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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

OutWest4Us wrote:
> Hello to Everyone Up North!  :-)
>
> Yep, I can definently identify with everyone who lives in a cold 
> climate, whoa nelly!  We live in the middle of the valley floor and 
> the wind is vicious more times than not.....normal winter temps hover
>  between the teens and single digits until January when we have 2-3 
> "arctic" weeks when the temps usually hit 20-30 below zero and stay 
> there.  Trucks have to be plugged in to be able to start the next day
>  and thats IF they decide to cooperate.  It's a "hurry the heck up!"
>  experience to run outside and bring in some firewood during that 
> time.  Winter runs 6-7 months out of the year here with snow not 
> uncommon in April, May and June as well.  I live near Yellowstone at
>  an elevation of 5,714 feet.
>
> Bev......regarding the chicken situation, you see what the weather is
>  like here.  We had a 10x12 insulated coop with 2 heat lamps.  Winter
>  was hard on the chickens and when we lost most of them, it was 
> during that arctic period that I mentioned above.
>
> Rene'

In June of 2001, I spent the night in Livingston because I was snowed
out of Yellowstone-all gates were closed due to the 'freak blizzard'.
That was on my way home.  It had also snowed in early June as I passed
through, in fact, it was so nasty at Lake Hebgen  the day after Memorial
Day that the park officials were telling folks to hit the road. (That
was one of my favorite places, btw) I drove from there down to Mountain
Home in a blinding snow.  I was wondering how close you were to there.
The whole time I was driving through, I kept fantasizing about living in
that part of the world. (my father lived in OR, so I drove out there
hitting all the big National Parks, camping and staying with friends,
some here on the list.  It was a 5 week long trip, just me and the
kids-a great adventure.
But like I said, people keep chickens in Alaska, and I know someone over
in the Sawtooth mountains of Idaho who has them.   So, I have a few
questions...
1.  How many chickens in a 10x12 coop?  That is the size of my 'old
coop', and that would hold a LOT of birds.  Even at 5 square feet per
bird, that would be 24 birds.  To keep them warm at the temps you
listed, my guess is that you would need to double that number and reduce
the space each bird occupies to 2.5 ft for a few weeks.  50 birds, I
would think, would be the minimum to survive in a space that large in
those conditions without additional measure of heat..
2.  Describe the coop..Insulated how?  High roof, low roof..made of??
Were the heat lamps at the ceiling or hung low near the ground?
3.  What kind of bedding was in the coop?  Wood shavings, hay, dirt?
4. Is this coop in the barn, near the horses?


Right now, I have 8 birds in my old coop. It was single digits were last
week and will be again this week.  I split open a hay bale and made a
hay 'nest' for them.  That coop is on the corner of a open barn/pole
shed and only one side is wooden(S). The side to the interior of the
barn is wire(W), and both exterior walls are wire (N, E)  I originally
just tarped the north side for obvious windy reasons, but knowing that I
would have younger birds in there, this winter I tarped the entire coop
to retain heat and thwart the winds.  The birds were fine, with no
light, only hay and wind protection. Of course, winter temps like that
necessitate hauling water/busting ice.

That ought to get us started..

B


--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge