Reddit mentions: The best poulty feeding equipment

Please do not use a heating element. Even with those temperatures, you can find passive solar methods and use significant and efficient insulation to provide a much more consistent source of heat, as well as completely safe.

If the Inuit people can utilize igloos to stay warm...utilizing ICE.....you and your hens will be fine.

Water:

I utilize water dispensers like this, however they are painted flat black color, including the exterior of the red water saucer. I used a flat black paint that was as close to water-proof childrens paint as possible.

I am currently in the works to attach a irrigation designed heating element for my buried irrigation line/micro drip system, that is attached to my 4 water dispensers. (I attached a water-tight port for my micro-drip emitters to click into, and automatically provide water every other day, when the winter irrigation comes on via the Rain-Bird system).

If the summer water line fails, I will simply attach a hose to the drip system tubing, along with the heating element, and turn on as needed.

I also determined I had to install a backflow prevention valve a little before the first micro-emitter. This prevented water siphoning back into the tubing, or the siphon suction from the dispenser pulling more water and eventually air through the tubing, effectively emptying the dispenser.

Besides this, I have the dispensers sitting ontop of a new, large, and hot compost pile, with burlap covering the top, preventing compost from being scratched into the water.

Food

Plenty of good quality chicken scratch, but not enough to prevent natural consumption of their normal feed.

I also include fatty black oil sunflower, and I mix in high-protein/carb meat-bird feed into the layer pellets...this is feed normal for meat-birds. I mix in about 1 to 4 parts for early and late winter, and 1 to 3 or 2 parts for deep/mid-winter. Do not use this exclusively, it will hurt the liver and kidneys of your layer hens.

I provide daily a tub of a warm pre-cooked mixture of wild and normal spinach, lambs ear, Amaranth, lentils, alfalfa, stinging nettle, kale, fartichoke grated tubers, (jeruselum artichoke) and several other various grains and greens.

This is the major winter-feed source I grow for my flock. I dedicate a lot of square footage to either high-carb, protein rich, or nutrient dense greens and grains. Whatever I harvest specifically for storage, I blanch/strain, or steam until the greens/grain is lightly cooked. This also reduces the amount of nutrient loss or moisture content.

I then freeze these mixes in bread-pans, and then brick them in my deep freezer.

A lot of what I grow, specifically Amaranth, buckwheat, lentils, millet, sorghum, beets and jeruselum artichoke tubers....can be harvested and stored dry or root storage, and cooked at time for serving. Amaranth stores so well, I often have it sprouting and growing where I dragged out a stalk for the chickens to peck at. I cook buckwheat, sorghum, beets, and fartichokes, and sometimes Amaranth... everything else is either added in or tossed as a chicken scratch.

I have now been supplementing freeze-dried black soldier fly larvae. Still perfecting the freeze-drying/storing.



Hen House Heat:

I painted the metal roof to the hen house flat black. In the Summer, the hen house is in full shade from 11am to sunset, due to being situated directly underneath a very large Cotton-wood canopy. In fall and winter, the tree is bare, allowing the roof to have full sunlight all day until 1 hr before sunset.

I have stacked straw bales alongside each wall of the hen house, past their roost height, but not impeding the vents. I made sure that the bales are secure with nylon line and chicken wire....you dont want a bale falling onto your flock!

I have tacked on black landscaping poly-plastic against the door of the hen house, which faces East and gets first morning light and full sun until 2pm winter. I remove the fence-staples in mid-spring, and clean, roll-up and store the poly plastic for next winter. Temps on the coldest days (4 below of 5 above)....hen house temp was easily around 30-35 degrees.

I have designed and installed passive solar heat, by building a shelf or rack against each wall exposed to sun(except the door), and then stacking flat-black jugs full of water against the coop walls. The jugs absorb considerable heat from any sun, and emit it into the walls of the coop, well after sunset.

No electric, gas, or even solar panels/batteries (except my solar powered chicken door).

FYI~Ventilation is very important. If you do not provide consistent dry litter, as well as a well ventilated coop....you risk respiratory issues, and frost bite. Even if your coop is dry, your flock expires a significant amount of moisture in their breath every night. If this does not rise and escape, it settles onto the flock, and freezes.
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Chicken Run:

I have grown living wind-breaks to prevent the normal cold cross-winds from hitting the flock. I have also provided snow shelters around the coop and in areas that get full sun. Snow shelters are teepees of plywood, with a little straw inside. I don't want to make the shelters too comfortable as to encourage nesting.

I have several extra bales of straw that I set down ontop of snow and ice along their common trails. It keeps feet warm and drier, helps the trails melt, and keeps the trails from getting muddy.

