when closed from the outside.

Owen seems to think the bottom portion of the dutch door is for Owens only.

The side of the shed....before...

...and after!

The side looks really sharp with the gifted oil based white paint.

Only 2 coats of paint and the outside looks like brand new!

Above shows the back of the shed both before and after paint job.

My handsome husband completing the latch lock for the run door at the beck of the shed.

We had to make an additional trip to the hardware store for more 2 x 4's and screws...

bringing our total dollars spent:  $310

We found some interior oil paint in robin's egg blue in our basement.

I have to admit...it looks great inside!

The oil based paint was allowed to sit with all doors and window open for a few days.

The paint will help keep the moisture out...

and the floors and walls will be easier to clean twice a year.

The ladies seem to love it!

The arrived on Labour Day Monday May 20th.

We had one girl lay a surprise egg...before the hay was laid out in the coop.

The egg smashed and the 3 other hens dove at it like it was gold!

We quickly added some hay and hope that the cannibalistic behavior will slow once they get comfy.

Right now all 4 ladies are getting quite accustomed to their new surroundings.

They have laid 5 eggs so far and its only been 2 days.

Each morning Owen gets up, gets dressed and throws some crackers or something in his mouth, 

heading out the door to check on his hens.

So far its been 5:30 - 6 am once he has accomplished his mission.

I certainly hope this behavior doesn't end.

Its far too cute!

(Just don't wake Mum up with an egg in the face!)

PS.  the ladies look like they're in jail right now...

we've been hard at work building the pen.

I understand that leaving them in the coop trains them to lay 

their eggs inside instead of anywhere around the run.

Stay tuned for the update on the completed chicken run!