How To Winterize Chickens in a Greenhouse | All You Need To Know

I have kept chickens in a greenhouse tunnel for a couple years now in Sweden, at almost 60° North. Here is what I have learned and what is important to know for you...
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[@brendawhite6540]

It's neat how Mother Nature can do so many things for a farm! Love it❤️ glad you do as much as you do naturally! 😀

[@lisabooker6405]

I think this way is so smart. Lumnah Acres does the deep bedding method for wintering their chickens as well. There’s isn’t as big as yours but I was excited last year to see him try it (and do it again this year) because I’d seen you do it first. It just seems practical and natural to me. Thank you for sharing. Have a blessed day. ~Lisa

[@carolinehonse35]

A wonderful system that benefits everyone!

[@lesahanners5057]

Thanks Simeon, you always bring us such good information, well thought out and brilliant in its application. Amazing!

[@drmckinley]

Very nice Greenhouse. Well made and the flooring is great with compose/shavings. Chickens are natures way.

[@drmckinley]

MISSPELLED IT MY BAD@Mark OnTheBlueRidge

[@zestymar]

We have very wet winters here in western Washington and some of my birds are fussy about the rain, so this is definitely something that I want to try.

[@gregor2853]

Thank you for this very informative video!

[@larrykluckoutdoors8227]

I love your video, so much info in them. Thank you

[@fooddude9921]

Very informative video Simeon, lots of info I hadn't heard before - many thanks!

[@SquareOneFarms]

Nice bit of good forage and a good system. Thanks for the video!

[@mrnutsy1]

Thanks for the information! Gives me a lot to think about!

[@dorascott8286]

Thanks for your time, great job....

[@unbigmacpourgignac8301]

I love all your different types of videos keep it up!

[@mikemoralesKartRacer]

Thanks great info

[@malkaringel7864]

Very interesting 🎥 n very informative. Thanks

[@Dezedaantje]

Your chickens look so peaceful and clean.

[@pamelacourtney8998]

Thank you for this video. You have given me some ideas . Blessings to all.

[@katewizer2736]

I had not considered using the greenhouse as a winter shelter for my gals! Thanks for the great idea!

[@MrDave8539]

My chickens love my little greenhouse, not to mention the extra light in the winter helps keep their egg production up. Peace

[@clairepapadatos1116]

Really brilliant! 👍 All love, and best wishes, Claire, Berlin 😘 😘 😘 ✌

[@jimborton1]

Those look like some very healthy and happy chickens and you seem to have plenty of room for more. This is a very impressive system. I look forward to your progress! Thanks for these videos.

[@vu2891]

I don’t know how your channel came up on my feed but i’m so glad it did! Love the channel and i will continue to support.

[@eddeetz493]

Super upload, I hope you are on your way to replacing the breeding flock and get that revenue stream back in process. Let the animals do the heavy lifting works for me and your back not cleaning barns. I hope the cattle barn build is on schedule.

[@sarahaugustine4185]

A lot of great information Simeon, thank you for sharing your experiences with this system. I will be tacking up 4 mil plastic around my small chicken run to keep the wind off of them as well as the rain. I will vent it, of course.

[@MJ-pc3ry]

I wish I had half your knowledge! Chickens looks happy and healthy. ❤🇨🇦

[@amyrobert]

We made a greenhouse/coop this summer. The chickens have thrived in it all winter! Can't wait to start growing in a couple months 😍

[@markust5601]

Your channel is my new favorite channel! So many informative beautiful videos that I hardly get anything done anymore. How much wind and snow can a greenhouse like this one handle? Thank you / Markus (Sthlm, Sweden)

[@refuel-centre7131]

thanks so much next year we begin with a little greenhouse for the chickens

[@CleoCastonguay47]

Very informative... Thanks for all the tips . :)

[@sjobang]

I love to watch your chickens. Always happy and healthy, and not a peck-chicken in sight. If we could have an update on the hatchery, as well, that would also be great.

[@dinatarini3303]

Thanks, great information.

[@HubsByG]

Wow what an interesting video thank you. Could you please explain more about the wet wood chips in the 1,000l tanks?