I make the entire chicken run a large compost floor. Right now, is when I lay down several layers of compost materials; manure, grass clippings, leaves, straw. Never more than 4 inches in the drip line of the cotton wood tree. More outside of the drip line. It definitely is warmer, even in an open-air 40'x40' chicken run.

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My friend crocheted black chicken sweater-vests, But I recommended that she stop. Chickens floof-out their feathers when cold to help retain heat. With a sweater, it prevents the faloofing they do.

Example of floofing. (made up word)

Edited a bunch of after thoughts into this post.

Depends on the amount of chickens and how cold/hot your area is. Starting out, I'd probably do like 4 chickens unless you don't mind the extra bit of work involved with more chickens. I'd recommend having at least 1 roosting area per couple of chickens, although they'll probably end up sharing one particular spot even if you have like 10. Do keep in mind things like brooding with your chickens if you don't have a rooster. They'll get pissed that their eggs aren't hatching and will eventually get aggressive towards you, you'll need to separate them from the rest of the chickens to help them calm down. So plan for multiple areas (later down the line, depending on how old you get your chickens. They can lay eggs for up to 7 years surprisingly.)

I'd recommend maybe something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N42KXC3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Lve1CbYY5H5N2

It's a good starter coop and is relatively affordable for up to 10 chickens, although I'd say closer to 8 depending on the breed of chicken. It's good to have an enclosed run (the fence type thing that comes with the coop) while they're younger so you can better control their eating area until they're older. You should get 1 big water fountain for them, as it'll reduce the amount of time you need to spend re-watering them. It's worth the upfront cost of getting a big one that's a few gallons as opposed to getting a small one and eventually getting a big one like I did. You can make your own with some buckets and some PVC pipe fittings if you're up to the task, it's worth getting/making a good quality feeder / waterer for your chickens. Obviously, having a big reservoir will reduce the overall work on your part. You should keep in mind that as your chickens get older, and depending on the size of your backyard / lot, you will eventually let the chickens free roam your area and they'll drastically reduce the amount of feed they'll require as they'll eat bugs and random shit (sometimes literally) in your area.

Windows are good for ventilation of your chickens, you should definitely have a window or two to help air out the coop. That's why I recommend that particular coop I linked above because it has a window already and has a decent amount of space for a couple of chickens when first starting out. Also, try to make an area they can sit on. They like to perch on random things like branches on a tree if it can support their weight. I've had my chickens perch on a bicycle in my property.

If you want to be extra lazy, check out some automatic coop door openers. There's some pretty fancy ones that use a Raspberry Pi to control the door mechanisms and are charged by solar panels. Here's one I use and I love it.


http://hentronix.co.uk/mainstore/hentronix-automatic-chicken-door-opener


MIller Little Giant 7 Gallon Poultry Waterer Fount - The Best https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6ZTGSU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_1xe1CbYAJ3CX8

RentACoop Chicken Feeder-Holds 20 Pounds-Pellets-Crumbles-Grain in Bucket - for 21st Century Chicken Owners - Inside or Outside of Coop - Use with Nipple Waterer (2 Feed Ports - Corner (4-6 Hens)) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016047Q5G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_fze1CbVRJ00G2

I made a watering bucket for mine. Got a food-grade plastic bucket with lid (for free from Sam's bakery, they go through tons of those icing buckets), cleaned it well.

Ordered chicken nipples from Amazon (way cheaper than getting them through a poultry supply place); drilled four holes in the bottom of the bucket, and put the nipples in. (here is a link to the type I got)

I mounted a hose reel to a post in the run, hung the bucket handle over it, and voila! -- clean water on demand!

It took them about five minutes to figure it out -- now they prefer that to a bowl of water. Only down-side is, I can't use it during the winter due to freezing temperatures. However, from spring through fall, it saves me a ton of work, and means they always have clean fresh water.

btw. check out this feeder: https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Feeder-Holds-Pounds-Pellets-Crumbles-Grain-Bucket-Placement/dp/B016047Q5G/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1522849960&sr=1-5&keywords=chicken+feeder while it is a pipe feeder I don't expect it to clog and its probably easy to build diy

This is what they look like close up.

same but in black

http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Plucker-Plucking-Whizbang-EZplucker/dp/B006QX83QS

The fingers are rubber and they grab and pull the feathers after you dip them in hot water. My old local feed store used to rent the machines by the day if you planned on doing lots of slaughtering.

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Chicken-Poultry-Processing-Restraining/dp/B006QXJLDC

https://www.amazon.com/Oasis-Poultry-Water-Nipples-Pack/dp/B00846NTRI

These?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00846NTRI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lzJ8Ab7A2YFEC

They're made out of rubber, you just drill a 3/4" hole and work them through it. https://www.amazon.com/Pinty-Chicken-Plucker-Fingers-Plucking/dp/B017QYIH98/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479356224&sr=8-1&keywords=plucker+fingers