One of the most interesting findings of experienced farmers and breeders is the idea of wintering poultry in a polycarbonate greenhouse, which is still idle in the cold months. The idea is especially relevant for areas with cold winters, where year-round maintenance of poultry in an unheated building is impossible. About the rationality of such a decision, as well as how to properly organize the house and prepare the room, read the article.
Is it possible to keep animals in a greenhouse in winter?
As practice has shown, the greenhouse is great for keeping birds. However, one cannot simply move livestock from a summer house to a greenhouse. In order for the birds to winter without stress and loss, you will have to take care of creating favorable conditions in the design.
Did you know? Domestic chickens are descendants of a tyrannosaurus - one of the largest predators that have ever lived on Earth.
If we talk about the appropriateness of moving the bird to a greenhouse, then an indisputable plus is a significant saving in space and financial resources, as well as facilitating labor. The greenhouse perfectly protects birds from winter weather, off-season rains and predators. Greenhouse conditions make it possible to preserve the livestock and bring new young growth by spring.
Rules for keeping birds in a greenhouse
For a comfortable wintering of birds, the room should be provided with a ventilation system, proper lighting and heating (read more about this in the article below). So that the greenhouse does not freeze in the winter, you need to take care of additional insulation of the structure. Then you should lay a warm litter, which is suitable for straw, hay and sawdust.
New housing for birds should be equipped with perches, nests and other attributes uncharacteristic for a vegetable greenhouse. In the spring, all these items are taken apart and transferred to a summer house. The greenhouse must also be equipped with perches and nests (if you intend to maintain egg production during the winter keeping of animals).
Important! To preserve the polymer greenhouse floor covering, which birds often pierce with their beaks, cover the floor with slate or plywood sheets.
Perches are made of poles or lumber with a circular cross section. In the cold season, birds prefer to sit closely, therefore, a 0.25 m long timber is taken on one individual. It is advisable to place perches on the same level. Nests are made of plywood with neat edges, without protruding nails. Litter is laid on the mesh bottom of the nest.
What animals can be kept in the greenhouse in winter?
Together in the greenhouse can live chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys and turkey, but for this you need to build the right house, which will satisfy the needs of each species. Ducks and geese are water birds, and therefore they need open access to fresh water. Hens, on the contrary, require drier conditions.
Turkeys are subject to the same conditions as other types of poultry. Of particular importance in the winter content of turkeys is the litter, on which they spend most of the time. Indochka are also thermophilic birds and do not tolerate cold. In winter, they need to be kept in a well-insulated room, organized short walks on the site and added to the menu foods rich in nutrients.
How to organize a wintering of birds?
A polymer greenhouse will help birds overwinter only if the farmer does not lose sight of the following important points.
Compliance with the temperature regime
The main condition for the productive keeping of birds in severe frosts is the maintenance of a normal temperature regime. For the livelihoods of domesticated birds in the winter, the air temperature in the room should not drop below + 10 ° C.
In order for the birds to begin to lay eggs, the temperature should be raised to +15 ... + 25 ° С. To this end, conduct additional insulation of the greenhouse from the polymer. If necessary, the room is heated. For this, various types of heaters are suitable. It is also possible to use a water heating system or electric underfloor heating.
Ventilation
Since it is recommended that birds be kept on a sufficiently deep litter (approximately 30 cm), the greenhouse may fog up due to this. If the street is warm (above –2 ° C), in order to prevent the occurrence of strong condensation, open the ventilation windows and be sure to ventilate the room. The best option for a greenhouse is forced air purification using exhaust fans.
Important! For the house, it’s important to use quiet, low-speed fans that set the air movement to no higher than 1.9 m / s.
Lighting
Install an infrared lamp in the room, including it only in case of emergency, when the outdoor temperature is below –20 ° C. You can optionally install an LED lamp - it illuminates the room well and does not consume a lot of electricity.
It is advisable to hide the device in an impromptu lampshade (lampshade) made of a green plastic bottle. So you protect the house from too bright light, because of which chickens often peck eggs. And under calm light, chickens and other animals will feel comfortable, so you can not turn off such a lamp around the clock.
Winter Care Tips
In conclusion, we present some important nuances for the care of living creatures in a greenhouse, which are not mentioned above:
- It is convenient to use a garden watering can to distribute feed. It is recommended to use a hanging feeder.
- In the winter diet of domestic birds, oats and ground wheat must be included. Such food will contribute to the good fertilization of eggs for subsequent incubation.
- Serve chopped food waste in a separate bowl. Wet mash in the winter is contraindicated. Only fortified dressings are permissible.
- The disadvantage of the greenhouse used as a house is the threat of high humidity, so it is advisable to replace the water with snow. Such a measure will protect the greenhouse from moisture.
- All structures (roosts, ramps, nests) must be mobile so that they can be easily dismantled in the spring.
Did you know? The record for longevity among chickens is 14 years. That is how much lived the “oldest” chicken on Earth.
The polycarbonate greenhouse on the farm is perfect for wintering poultry. This decision is finding more and more supporters. Equipping the greenhouse with everything you need, you will save a valuable bird for the whole winter and provide egg laying to laying hens.