[@blitzburghbilly7813]

NIIIICE TUTORIAL HERE SIMEON... I'VE WATCHED MAYBE 3 to 4 OTHERS USING THIS SAME SYSTEM & NONE EVEN CAME CLOSE TO PROVIDING THE KNOWLEDGE & INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE HERE, WELL DONE. ( KNUCKLE👊🏽BUMP ) Simeon/Homestead

[@dpower02]

This is a good idea in a lot of ways you get to grow your veggies in summer season and then the birds get housing and brouse to feed on, the birds clean their pen and they will eat the weed seeds and the leftover seeds so you will have less volunteer plants growing, they will cultivate and fertilize the soil. You could set up some straw bale grow beds and use the manure (Rabbit manure works well) to turn the bed into a heat source then later to grow your winter greens, and have 3 or4 of these smaller straw bale beds and get them working as needed to heat the hot house and as things turn to spring you will be able to start your plants in these grow beds once they are mostly spent and not providing as much heat plant the seeds for spring crops. Another thing that some hot house growers are doing is adding the second plastic liner and bottom liner droops down inside the hot house and they use a wood stove and a fan to pressurise the space between the two plastic layers and the fan forces the heated air to the none stove end of the hot house and it makes a large difference in the ability to heat and keep the heat inside. Can you please show what the hot house looks like inside, in the spring when the birds are moved out.

[@bwayne40004]

I just wanted to say from viewing the "deep bedding" videos I have watched over the last year or more I decided to do the same in my own way with my small number of birds. I slowly built up the bedding using commercial wood chips, shavings, grass and leaves from the lawn plus ground corn cobs. A couple of bags of sand were added and even ash from my charcoal grill. I too toss a handful of scratch grain in there to get the chickens stirring things up. Their inside coop is three sided and 3X8m, the outside fenced area is about the same. I guess bedding is around 20cm deep at this time. I only have 8 laying pullets and they just started laying a month ago but with this small number their area is never built up with manure and I do think the smell was very minimal for the hot fall we had. I plan to add additional ground corn cobs this weekend and once the leaves accumulate I am going to go over them with the bagger attachment to the mower and add these. Long story to say I am glad I went with the deep bedding (I had not heard of the idea before you) as I have gone the other route before and it is rather smelly with caked manure.

[@kurtmiller7254]

I'm moving my chicken coop to my garden. So they can clean out the plants and do similar to what I have seen you do. I have a "typical" garden, no wood chips, outdoor. First time trying it and wondered if anyone had tips to try? Love the videos!

[@hal7ter]

Tell us how it goes. It may help someone!

[@HansQuistorff]

Possibly add worms to the cycle. Worms can finish compost that starts to cool down. They can handle meat scraps in the compost. They are a source of protein for the chickens.

[@ronnie-being-ronnie]

Use that ground heat for making fresh green sprouts for healthy cheap food over winter. Seeds in bulk are so cheap, and they are mostly on sale now... Just fence off sections, throw down cold hardy seeds like mustards, lettuces, brassicas, chard and moisten the area. Every couple of days seed a new section. (You could even keep a section isolated for some greens for your own use.) You do a chicken rotation just like in the pasture.

[@andreafalconiero9089]

I was thinking rye would be a good choice for something like this -- very cold-hardy, and you could probably keep annual rye (not perennial "ryegrass") growing continuously throughout the winter. If it was seeded into raised beds covered with chicken wire or hardware cloth a few inches above soil level, the birds or other animals could graze continuously on the growing grass without destroying it, keeping it at an _adolescent_ stage of maximal growth. As you suggested, it would even be possible to fence of sections and graze rotationally!. Adding plants of some kind would definitely be a good idea, as it would greatly improve air quality without requiring as much fresh (and cold!) outdoor air. Obviously you couldn't grow enough grass to keep the animals fed, but fresh greens would still be a very beneficial addition to their diet.

[@harrietcarr307]

Hi Simeon, I live in a small town in the USA (so glad you're coming here!) and have watched so many of your videos. Your poultry operation is amazing. So well thought out with great success from the looks of your happy birds. I would buy one for dinner and know it would be delicious!!;) I enjoyed the explanation of the wintering process. So interesting and healthy for your flock. I am fascinated by your beautiful Highland cattle. I followed Susie's saga with the rest of your viewers. I so admire your intelligent farming methods, Simeon. I wish more farmers would grow organic crops and care about sustainability. I hope that something can be done to allow your cattle to be slaughtered. One viewer had that great idea about a traveling butcher. So many in your area could benefit from that service. Maybe an ad in local newspaper, farming magazines or online? Best of luck. Hi to your lovely family. Your North Carolina viewer

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks Harriet Carr. There has been a traveling butcher here once but they had to shut down for some reasons. It was regulations again...

