This is my first winter with chickens. My coop is a renovated 14'x14'x10' mini-barn. I re-shingled and cleaned it all up but I didn't insulate it. (I have mixed feelings still on whether to do that or not because of moisture issues). Our temperatures here went down to 15-20 degrees so I started to track the temp in the coop. It's been reading the same inside as the outside. I bought a heat lamp and started using it just during the daytime when it went below 35 degrees and I'd shut it off an hour or so before dusk - hoping that the warmth might last through the night. It didn't. [And Roberta, I did turn it off too late one night and the girls were so confused. They didn't find their roosts and just stayed where they were when the light went off - especially since 2 of them sleep up in the rafters]. So I bought a red light and decided to try and leave it on all night (using the thermostat) over the water & food area since it's not as bright as the clear light. Big mistake. I don't think they slept at all. They were bickering and picking on each other the whole next day. When it was time to bring them in at the end of that day, I gave them some treats and sat down to watch them for a while. When they plopped down in the bedding I thought they were going to start their dust bathing. But within 5 minutes each one tucked in their head and went to sleep. They were so exhausted and I expected to hear them start snoring. After this experience I decided to go back to my original routine of just using the light during normal daylight hours for a little extra warmth and no light at night. My only concern (with the cold nights) is for their comfort and combs. I'm not concerned with egg production since these girls are pets for me. Sorry this got so long. Stay toasty all and Happy Holidays!

DIlly-Dally have you ever gone into court and gotten a judgment against someone? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to collect on a judgment? Remember the tenant has moved out. Before you can collect you have to find them. You have to either find a bank account or find out where they work. Then you have to file for garnishment. If it's a bank account you have to refile each time you go into the account to garnish funds. Most people just change banks leading the collector on a merry chase. If they have moved out of state you can just forget the whole thing. You may have "won" in the courtroom but all you've actually done is paid a lot of filing fees and spent a bit of time for the "paper". It's not like on Judge Judy. LOL Yes there are statutes as to how much deposit a landlord can require for a pet. Actually in California their is no "pet deposit" In California under civil code section 1950.5 "pet deposits" are considered as part of the security deposit. The landlord can only collect a security deposit with the following maximums: Unfurnished rental unit: The total amount that the landlord requires as security cannot be more than the amount of two months' rent. If you have a waterbed, the total amount allowed as security can be up to two and-a-half times the monthly rent. Furnished rental unit: The total amount that the landlord requires as security cannot be more than the amount of three months' rent. If you have a waterbed, the total amount allowed as security can be up to three-and-a-half times the monthly rent. Let me tell you. It can eat up a lot more than two months rent to repair the damage one peeing cat can do. Plus the landlord is out of the rental income during the extra time it takes to get the property ready for the next tenant.

About a week and a half ago I shoved every bit of sewing detritus to the back end of my huge cutting table and brought out the wrapping paper. This was fine while I was wrapping gifts. Then the DH and the DS went into my studio to wrap gifts. I may never see the table again, LOL. Paper scraps, ribbon bits, tape on the cutting mat, and where the heck did they hide by 6 1/2 square ruler??!! I must find that before I hit it with the rotary cutter. I usually use the day after Christmas as a day to sort and play with new fabrics (DH bought me (5) 1/2 yard cuts and a 2 yard cut of gorgeous fabrics this year - he knows the way to my heart), but it will have to wait this year. I love taking this time of the year to sort and organize. BUT - my son has a new girlfriend. She's gone for the holiday, of course (they are seniors at UT Austin), but she will be back on Monday. He wants decorated cookies to take to her. I have plenty of gingerbread cookies baked (I give them to the neighbors), but he was serious - he wants to decorate them himself, because Krisztina doesn't believe that he can. He's really quite good at it. So I'm going to be up to my ears in royal icing in several colors - I mix, he decorates, LOL. Here are some he did last Valentine's Day (for a former girlfriend).

Correct, the same, also in matt: https://www.tile-shop.com/products/tuxedo/tuxedo.html So happy with the outcome in our tiny bathroom after the original nightmare, thanks to the help on this site.