Preparing Your Flock & Coop for WINTER

i just got my 4 hens this year (rescues, never had chickens before and i only have 4) and i converted a wood dog house into a coop and they have an attached covered run. THEY FREE RANGE so they're out at least 5 hrs a day.

i'm in Western Washington and the winters are somewhat mild compared to the rest of the country but let's say the average night is in the low 40's/ and sometimes high 30's and occasionally we get 2 week cold snaps (high 20's).

I am very concerned about ventilation and drafts. Also even though my run has a roof and a gutter we put up, it still gets WET inside the run and the floor is concrete so i can't see adding straw or pine shavings just to get soaked. i did put a bit of plastic up on one side of the run that helped a bit but the rain (IT RAINS A LOT here, LOL) just comes in through drips off the fiberglass roof and BLOWS in so... yeah i have no idea what to do about that--they're only in the run for a few hrs a day anyway but i hate it that it's somewhat wet and their feet's on concrete, i do have a childs swimming pool full of dirt in there that they camp in but that's getting wet, also ugh.

But here's the coop: it has 2 large doors (used to be a dog house) and one of the doors i have a board covering it but it still gets air around it as it's not nailed down and the other door is open. Their roost is on the wall that the covered door is on

I was thinking of putting plastic on the open door but i'd have to leave the bottom open about a foot for them to go in/out of the coop

Obviously the coop/run is cleaned out and the coop is full of pine shavings and has roosting bar and nest box, this was right before i did all of that but the door on the right has a board now in front of it (air still does get through the sides) and the left door is open







It is important that they have adequate ventilation without having drafts (wind blowing on them). You might try to fill in some of the cracks in the lower part of the coop and make sure there are not that blow directly on the when they are roosting. I am thinking they will be fine so long as they have each other to cuddle against if it gets too cold.
 
Well everyone...I've been M.I.A. for over a week now and I can see I have a lot of catching up to do!!
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My computer crashed last Saturday and I've been going crazy getting it back up and running, which, fingers crossed, is now done. Only really bad thing is that I lost ALL of my files, pictures, etc. ... what a mess!! I'll be reading up here for the next few days to see what everyone has been posting to this thread...bye for now!
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Welcome back!I wondered where you was hiding.

Too bad about the files. You might be able to use your Pinterest page to recover some...maybe?
 
Tarps are up on 2 sides of run and adjustable in case it's necessary to move.I used ball bungees, genius product in my opinion.
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Put straw bales along bottom for lower extra wind block. Thermometer installed inside coop.
Bungee cords are one of my three "must-haves" ... bungees, duct tape, and baling wire. You can build just about anything with 'em!!
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About a week ago we here in Central Oregon had what we refer to as "a big wind" along with downpours of rain. As a result my coop floor got wet all along the west wall which is where the double doors are located....

That strong wind blew the rain right at the coop and as you can see my "brilliant plan" fell apart right before my eyes. My coop roof (it's a LifeTime Shed) only overhangs about 2" and it just wasn't enough to keep the driving rain out of the door opening cracks.

SO! I'll have to make-do for this winter but come spring I'm adding an overhang 'roof' to that wall which will come out about 6 feet...that'll do it! Gosh, it never seems to end, does it?
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Wow! thanks for the info. Do you remember round abouts what it cost you to build it?
Right around $1000. But that was 5yrs ago. For example, the siding I used (Smartside) was $18, for a 4X8' sheet. Now it goes for something like $28 a sheet. Everything costs more. But you could still build it for less, than if you went out and bought a new, comparable sized shed, and converted it to a coop.
 
 Right around $1000.  But that was 5yrs ago.  For example, the siding I used (Smartside) was $18, for a 4X8' sheet.  Now it goes for something like $28 a sheet.  Everything costs more.  But you could still build it for less, than if you went out and bought a new, comparable sized shed, and converted it to a coop. 


yes, thats the problem i'm having. Is that every shed seems to cost at least $1000 and that is way out of my budget. So far i'm just doing with what i have. i also have all of my chickens separated for breeding purposes and i'm thinking that a few smaller coops would be better than one large one.
 
yes, thats the problem i'm having. Is that every shed seems to cost at least $1000 and that is way out of my budget. So far i'm just doing with what i have. i also have all of my chickens separated for breeding purposes and i'm thinking that a few smaller coops would be better than one large one.
If you are focusing on the breeding of your chickens then smaller coops is absolutely the way to go. I don't breed my chickens but I do my ducks and while they free range at will I have breeding/hatching pens that I use when a female goes broody. It is like a small dog house sized coop on a raised platform with wire bottom and a water container sunk to floor level. Works great. Something similar should work for chickens as well. Keep your breeds apart or at least in the combinations that you want to cross and have a seperate area for the broody hen to sit.
 

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