[@X02switchblades]

Ι like how they get jealous and do whatever the other ones are doing...like a nosy person!

[@jvb4960]

hi simeon! greetings from a dutch lady in norway. thank you for all your videos! really appreciate it also because i am still learning how to farm here in the north. do your chickens lay eggs i the winter in the greenhouse and where do you keep the nesting boxes? hilsen !

[@nordicmetis]

Great information. Will the hens be warm enough to continue laying over the winter? Tack sa mycket!

[@petruzzovichi]

Simeon, you have a quiet, peaceful, loving manner that is refreshing. You are a terrific educator and many are privileged to visit you, your family and your farm on a regular basis. Many thanks for all your effort at producing successful videos.

[@goin2green]

Liked and shared.

[@markmcfrederick8932]

I have been following you for about a year now. I understand that your wife is from Arizona, USA. Have you ever considered moving to AZ, USA? I think you should do a Pros & Cons list while you are still living in Sweden; and then, when you visit in AZ for the Holidays so that they can help you with your Pros & Cons with her family. Maybe it's not even a possibility but you seem to have such a hard life; does it have to be so hard? Maybe the Rhodes family in North Carolina, USA could also share some wisdom. Wishing my best for you & yours, Mark

[@de8517]

Mark Mcfrederick - Simeon's wife is from Oregon. If I understand correctly from previous videos, his parents & brother live nearby. Have a good day!

[@jasonhatfield4747]

How long do you let the compost rest in the spring before you start planting? I would love to be able to use a hoop house for overwintering chickens and pigs and then use it to grow vegetables, but I'm assuming I would have to let it rest for at least a few months after moving the animals out?

[@1870s]

Do you get alot of volunteer tomatoes the next year? We do deep bedding as well, start in fall so it is plenty warm enough come winter.

[@simeonandalex]

You know, we get some but not much. Our winters are so cold that they die often. Some seeds that are deep in the bedding survive and when I plant I dig them up. I usually pull them out because I don't know what variety they are. Most likely they are cross pollinated...

[@stephaniechavez9422]

simeon, where do the chickens lay and sit on their eggs? do you put down bedding somewhere for that purpose? also, do you supplement with feed? my cousin used to raise chickens here in winlock, WA. he used to give his chickens table scraps. he rarely threw anything away. those chicken ate everything! even another chicken if it was pecked on and vulnerable.

[@thorson7842]

Would adding a couple of black barrels with water or antifreeze to collect heat to radiat out at night be helpful? I ask for my cousin who had a few hoop houses he is looking to move from another farm to his... and this might be something he'll be interested in.

[@shawn9968]

Do you have nesting boxes in there, Simeon, or do they lay eggs on the ground?

[@stanpatterson5033]

Excuse this somewhat off-topic question, but how did you get the goose ( geese if there's more than one) in there? Will your geese let you approach and pick them up, or did you get them to willingly follow you in there?

[@simeonandalex]

The goose respects me and I can move it.

[@brandijodoin7817]

Hello, What is your average temp. in the winter there and then what is the average temp in the greenhouse? also do your hens still lay eggs in the winter ?

[@sjobang]

Would it be possible (and even desirable) to lift or raise the nesting sticks, in order to provide a safe sone for your chickens, if a predator ever gets in?

[@synnesofiereksten5870]

What do you reffer to as «deep bedding»?

[@gayleberesford8347]

What about the condensation. It drips when I open the doors. Wet climate in western Washington...

[@wojomojo]

Why the emphasis on lighting, is it for keep egg production up?

[@mikelamothesr.8998]

Would chickens and pigs share an area such as your plastic tunnel and remain successful? Mike

[@monabale8263]

do they lay eggs in there during the winter?

[@davidpestana5290]

Question from someone that has no Idea about farming. Can’t you keep you keep it warm by composting inside the greenhouse? wood chip stays hot longer as it takes longer to break down I think, also I’ve seen ppl making some sort of heat exchange with the compost

[@TK-qu1ht]

Do you add roosts? Do you have laying boxes?

