Severe temps?

And now it looks like Sunday will be a HIGH of -5! Which means lows will be about -18 not counting wind chill. My birds might be acclimated to winter, but not those temps! Time to try to get some heat in the coop?

ydkjenn said:

And now it looks like Sunday will be a HIGH of -5! Which means lows will be about -18 not counting wind chill. My birds might be acclimated to winter, but not those temps! Time to try to get some heat in the coop?

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Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Just keep them out of the wind for sure......wind chill doesn't count if they can get out of the wind.

aart said:

Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Just keep them out of the wind for sure......wind chill doesn't count if they can get out of the wind.

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Fahrenheit. So...cold.(like -20 celsius). -5 Celsius, I wouldn't be worrying as much.

Well I was going to put up a post but you all beat me to it! We are looking at wind chills in the -20 to -30 range for Thursday and Friday, then a decent warm up for the weekend. I dont heat my coop. The run is wrapped in heavy plastic except for the "people" door. Should I block off the open areas (ventilation) of the coop building itself just for the two days? Im weighing the ventilation vs the high wind. Even though its not directly on the birds I would think with that kind of wind it will still get to them??

dtabor said:

Well I was going to put up a post but you all beat me to it! We are looking at wind chills in the -20 to -30 range for Thursday and Friday, then a decent warm up for the weekend. I dont heat my coop. The run is wrapped in heavy plastic except for the "people" door. Should I block off the open areas (ventilation) of the coop building itself just for the two days? Im weighing the ventilation vs the high wind. Even though its not directly on the birds I would think with that kind of wind it will still get to them??

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You might block, or at least baffle, some of it on the upwind side.
It can be tough balancing nice air flow with strong feather ruffling drafts.
Taller the coop is, the easier it is to manage.

dtabor said:

Well I was going to put up a post but you all beat me to it! We are looking at wind chills in the -20 to -30 range for Thursday and Friday, then a decent warm up for the weekend. I dont heat my coop. The run is wrapped in heavy plastic except for the "people" door. Should I block off the open areas (ventilation) of the coop building itself just for the two days? Im weighing the ventilation vs the high wind. Even though its not directly on the birds I would think with that kind of wind it will still get to them??

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No, do not close vents.......The moisture needs to get out from the vents.......Breath and poop are moisture.....The idea is to keep the birds dry and out of the wind.....

Cheers!

Some of it depends on what your coop looks like too. A big tall walk-in versus a small elevated, for example. Or where you’re your roosts are located relative to the vents. Dry and out of the wind is a good way to phrase your goal.

I’m an engineer (retired) and tend to think in terms of forces and air movement. I also tend to overthink these things. We often use the word “draft” when talking about this. People tend to think of a draft as the tiny air movement you get through your windows and doors in your house where you have to hold a candle near them to see if there is any air movement. A small amount of air movement like that is not bad, it’s actually good in a coop. That means you are getting some air exchange. It’s the stronger air movements that are a problem.

If you’re your coop is tall enough and your roosts are positioned so the wind goes over their head, it’s fine to have all the vents open. The friction between the air passing overhead and the air beneath that air stream will create some turbulence which will cause air exchange. It’s the amount of turbulence that becomes the issue. Each coop is different so I can’t give a blanket statement always leave them open or always block the upwind side off.

If you have a specific wind direction some kind of baffle or even total block on the upwind side can be a good thing, whether or not it is necessary. But leave the downwind side open. The sides 90 degrees to the wind direction maybe can be open too, depending if they are out of the wind direction. The wind blowing past the openings and blowing over the downwind side will create a suction that creates some turbulence inside the building. That type of suction is the same type of force that allows airplanes to fly or eats up your gas mileage if your vehicle is not very streamlined.

Your type of vents makes a difference too. Some people use roof vents, ridge vents, or gable vents. Some of us leave openings at the tops of the walls especially under the overhang, somewhat similar to soffit vents. You get different air flow patterns with different types of vents.

Another factor is the health of your chickens. Healthy chickens can handle cold weather much better than sick chickens.

My coldest temperatures here are usually not when the wind is blowing. It’s when a high settles over us and it’s dead calm. You still need air movement in those conditions. Some people think you have to have openings high and low in those conditions but if you look at the physics you really don’t. What you need is a difference in air temperatures, since warm air rises gravity will provide the force to get air movement. The chicken’s body temperature, their breath, the poop before it freezes, heated or just thawed water, and maybe even the ground if your coop is not elevated will provide warmth to heat the air and create air movement. It’s not going to create a lot but it will create some. If you have enough open vents it’s usually enough but in this case the more the better. The heavier cooler air outside the coop will flow into the coop and force the lighter warmer air out, whether the vents are high or low as long as you have some high vents. But don’t create a wind tunnel from low to high when the wind is blowing.

In summer I do recommend openings high and low. You really need ventilation when it’s hot and a breeze on the chickens is welcome, not a problem at all. To get the most difference in air temperature your opening down low should be on the shady side where the air going into the coop is coolest but even on the hot side it will help some.

I can’t tell you what to do. Some people in your temperatures heat, some don’t. Some forum members well south of me have created conditions where their chickens get frostbite at temperatures barely below freezing by sealing the coop so moisture cannot escape. Some members north of me have solved frostbite problems by opening up more ventilation, not sealing the coop tighter. Some people keep single combed chickens in your climate without heating and don’t have problems but Chanteclers and Buckeyes that were developed for colder climates have smaller combs for a reason.

I can’t tell you what to do. Your situation is unique and you need to make your own decisions. Good luck!