Adding new chickens to our flock

waretrop said:

Nice @MoonShadows This is how it looks in the summer..of course you are only looking at half the tarp.It is allot of square feet. We have cut that in half for the winter as there would be no way to take the snow off this large area.

We use the tarp to wart off Avian Virus in summer. It is not really meant for winter but we have found the chickens go out more when it is snowing if they have some cover...

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It looks like you should be OK if you clean periodically. Of course, if the winds pick up, that could be another story. We have a roof rake. If I get to put the tarp up today, I'll clean mine periodically, too.

How does the tarp ward off Avian Virus....by keeping them dry?

Because the sick migratory birds flying over and dropping their feces where healthy birds are will infect the healthy ones. Spreading lime in that area and 2 feet on the outside of the pens will 'help' kill the infected feces. There is not a big threat of avian virus at the moment but I would rather pay it safe than loose my birds...If you ever test positive they come in and put down all poultry. I don't practice everything that the bird people recommend but I do these simple things. I watch where it is found in the summer, only becomes a threat when migratory birds move, and do more intense things before they fly over Pa.

The tarp is not needed in winter but we have learned the chickens like their ground covered a little. We just use up that tarp as it doesn't last more than a year and we have to wreck it just taking it off. There is no saving it once we put it on.

OK, thanks for that info. I didn't get the tarp up today...just ran out of time. I did get the poop board cleaned and put in another bale of pine shavings so they can make deep sitting areas which they like to do. Looks like I'll be shoveling the run every few hours during the storm.

Hope ya'll come through the storm ok.

An old shower curtain would work.

We are missing the snow, thankfully!! But, have rain now and with temps to go to upper 20s with heavy wind, may get some winter mix. Don't expect much but, they say 1.5" rain. It is needed, actually, as we've had very little of late. HOWEVER we could have a nice rain without these danged cold temps!!

I may never get a garden in. It's been at least 10 degrees below our daytime norm for a week plus wind chills, way more than that below norm at night.....after a highest on record February... 28 this AM & yesterday, too. Mid March and I had ice in the troughs.

Now I wish I had gotten a tarp over part of the run. A couple of the young hens started out of the coop despite 10-12 inches of snow already on the ground. To their surprise, they could not walk in it and had to flap their wings like crazy to get back inside. I shoveled part of the run so if they insist on coming out they can walk around a bit. They enjoyed their egg shells, left over scrambled eggs, bread and sunflower seeds. We're making a giant pot of sauce (gravy for you Italians) with meatballs and sausages. House smells great!

BEFORE


AFTER


ONE INSISTENT GAL

It is really picking up here.
1st arrow: an apple tree about 300 feet from our house
2nd arrow: huge pine trees (shadows) about 900 feet from our house at the back of our property

Wow! Ya'll stay safe in that mess.

We will! It's not supposed to end until some time late tonight. I'm guessing it will take us 2 days to dig out if we get the full 24", which at this point I think we just might. . A plow just came through out on the road. No other traffic.

I sure wouldn't be going anywhere either. Heck, 2 or 3 inches here causes a complete shut down!