Thanks!
-Jenny

I made a small coop, but most of the time the birds were outside during
the day. Rain didn't seem to bother them, and I had plenty of shade in
my yard. They had access to the coop if they wanted. Now living in
Louisiana, it doesn't get very cold. Today I'm wearing shorts and a
t-shirt. Yesterday the was in the upper 70s and the AC kicked on. On the
other hand, my more religious neighbors are starting to build an ark. It
has rained hard all day and night for several days. A few years back we
got over 24 inches of rain in 24 hours. Sometimes I think I would be
better off raising ducks.

trae.vcf < 1K Download

I took some 3' electric fence posts, and put them in the ground about 6'
away from the side of my barn, spaced 2' apart. I then took PVC (1" I think)
and slid each 10' length over each post. Then I took a 2x4, and drilled 1
1/4" holes every 24" most of the way through. I mounted that to the side of
the barn about 5' up. I then grabbed each length of PVC and bent it over to
slide into the hole in the board. Slap a tarp on top of it, and I've got a
little tube-like lean-to for my ladies. Their door is a hole cut into the
side of the barn, and it's roughly centered in their "porch". I also put a
tarp over the open northern end, and put a couple bales of straw on it, to
give them a windblock.

I also added a brooder light so I can still have eggs this winter...

Laura

So much for the expression, "Mad as a wet hen," I suppose.

-bill

--- On Tue, 12/15/09, Jenny Cade <jennyc...@gmail.com> wrote:

Should change that expression to "Stink like a wet hen."

Bill Brier wrote:

Jenny Cade <jennycade@gmail.com> wrote:
    

I wonder what kind of outdoor shelter, if any, everyone provides for  
free-range chickens. For rain, for hot sunny days...
    

Mine are free range too, but they also have an enclosed run that I throw a tarp over. It recently rained for a few days, though not real hard, but they preferred spending time in the rain pelted yard.

So much for the expression, "Mad as a wet hen," I suppose.

-bill


--- On Tue, 12/15/09, Jenny Cade <jennycade@gmail.com> wrote:

  

From: Jenny Cade <jennycade@gmail.com>
Subject: [Grass-Fed-Eggs] 1278 Rain shelter
To: "Grass Fed Eggs" <grass-fed-eggs@googlegroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 12:48 PM
I wonder what kind of outdoor
shelter, if any, everyone provides for  
free-range chickens. For rain, for hot sunny days...

Thanks!
-Jenny

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trae.vcf < 1K Download

In a message dated 12/15/2009 3:48:45 P.M. US Eastern Standard Time,  

Mine can go in the barn as they like during bad winter weather.

In the summer, they go from tree to tree and also behind the barn in the  
shade. We have so few that they just wander around in the cow pasture.

What's new  down on the farm? Come and see ...
_http://cloverleaffarm-ann.blogspot.com/_
(http://cloverleaffarm-ann.blogspot.com/)

I ask because we have a chicken trailer, and when it's really hot or  
really rainy our girls just camp out underneath the trailer, as we  
don't have additional shelter. It gets pretty nasty under there in the  
summer, especially because the trailer has open slats for a floor --  
when they poop inside, it goes under the trailer.

Should we build an extra sheltered area to get them out from under the  
trailer? And if so, how big does it need to be?

They don't seem to mind the rain nearly as much, so I'm not too  
worried about it until the late spring. But it'd be nice to have  
something made and all ready to go when we need it.

Thanks!
-Jenny

On Dec 15, 2009, at 6:43 PM, APSchr...@aol.com wrote:

Christa

On Dec 16, 3:36 pm, Jenny Cade <jennyc...@gmail.com> wrote:

We finally got some snow here, and temperatures in the teens, and my
dogs discovered that the chickens are taking long strolls out to a
distant dog house and laying eggs there (where they freeze).  Discovered
this when  the dogs squabbled over the find, and one of them brought a
frozen cracked egg of indeterminate age back to the house and tried to
eat it in my bed!  ARRRGGHHH!!!

I do not like frozen cracked eggs of indeterminate age in my bed!   I
will, however, eat green eggs and ham if I know how old they are and
where they came from.  ;)

I don't suppose there is a way to tell if the eggs are of any value as
human food?  I'm not sure I should even think about it.

Chris
Little Biddy Farm

"Humankind cannot take too much reality."
T.S. Eliot

It would be wonderful if we added where we are every time we post.
There is Southern shelter and and there is Northern shelter.
What works for one will seldom be right for the other.
When giving advise or recieving it this would be good to know.
 
Alan in Michigan

--- On Thu, 12/17/09, chrellis <chrel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

From: chrellis <chrel...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [Grass-Fed-Eggs] 1318 Re: 1285 Rain shelter
To: "Grass-Fed Eggs" <grass-fed-eggs@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009, 12:29 AM

I'm certainly not an expert on chickens, but I'm not sure that
building them a new shelter would make any difference.  We built a
very nice coop  for our chickens, but they seem to seek other places
for shelter.  This summer when it rained and rained they rarely took
shelter at all.  Mostly they just went about their business wandering
around in the rain.  When there would be a particularly hard downpour,
they never went to the coop.  Usually they would hide under my
husband's truck or under our deck.  They do go to the coop to eat and
lay the eggs (most of the time), but some of them don't even sleep in
there at night.  Some of them prefer to sleep on the roof of the coop,
even in a nasty rain.

Christa

On Dec 16, 3:36 pm, Jenny Cade <jennyc...@gmail.com> wrote:

I live east of Lake Ontario in Northern Central NY.  What anybody from
NYC would call "UPSTATE" -- which would include 80% of the State, all
the boondocks, and a State Park bigger than any of the big Federal Parks
(Adirondack Mountains, on the northern wing of the Appalachian trail, on
the way to Maine).  Lots of climates and micro-climates.   Compared to
the rest of the country, not that big a state, but lots of variety!

MY climate or planting zone used to be 4-5a, but is now 5-6!   People
have always grown peach and cherry trees along the Great Lake -- which
modulates the weather.   We have grass and crocuses popping out in
January some years, and occasional deadly ice storms in April that coat
fresh green grass and buds with half an inch of glass-like ice. Very
unpredictable.    The climatologists at Syracuse University will tell
you that as Global Warming proceeds,  the Lake will overheat in summer
and not cool down enough in the fall, and when the arctic air comes down
from Canada (Stop sending us your weather from Toronto -- or is that
Michigan? -- please!)  it causes turbulence over the too-warm Lake and
we will get even MORE of these freakish storms.

Not that we don't already get unpredictable Lake Effect snow storms, but
worse, we start to get storm after storm with no melt-down in-between,
and the drifts can go over 10 feet.  Snow is actually pretty fun and
manageable -- it is the freezing rain that is the real killer.   Will
take down power lines, isolate people, destroy the budding fruit crops,
kill wild-life and crush barns (not usually houses, which are built to
code).  Global Warming sucks.

We had a really cool summer this year -- it wouldn't stop raining.  For
those who had the equipment and the luck, we had lots of lush hay, and
also ensiled hay (easier to make, because it can be baled slightly wet
and a bit faster than real hay).   So with the wet, cloudy, miserable
summer we had a very mild fall.  The Lake didn't heat up as much as
usual (for this decade).    Gave us an unseasonably mild winter
(compared to the last two).

All mild until this week, when we got some snow, and unseasonaly cold
weather.

I have friends in West Virginia who say that it isn't such a big deal
that they are getting snow, because when they were growing up, the
weather was colder and they got snow all the time.  Of course, the
younger people don't remember that.  One friend says that it was the
growth of the cities that changed the temperatures on his grandfather's
farm and added two whole weeks to the growing season  -- not necessarily
the Global Warming.   But if cities are growing everywhere, that might
explain a few things.

Back here in UPstate NY, my Bourbon Red turkeys like to perch on the
railing of the sun deck all night and watch me wash dishes in the
kitchen.   This is with winds ranging from 10 to 60mph and coming
straight at us from the Lake.    The past couple of days some of them
have been living under the pickup truck.  I have halogen lights on part
of the time in the barn and a heat lamp over the goat's water bucket.  
The turkeys and chickens come running for their food in the barn, and
enjoy fresh water..  The geese have a heated bucket to dunk their heads,
and other birds will join in (drinking, not usually dunking).  They
finish breakfast, and then they run outside again.  And leave footprints
in the snow under the truck at night.  Since my drive was plowed two
days ago, we only have about a half-inch of drift -- that's good.  Shows
a nice imprint of a bird's foot.  :)

As I mentioned, I have a small dog house with a lot of frozen eggs in
it.  There is a  nice warm barn to live in, but some of the chickens are
still roosting in the lower branches of a big old pine tree.  Don't ask  
me why turkeys like to peer into windows and watch people wash dishes,
or why they decide to head for cover under a truck when there is clearly
a light on in the barn and plenty of food and shelter for them.   One
chicken did get tired on the trip back from the egg-house, and stopped
and slept on the front porch -- found her there in the morning demanding
breakfast, and told her to go back to the barn. Eventually she did.

Not only does climate differ from place to place, but also from time to
time. And there is no accounting for poultry!  :)

Alan! Stop sending us your cold arctic winds from Michigan!!!

Chris
Little Biddy Farm in Upstate NY

"Humankind cannot take too much reality."
T.S. Eliot

Amazing isn't it Chris?  (and NY is one of the big states so it is so different)
I have cousins in Rochester, and friends in the New Paltz area..and our farrier comes from Newburgh...(and we used to spend summers driving around the Adirondacks and all the way up to the St Lawrence Seaway...beautiful)
California is like that too..so many climates in one state...
We on LI had blight this yeah..spring was cold and wet..right up until the end of July! ..most people didn't have tomatoes or anything related to them!  We are getting snow tonight..I live on the north shore of LI so it is more like southern CT, usually we get more snow (we are in a snow belt) than other parts of LI but this storm might make more south of us!  We'll see...I left the chickens in all day..it was blowy and cold and they are snug and hopefully pretty warm inside...tomorrow I will spread hay when it stops...
The horse is a Lippitt Morgan and she LOVES this weather...

Jane (LI NY)

--- On Sat, 12/19/09, Chris Squires <pied...@earthlink.net> wrote:

From: Chris Squires <pied...@earthlink.net>
Subject: [Grass-Fed-Eggs] 1340 Climate Re:1334 Re: 1285 Rain shelter
To: grass-fed-eggs@googlegroups.com
Date: Saturday, December 19, 2009, 7:58 PM

And then there are micro-climates and more! 

I live east of Lake Ontario in Northern Central NY.

Not only does climate differ from place to place, but also from time to
time. And there is no accounting for poultry!  :)

Alan! Stop sending us your cold arctic winds from Michigan!!!

Chris
Little Biddy Farm in Upstate NY

"Humankind cannot take too much reality."
T.S. Eliot

Hey Chris,,,
It ain't MY Cold Arctic Winds.
You get your share and I get my share.
 
What is this, "Melt-Down," you are talking about?
Is that what happens here in March or April when all the cold white crap melts and turns everything to mud for a while?

Alan in Michigan

--- On Sat, 12/19/09, Chris Squires wrote:

And then there are micro-climates and more! 

I live east of Lake Ontario in Northern Central NY.  What anybody from
NYC would call "UPSTATE" --Not that we don't already get unpredictable Lake Effect snow storms, but
worse, we start to get storm after storm with no melt-down in-between,
and the drifts can go over 10 feet. 
Not only does climate differ from place to place, but also from time to
time. And there is no accounting for poultry!  :)

Alan! Stop sending us your cold arctic winds from Michigan!!!

Chris
Little Biddy Farm in Upstate NY

This happens all winter long -- could start in September and end in
April.  Or sometimes nothing much happens at all.  Then a big one hits!  
Then it melts.

Our snows are deep, but they don't last.   I'm really glad I live on a
hill -- it is the right place to live around here.  :)

Some people prefer to live in the North Country or North-western
foothills of the Adirondacks, where it may actually freeze solid --
maybe along the St. Lawrence river or something.  That used to be the
source of most of the ice for the chilled rail road cars delivering
butter to Boston, NY and DC in the distant past.   That area freezes
solid in fall and stays frozen solid until spring.  No such luck where I
live.

And hey, we get North-westerly winds and Michigan is North and West of
here -- sort of makes one suspicious.  You sure you didn't send us your
spare arctic front???   :D

Chris
Little Biddy Farm in UPstate NY near the BIG LAKE

"Humankind cannot take too much reality."
T.S. Eliot

Love it Love it Love it... Chris...I Love everything there is about NYS...the regions the history...(and every region has it own history) ....Love it...