[@simeonandalex]

I talk about the roosts in the video. Yes, I have roll away nesting boxes.

[@niceone99]

Does anyone know why Simeon doesn't have sheep anymore?

[@davewygonowski984]

WOW! Your frame is wood. Did you make that or purchase? or did I miss it?

[@tonygrimes13]

Dave Wygonowski - see kzbin.info/aero/PLM6CWpWGipvnY123pcaMuf4qX6mEMebfq

[@lorcathecrazy5331]

I was wondering what kind of temperature difference would be achieved. Would the greenhouse maintain above freezing in subzero outside temperatures?

[@robtdougherty]

In an older video, he had made mention that a compost pile he had in the greenhouse, (it was decent size maybe 8 feet around) was able to keep the temp 4 to 5 degrees higher then the outside temp. He also said that was with a couple of large holes in the plastic from preditors.

[@amyrobert]

Our set up is 10'x20'. We have 12 chickens and use the deep bedding method. The coop would go below freezing at night but usually a few degrees above the outside temp. During the day it can be as much as 20c warmer than outside. Our ladies enjoyed above freezing temps most of our winter. We are in Northern Ontario. I can't say enough good things about this method!

[@kevinglathar4678]

Any issues with the chickens pecking at and damaging the plastic of your greenhouse?

[@kevinglathar4678]

@Jahdereh 15 Ah....didn't initially see the netting while watching the video on my phone. Thanks

[@gerrymarmee3054]

🐔

[@CatsRule]

No work for me, friend Simeon .. Come Winter we sell all calf crop and kill all of our chickens … and start over come Spring … Looks like seasons are much milder where you live … Many tears and wishing you much luck. Your family is beautiful. … says this Alberta cat.

[@ellawilson4487]

What breed of chickens do you have?

[@diesel_dawg]

Do you ever feed your chickens crushed eggshells and meat? I saw Justin Rhodes feed them to his chickens and was surprised because I didn't know chickens eat that stuff!

[@simeonandalex]

Chickens eat almost anything. They need good protein and need insects. If you are allowed to feed them meat, do so. There are regulations around that in many places.

[@diesel_dawg]

@@simeonandalex I guess the "mad cow disease" thing would have been a factor in the regulations. That's something else I didn't know about. lol Thanks! :)

[@buyorsellahomeinwhatcomcounty]

This is our first year with chickens and everything I read says chickens cannot eat tomatoes leaves or they’ll die?

[@picklep9812]

What role does the goose play? Thanks

[@andreafalconiero9089]

Guard goose for the chickens -- more useful in the summer than the winter, obviously!

[@vimabete1]

how big is your green house ?

[@chlebajatro]

🐔🐔🐔❤️

[@AeriolNicols]

Where do they sleep Simeon?

[@lorlorslinger9617]

Aeriol Nicols on roosting racks, you can see one in the background.

[@tomtruax4591]

How many chickens per square meter?

[@simeonandalex]

I answer that in the video. 3/m2

[@davidj.mackinney6568]

Never could get the video on Highland Cattle finished. Only the vervy first part would load.

[@foggyrange]

Simeon how do chickens cope with changes in amount of sunlight, their Circadian rhythm cycle?

[@simeonandalex]

If possible I always recommend to let them go their natural cycle. They will lay little and recover a lot during this winter season. Nights here are so short that they will rest for most part of the 24 hours. In march it is still cold but much brighter. The sun will warm up the hoop house a lot during day time and egg production will kick in.

[@kathyclaus8276]

Where is a lead to your GoFundMe account for donations to assist in your travel to America?

[@edieboudreau9637]

Kathy Claus its the address listed under donate to our farm here in drop down.

[@simeonandalex]

Hey Kathy Claus. We don't have a gofundme right now. At the moment you can donate via our facebook page or buy some merch from us. Both links are in the description.

[@kathyclaus8276]

Edie Boudreau. Ok. Thank you.

[@keithturney3667]

Do you have any trouble from rats.

[@simeonandalex]

Not had any problems with that.

[@cathyroe3799]

Do not know if you view CBN 700 Club routinely, but today they had a story about the Swedish ship Elida sailing to Israel for a good will tour.

[@user-rh5jp2sh4s]

Do you want to expand your folk