Winterizing the coop

Winter is in full swing here and that means making sure the coop is winterized and the chickens have all they need to be comfortable! We don't get extremely bad winters here, normally most days range in the 30s. We do have some days that dip down into the teens and single digits but not too many. The snow however has been heavier than usual for December in Southern Indiana but we've been able to keep the coop and run dry so far.
We have chosen not to use a heat lamp in our coop daily, we only use it when it reaches single digits. Instead we use a radiant heater. While it will not heat the coop itself it does provide an area the chickens can go and it will warm them if they need it. It works well for our average daily temperatures and has a much lower risk of fire and no bright light that keeps them awake at night.

After installing the heater we made sure most of the vented areas were covered to keep them from catching a draft while roosting. Keeping them draft free is key to keeping them warm. We then put down extra thick bedding on the coop floor and a thick layer of hemp on the poop shelf. The shelf under their roosting bar that collects their droppings is one of my favorite features of our coop. Covering it with hemp helps us to be able to easily sift through it to keep a clean area and the hemp does well with absorbing the moisture in their droppings keeping the moisture in the coop down. It also helps to keep us from having to be outside freezing trying to clean out a whole coop!

For the run itself we wrapped a large tarp around the uncovered part to keep the snow out and to keep the wind off of them. Our coop has space under it where they like to hang out and we've placed boards up to cover the side where the wind gets in the most. For the our coldest week we covered the floor of the run in a thick layer of alfalfa orchid grass. Probably unnecessary but they like to eat on it some and nest down in it, and it just makes me feel better! We also purchased a heated dog water bowl to keep the water from freezing, and built a covered box around it to keep the chickens from pooping in it. So far it is working wonderfully!!

My Favorite feature of the coop for us personally is the automatic door! It opens every day at 6 to let them into their run and closes each evening at 7. we change the time it closes depending on the season and when the sun goes down. While it isn't really a winterizing feature it keeps me from having to open and close it each day which keeps me out of the cold more so I count it! Aside from that we just give them red pepper flakes in their food to help warm them up and cracked corn before bed. As we get deeper into winter there may be more things we need to do or things we need to do different but we are learning as we go! We are first time Chicken owners and this is our first winter season. So while I'm sure we will make some mistakes we are doing our best and so far the chickens seem happy and comfortable! Thank you if you have made it this far and we look forward to sharing our journey and the things we learn along the way!