Jane (SE NY)

--- On Sun, 12/20/09, Chris Squires <pied...@earthlink.net> wrote:

From: Chris Squires <pied...@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Grass-Fed-Eggs] 1351 Climate Re:1334 Re: 1285 Rain shelter
To: grass-fed-eggs@googlegroups.com
Date: Sunday, December 20, 2009, 12:52 PM

Alan,
Because of the Lake or lakes being so close to us, and so many creeks
and streams, the temperature is modulated.  We get temperatures below
zero F, and then we get temperatures in the high 30's and 40's and
EVERYTHING MELTS.    Then a few days later, we may have  another band of
snow.    We also get Lake Effect snows in bands -- so that we may have a
blizzard here, and two miles down the road they have sun and balmy
weather -- or vice versa.    No way to predict, so when we get a
warning, we are prepared to shovel or plow or blow or scrape or just
hunker down and wait for it to pass.  Or we may get nothing.  We are
ready to dig through nine foot drifts or live without power if the lines
go down,  or slog through mud.   

This happens all winter long -- could start in September and end in
April.  Or sometimes nothing much happens at all.  Then a big one hits! 
Then it melts.

Our snows are deep, but they don't last.   I'm really glad I live on a
hill -- it is the right place to live around here.  :)

Some people prefer to live in the North Country or North-western
foothills of the Adirondacks, where it may actually freeze solid --
maybe along the St. Lawrence river or something.  That used to be the
source of most of the ice for the chilled rail road cars delivering
butter to Boston, NY and DC in the distant past.   That area freezes
solid in fall and stays frozen solid until spring.  No such luck where I
live.

And hey, we get North-westerly winds and Michigan is North and West of
here -- sort of makes one suspicious.  You sure you didn't send us your
spare arctic front???   :D

Chris
Little Biddy Farm in UPstate NY near the BIG LAKE

Sounds like you have just a warmer version of what we have.
We don't get the melt downs .
I know all about those bands.
It can dump on me and three or four miles North or South it gives them nothing.
I like it better when they get it and I don't.
When I built this house I could see Lake Michigan in two directions.
Now the trees have grown taller so you have to get on the roof to see the lake.
 
Alan in Michigan

--- On Sun, 12/20/09, Chris Squires <pied...@earthlink.net> wrote:

From: Chris Squires <pied...@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Grass-Fed-Eggs] 1351 Climate Re:1334 Re: 1285 Rain shelter
To: grass-fed-eggs@googlegroups.com
Date: Sunday, December 20, 2009, 12:52 PM

Alan,
Because of the Lake or lakes being so close to us, and so many creeks
and streams, the temperature is modulated.  We get temperatures below
zero F, and then we get temperatures in the high 30's and 40's and
EVERYTHING MELTS.    Then a few days later, we may have  another band of
snow.    We also get Lake Effect snows in bands -- so that we may have a
blizzard here, and two miles down the road they have sun and balmy
weather -- or vice versa.    No way to predict, so when we get a
warning, we are prepared to shovel or plow or blow or scrape or just
hunker down and wait for it to pass.  Or we may get nothing.  We are
ready to dig through nine foot drifts or live without power if the lines
go down,  or slog through mud.   

This happens all winter long -- could start in September and end in
April.  Or sometimes nothing much happens at all.  Then a big one hits! 
Then it melts.

Our snows are deep, but they don't last.   I'm really glad I live on a
hill -- it is the right place to live around here.  :)

Some people prefer to live in the North Country or North-western
foothills of the Adirondacks, where it may actually freeze solid --
maybe along the St. Lawrence river or something.  That used to be the
source of most of the ice for the chilled rail road cars delivering
butter to Boston, NY and DC in the distant past.   That area freezes
solid in fall and stays frozen solid until spring.  No such luck where I
live.

And hey, we get North-westerly winds and Michigan is North and West of
here -- sort of makes one suspicious.  You sure you didn't send us your
spare arctic front???   :D

Chris
Little Biddy Farm in UPstate NY near the BIG LAKE

"Humankind cannot take too much reality."
T.S. Eliot

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