Winter Housing Quarters

[Anonymous]

Living in NE Scotland, having experienced 2 really bad winters. We have have 4 Isa Warren hens, all laying really well. New to this, having had our babies only >3months. They already seem not to enjoy the high winds, and the hail stones sent them running for cover !! We have a poltunnel (30' x 14') which we have decided to "rest" for this winter, and thought we might put the hens in there. Their coup would be moved inside, and t 19 hey would still have outside access during daylight hours. Question is, is this a good place to put them ? We have started preparing it for them, by lining the bottom with plant fleece (stop them making holes in the plastic). Anyone got any ideas on this ?

 

[Anonymous]

what you have seem good...

 

[Chicken Chaser]

Howdy,

You can try to put tarps over
your coop, that should block
out rain, wind, and hail.

Chicken Chaser,

 

[wendywoggles]

Hello Mrs T and welcome.
We've had our chooks for about 3 months also and am learning something new every day. I'm in Cumbria and like you get very high high winds, snow and heavy rain during the winter (summer too, not the snow though).
Any-way I'm very interested in your polly tunnel idea and had thought of this but never having had one I was thinking it would get blown away. It sounds like you've had them for a while, how do you stop this happening in 60+ mph winds? A poly tunnel would give my chooks more wet weather shelter than I can provide at the moment.

Regarding the plant fleece, I was thinking the chooks might get their nails/claws caught up in it but the main problem I'm seeing is what about the poo? do you think it'll be easy to deal with even if you cover the fleece with straw/wood shavings/other?

 

[chrismahon]

We put our bantams in the greenhouse in Winter with no access outside because they are very flighty and Gandalf, a Wyandotte cockerel, would attack little Boris, the bantam cockerel. They seem quite happy like that, but we've put leaves down and throw mixed corn into them which keeps them occupied. Think it's a good idea putting them in the polytunnel but WW has a point about the fleece. I appreciate they may cut holes in the poly though, but I can't think of any simple alternatives to screening it off.