I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal to most, but having electricity in the chicken coop is a huge advantage. I’ve always used an extension cord during the early spring for keeping heat on the baby meat chickens but now that I have the ducks full time I needed a more permanent solution.
If you remember, the coop was free, and the electrical panel and all the outlets were already in it so all hubby had to do was run the power source underground from the cabin to the coop and hook it up. I make it sound so easy; they did have to drill through our retaining wall on the basement side to hook it into the panel.
A few weeks back we had unseasonably warm weather and hubby and our employees had a free day so they dug a trench, along with a helper in the canine form, and put in the wiring.
It will come in handy this winter when I’ll need to have a heated water bowl for the ducks. We’ve already had a couple of days where their bowl had a thin layer of ice on top by morning. And with the days being so dark and gloomy it’s nice to have an overhead light I can turn on while cleaning the coop.
I may even use the light at night as a heat source for the ducks. Right now they spend most of their nights on the pond. I call it camping out but I know as it gets colder they’ll wander up to the coop for the night.
They seem to come home about every 3 days to fill up on food then their right back to the pond. Hubby and I used to spend every evening right before dark down at the pond getting the ducks off the water and into the coop, it’s not an easy task let me tell you. I finally gave up and said if they want to camp out let them; I guess they’ll come home when they’re ready. And sure enough that’s exactly what they do.
So I’ve quit worrying about them and let them do their own thing but I do know once they come home they’ll have a warm coop to cozy up in for the long cold winter months.
Oh I know what you mean. I worried about my chickens all the time and had an extension cord run from the house to the coop as well. Hubby finally ran electricity to the coop last summer. I run a fan in the summer and on cold nights a heater. Never thought I’d need a heater in Georgia but it does get cold,going to be in the 20s the next few nights so I’m glad I’ve got electricity to the coop. Love the pictures of the ducks at the pond and your clothes hanging on your porch in the back ground.
Have a blessed day
Judy, I was hoping someone would notice the laundry and the cabin in the background. When I post pictures I know it’s hard to get the feel of the land and how things are positioned on the property. I would have never thought you’d need a heated coop in Georgia, now a fan yes. I do the same I put a fan on the meat chickens in the summer, LOL. Maybe we’re crazy chicken ladies.