Winterizing the Chicken Coop

It appears that winter decided to finally arrive in the Missouri Ozarks this week  and with it a couple of inches of snow.  Although it can get down into the teens at night here in south central Missouri, it rarely remains below freezing during the day.  The average daytime temps are usually in the upper 30’s.  Prior to locking our ladies in their coop for the winter, we put about 8 inches of straw and leaves in the coop and in their yard to add insulation and to prevent a muddy mess in their yard.   We made sure that the cord for the water heater base is secure and plugged into the Thermo Cube which turns on the heater when temperature fall below 35 degrees.   We use to keep a light bulb on in the coop for heat, but haven’t found the heat to be necessary and removed it after a having a couple of bulbs getting broken.  However, the light is needed for egg production.  Due to the decrease in hours of daylight, the hens have quit laying eggs.  I am researching solar lighting for the coop to induce the ladies to start laying again.   Stay tuned for updates on our progress with solar chicken coop lighting.