Okay, here goes. I do a thorough cleaning of the henhouse, then bed it heavily with hay. I seal any bad leaks around the windows with window caulking (the kind that peels off easy come spring), and staple heavy plastic up in a couple of places that are drafty. I have insulated the walls partially, and covered them over with old panelling,because often in winter here, with subzero temperatures the eggs would freeze. I use heat lamps on the waterers because they also freeze up, especially overnight.

As far as the geese are concerned, their house is situated in amongst trees, and facing south to cut the wind, which for geese is the important part. Keeping them dry and out of the blowing snow. Other than that, they just require dry bedding and extra corn for warmth.

The most important thing I do is deworm the whole flock in September.  This may not be such a big deal in a small flock but I find with lots of birds its really important to keep this up.

Its a good idea to walk around the property and look hard to see what needs doing BEFORE the snow comes too LOL

Cheers Stella

 

 

Laura - I don't have electric running to any of the coops but I do give mine extra rations of corn just before bedtime, this does give them extra heat during the cold winter nights.  We have gone down as far as -20 a couple of years ago and they have been fine!   Also, perching keeps them off the ground which is generally colder than higher up inside the coop - you know, heat rises!   And I refresh their water several times a day because of freezing.  They'll be ok, I'm sure.

Christina

Bumping this up for Terry

Bumping up for Meldot...some ideas for winterizing birds.