Picture of the Day 1/21/2013

A cold, windy day deserves a warm treat.  I took some layer food and added hot water.  Mixed it up to a thick soup consistency and gave it to them.  They thought it was a wonderful treat! 

I got this idea from Our Neck of the Woods.  She also makes oatmeal for her girls!

Picture of the Day 1/17/2013

This is Spice, Ginger, and Yoda on the roost inside the coop.  When the weather is bad, you can usually find them inside the coop.

We have had horrible winds and wind chills this past week.  The air temperatures are 30-35 degrees, but the wind chills are still close to 0 degrees.  If you give the ladies a place out of the wind, they are content.

On another note, because the temperatures were above freezing, the poo was no longer frozen to the coop floor.  I was able to clean out the poo.  

Picture of the Day 1/16/2013

This is Crystal walking on the shoveled path.  Yes, I shoveled paths for the ladies to walk on.

The snow finally had a chance to melt a bit today.  The temperatures got up above freezing.  Finally!

Picture of the Day 1/13/2013

Winter storm Gandolf was not as bad as forecast.  In Billings, we only received 8" of snow -- where 12" had been forecast.  The temperatures did stay close to 0 degrees, but the temperature rose to 20 degrees today.

In fact, the girls came out on their shoveled path, onto the shoveled patio, and down their shoveled sidewalk.  Not for long, but they did get out today. 

The water heater tins worked great.  A 40-watt bulb prevented the water from freezing!  The tin inside the coop also gave off "safe" heat for them.

The girls seem to have survived their first below zero adventure.  I am having some trouble cleaning the poo -- it is frozen to the floor of the coop.  Go figure!

Picture of the Day 1/8/2013

Here in south-central Montana, a cold front is due soon.  Highs will be single digits and the lows will be close to 0.  When the weather turns so nasty, the ladies seem to spend more time in the coop.

I created another water heater tin to keep their water inside the coop from freezing.  The food has also been placed inside the coop so the ladies don't have to go into the weather.

Picture of the Day 1/5/2013

On a recent trip to Rockin' Rudy's in Missoula, I found these Chinese flags.  They are prayer flags for compassion, knowledge, prosperity, peace, success, and long life. 

We decorated the inside of the enclosure with the flags.  The flags are tied onto chicken wire.  Behind the chicken wire is the wind panel that will come down in the spring.  Come spring, we may need to move the flags to a more sheltered spot.

Picture of the Day 1/3/2013

Our first egg of 2013! 

The cold weather, the shortened daylight hours, the molting, the addition of two new hens, and the deletion of two old hens have all played a part in our hens not laying for weeks. 

Crystal, one of our best layers, supplied us with the first egg of the year. 

Picture of the Day 1/2/13

This is Ginger.  Notice the wind ruffling her feathers.  She doesn't mind the cold, but the snow and wind make her seek refuge. 

Brrr... How Soon is Spring?

Spice.  She is a new addition to our flock.

Crystal.  She is our "puppy" because she follows us everywhere.

Ginger and Yoda.  Ginger is the new addition to the flock.

Ginger and Yoda.  All of our flock are bottom of the pecking order.  So they all get along.

Ginger.  She always stays still for the pictures.

Yoda.  She is the top hen, but is never a bully.

We are in south central Montana.  For almost two weeks, the temperatures have been in the twenties during the day and single digits at night.  It snowed right before Christmas and the ladies didn't come out of their enclosure for three days.  They do not like snow on their feet.

Water Heater Tin

   

In Montana it gets cold occasionally.  To keep the water from icing up, I found a tin for twenty-five cents and a lamp for fifty cents at garage sales this summer.

In the tin, I drilled a 3/8" hole.  I took the lamp assembly apart.  Then I reassembled the lamp assembly inside the tin.  The screw-on fastener on the bottom of the lamp assembly is on the outside of the tin, which keeps the 40-watt bulb stationary in the center of the tin.

I have both plastic and metal waterers.  I have read that the tin works for both plastic and metal, so I don't know which I will do.  Or, I may make a second water heater tin.  Did I mention that I garage sale...  I have enough parts to make one more heater.  

Finishing Touches to Keep the Ladies Warm

The front of their new house.  It is not perfect, but it is done!

The nesting boxes work great.  The girls began using their new boxes even before the front was attached. 

The ramp and roost.  They didn't like this roost, so we added a second, lower roost, which they seem to like.

This certainly has been a slow process, but I think we finally have the coop that we want!

Winterizing The Coop

The roost, ramp and nesting boxes. The front needs to be attached.

The ramp is on hinges.  It can be brought up for closure.

Right now, there is a chicken wire front for air and viewing...

The new coop takes up none of their floor space.  Raised up 30", it is 4' by 8'. The girls should be cozy this winter!

Adam taking a break to ride Patrick's new birthday bike.  The seat might be a bit too low...

Finally! The Roof is On!

Jason is the roofer.

We had to build the roof before we could shingle.

Aaron looking at the roof.

Attaching the plywood.

Wow!  What a difference!

The ladies will be dry this winter.

Putting the plywood on.

Adam looking on.

Getting the design just right!

Thank goodness for the electric nail gun!

Love the brown shingles.

Cutting the shingles takes a while.

Painting the wafer board panels that will be used for wind breaks.

The panels will be attached in the winter, but stored during the summer.

Aaron's hands were tired by the end of the day!

Admiring his handiwork.

Wind panels and decorations are up!

Painting the back to match the wind panels.

Job well done, Jason!

How pretty!  It rained the next day -- and all is good!

With the rafters, we can now hang the food and water.

Happy girls.  There is still a bit of work left, but we have time before the Montana winter sets in.