Is it OK to leave my chickens locked in the coop for the winter?

[BReeder!]

This is an interesting forum. In particular I think it I important to differentiate coop and run. If there's 15 chickens in a run that is 150 sq ft plus a coop to fit them for laying and overnight, the chicken math pans out OK. Sure it may be a bit busy, but there's sufficient space (not to mention far more space than the big chickens companies provide). The run needs to provide open air, often an area enclosed with hardware cloth or chicken wire attached to wooden posts/framing will suffice. The coop is not the open air section, but an enclosed, yet well ventilated structure. It's rare that somebody with 30 chickens would have a 150 sq ft coop. If it is like the picture chosen by BYC on the home page, that's a covered run.
The reason I make a point to differentiate the run and coop is that it would be hard on the chickens to keep them in a fully enclosed coop (building) of 150 sq ft because conditions would get poor very quickly - air quality, dust, etc. However, providing a 150 sq ft open air run is much different. It allows for fresh air to constantly come in and for poor quality air to escape. Dust is kept down by moisture from the air and precipitation if you are not covering the run. There's advantages to covered run though, in particular it keeps a lot of snow and rain out. Just don't cover the sides, only the roof. The coop is where chickens can go to escape the elements and gain protection.

 

[Chullicken]

Really with adequate space, ventilation and plenty of room for activities I wouldn't think this to be an issue. Mine are penned with a completely winterized coop and run. To alleviate the being in the box for months on end syndrome I get some landscaping straw bails and make them an area in the snow they can muddle around in for an hour or two several times a week. Add some scratch and crimped oats to the area. This also allows me some breathing room to hand till their run budding and remove/add freshness if needed. Mine do not like to walk on the snow so it really keeps them in a safe area I can keep an eye on them as well as be productive. Not to mention plenty of quality time with my girls.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

As has been said, you really, really don't have to lock them up for the winter. Most chickens lay in the morning; if you're afraid they'll lay eggs elsewhere, it should suffice to not let them out until early afternoon. Forgive my bluntness, but I would call keeping chickens cooped up in an area of ten feet per chicken for a substantial length of time borderline animal cruelty (yes, I know chickens in the industry are even worse off, but I definitely class the industry as animal cruelty).

I have a carrot hanging up for them to peck at and a chicken swing, but unfortunately they never use the swing.

That doesn't really sound like optimal entertainment to me. Granted, the parrot sounds like fun, as is evident from their pecking of it, but I would hang up a lot more vegetables, and of a lot larger variety.

Chickens aren't like parrots, they don't really play with things. Chickens entertain themselves through looking for food, which mainly means scratching. Throw in piles of stuff - dirt, leaves, grass, hay, compost, anything you can think of. Novelty is more important than quality here; once a chicken has scratched through a pile of something, she will want to scratch through something new. The bedding itself is scratchable, of course, but it's probably too boring in itself.

It's a good idea to mix in edibles with the scratchables. Just throwing seeds into the bedding ever so often can help hugely.

But then, if you do let them out a couple of hours every day you'll greatly alleviate the need for entertainment indoors.

 

[Yuki]

It works i have 2 10 by 10 square ft dog kenelling with 2 separate coops for 7 hens they are in there all year round cleaned daily only because of predators of hawks cyototes and bears and they thrive

Ok, so I have around 15 chickens and my coop is about 150 sq ft. These chickens are free range. What I'm going to do is give them 14 hours of light a day using a combination of natural and artifical light to make sure they keep laying. I am providing the chickens some entertainment as well. The chickens have been in there for a couple days now, should I continue doing this? Why or why not?

 

[AudraB]

Ok, so I have around 15 chickens and my coop is about 150 sq ft. These chickens are free range. What I'm going to do is give them 14 hours of light a day using a combination of natural and artifical light to make sure they keep laying. I am providing the chickens some entertainment as well. The chickens have been in there for a couple days now, should I continue doing this? Why or why not?

Only time I lock my chickens up is;
A: once moved outside to my smaller coop is so they know where to go at night to stay safe before they’re moved into my larger coop once full grown.
B: durning hunting season. Once the hunting dogs are set loose they stay locked up until the season ends. Yes, they get mad at me! I’ve lost too much of my flock one season for not doing so. I get attached to my chickens!

 

[Ibchduckin]

It s my belief that they are going to figure that out on their own due to their own instinct. If you let them out in their pen during the day, they will go into the coop on their own as they can not see well at night and prefer to roost off of the ground. I moved my pullets into their coop for the first time at dusk, then when the door opened the next morning, they came pouring out and pecked around the pen all day. That evening they put themselves back in on their own. I did this for about a week. Then I began to let them out of the pen and allowed them to free range. That evening they came right back to the pen and put themselves into the coop all on their own. Then I began giving them dried meal worms when they came back to the pen, as a way to teach them to come for a treat, so that If I needed to put them up for any reason I could get them to come to me. Now they come when they see the bag of worms without me doing anything other than shake the bag. Its like their Chicken Chocolate! lol

 

[Hopperkiller]

If they need to get used to the coop being home, it is OK to lock them in, but not for the winter. Locking them in for a week or maybe two will do the trick. After that, they should go in every night when it’s time for bed. I have 8 girls in my coop, about 100 sq. ft., and the run is about 180 sq. ft. They spend a lot of time in the coop during the day, especially in winter, but it’s good to give them the chance to get outdoors when they want.

Let them out after lunch each day. They generally lay in mornings and you can try to set their pattern. Keep aware of how many eggs each day and if their is a dramatic drop look for the spot you think they wouldnt lay and check for yard nests. Anytime mine start yard nesting i keep them in before noon or 1 oclock. Learn their ranging habits and you can use that to retrain if neccesary.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had a covered outdoor area that I had made a nice tunneled area the birds could get to with out walking in the snow. the tunnel consisted of them going under a bench and some leaning boards, but because the tunnel was small, (they could see the tunnel but would have to remember it was there) they didn't use it as much as I liked. I removed a board, that was closer to the coop, now they have full access to the covered spot, they get to dig in the dirt, and hay, but not walk in snow. My covered areas have access to chicken sunrooms as well. I had it planned out before the snow came of course.

 

[Hokum Coco]

\

My coop is only 4'x8' I kept as many as 24 Golden Comet hens over winter inside the coop (there are 3 levels). No issues.

 

[kellyloveschad]

This is an interesting forum. In particular I think it I important to differentiate coop and run. If there's 15 chickens in a run that is 150 sq ft plus a coop to fit them for laying and overnight, the chicken math pans out OK. Sure it may be a bit busy, but there's sufficient space (not to mention far more space than the big chickens companies provide). The run needs to provide open air, often an area enclosed with hardware cloth or chicken wire attached to wooden posts/framing will suffice. The coop is not the open air section, but an enclosed, yet well ventilated structure. It's rare that somebody with 30 chickens would have a 150 sq ft coop. If it is like the picture chosen by BYC on the home page, that's a covered run.
The reason I make a point to differentiate the run and coop is that it would be hard on the chickens to keep them in a fully enclosed coop (building) of 150 sq ft because conditions would get poor very quickly - air quality, dust, etc. However, providing a 150 sq ft open air run is much different. It allows for fresh air to constantly come in and for poor quality air to escape. Dust is kept down by moisture from the air and precipitation if you are not covering the run. There's advantages to covered run though, in particular it keeps a lot of snow and rain out. Just don't cover the sides, only the roof. The coop is where chickens can go to escape the elements and gain protection.

I have a 30ft by 10 I wrapped with trap to keep out the wind chill then 10 x10 just covered and open.. I haven't had a issue in the five years I been doing it...