Livestock: Chicken Thoughts

Winter is fast approaching. This has me considering how the chickens will fare in the coming winter. Generally, Rhode Island Reds are supposed to be pretty hardy. That said, the laws of nature still hold true in my yard, despite my best efforts. I've also got a two week vacation set squarely in the middle of winter which has me thinking of "automation." Lastly, I've been thinking forward to next spring and beyond.

Automation and winter go together. Partly, I can see water changes, feeding, etc. will be less than enjoyable at 20 degrees with high winds. Ideally, I would have a hopper feeder which can hold several weeks of food. Water is a huge concern for me. I've read stories of chickens dying from dehydration in a little more than a day. Plus, the engineer in me wants a level.of redundancy. Right now, I'm thinking of a heater under the existing waterer plus a heated dog dish plus some sort of coop heating. Then, I will have someone come by twice a day to check on them when I am away. Still, it would be nice to have a multi-day supply just in case. Maybe I'm making too big a deal of this.

Beyond water, I was thinking about automation of coop opening and closing. If I could automate the opening there would only be one daily task to offload, when needed.

Totally unrelated to winter, I've been thinking of the future. Specifically, I've been thinking about sustainability and forage management. The current plan is to shift around the run fencing to provide new forage while letting other areas regrow. I figure that I can rotate their run continuously so they have fresh greens all the time. In order to do that, I have to come up with a 3+ season pasture management plan which I can use on a 30'x15' area for 6 chickens. What was that about over thinking things?