Winterizing Coop - Draft Free… but still has ventilation? Confused!

[TinaRew]

I‘m sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m a newbie at this and I’m confused. How do I make the coop draft free but still have ventilation for the winter (I’m located in PA)? Won‘t the ventilation openings be a place where drafts come in? And how can you even check for drafts to begin with if you can’t fit in the coop and close the doors behind you to check?!

Our coop has ventilation on 3 out of 4 sides at the top. The top is completely open with a raised roof - we had planned to put foam board in between the hardwire cloth of the roof and the roof to help cut down on some of the air in the winter. The chickens roost on their bar right below the top opening, so the opening on the sides and front are ABOVE their heads, but not by too much - few inches maybe, definitely less than a foot I would guess.

it’s hard to tell which way the wind blows most where our coop is. I have felt it in all directions in this location, so I’m not entirely sure which direction it *usually* comes from. Do you put up plastic around your run also? Would love any advice on these things.

 

[DobieLover]

What drafts mean in a coop in the winter are breezes blowing on the birds that are strong enough to open feathers.
Openings overhead are great.
If you think their feathers are blowing around you can install baffles to deflect the drafts upwards.
Can you post pictures of the interior?

 

[NatJ]

You don't need to avoid all air movement, just strong wind.

As a basic rule of thumb, if it is not strong enough to ruffle the chickens' feathers, it is not a problem. (That is different from people. For bare human skin, any amount of air movement can make us colder.)

Chickens stay warm by trapping warm air inside their feathers. When wind moves their feathers, it lets the warm air out and cold air in, and the chicken cannot stay warm as well. That's the reason for avoiding wind or strong drafts (the ones that can ruffle or disarrange the feathers.)

You might be able to check by looking in the windows when the chickens are inside, or putting some kind of camera inside to record the chickens (game camera, security camera, cell phone, etc.)

It matters most when the chickens are on the roost at night. During the day, it is fine to have some areas windy, as long as the chickens also have some areas to get out of the wind.

A common recommendation is to have the ventilation be above the chickens' heads, so it does not blow directly on them. (Other locations can work too. Just make sure there is airflow, but it's not too strong at the level where the chickens sleep.)

Our coop has ventilation on 3 out of 4 sides at the top. The top is completely open with a raised roof - we had planned to put foam board in between the hardwire cloth of the roof and the roof to help cut down on some of the air in the winter. The chickens roost on their bar right below the top opening, so the opening on the sides and front are ABOVE their heads, but not by too much - few inches maybe, definitely less than a foot I would guess.

That might work just fine. You might not even need to block it for the winter-- just find a way to check, on a nasty windy day or night, whether wind is actually ruffling the chickens' feathers.

Yes, plastic around the run can be a good way to block wind in winter. Do remember to leave some openings for ventilation in the run too-- maybe the top foot of all sides, or something like that.

 

[saysfaa]

... how can you even check for drafts to begin with if you can’t fit in the coop and close the doors behind you to check?!

I tested for air movement by tying a flag to a stick. The flag was a thin strip of a plastic grocery bag but anything a usable weight and flexibility would work. I think you can wedge the stick inside the coop, shut the door, and look through the window to see how much the "flag" moves.

In my case, I was trying to confirm there was enough airflow but it should work for your purposes also. You could watch how the flag moves in wind you can feel to see if the strip you are using is heavy enough to give useful information. And light enough to give useful informatio. And to compare to the air movement in the coop.

Another thing about feathers is most of the fluff is protected by stiffer, more weather proof feathers. It takes quite a lot of air movement to move those feathers.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

Here's my article on coop ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Your upper-level vents ought to be EXACTLY what's wanted to provide the generous fresh air chickens require for good health without drafts.

Whether you should wrap your run with plastic or not -- and how much wrapping you should do -- is one of those "climate matters" things we can answer better when we know what sort of winters you're dealing with.

 

[NatJ]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

It is in the first post, at the end of the second sentence:

(I’m located in PA)

 

[3KillerBs]

It is in the first post, at the end of the second sentence:

Ah, I missed that. Need more coffee.

In that case, wrapping 3 sides and leaving the leeward side open should be good. Unless you're up in the mountains on a ridge, in which case wrapping all 4 sides with the top foot or so open would be better.

Be careful about snow load on your roof. Some people have had those metal runs collapse if they didn't clear the roof.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I used to use clear plastic shower curtain liners to block rain when I lived at a lower elevation here in CA. It was great! I could pull the curtains back between bouts of rain. Their run was more exposed then, and we had more wind.

Someone on another thread suggested covering windows with air filters if it gets very windy if a coop is too drafty in windy weather. I thought that was an interesting idea.

Here in the Foothills, we get snow, but not really any wind (I live on the side of a hill in rather dense woods). We have a large covered run (about 215 sq ft), and we do, indeed, have to sweep it off in heavy snows if it starts to sag. It's very sturdy - made of a modified dog kennel.

That looks like a pretty nice coop! I prefer walk-ins, but those access doors look to be very convenient!

 

[TinaRew]

What drafts mean in a coop in the winter are breezes blowing on the birds that are strong enough to open feathers.
Openings overhead are great.
If you think their feathers are blowing around you can install baffles to deflect the drafts upwards.
Can you post pictures of the interior?

Thanks! I’ll attach photos of the inside.

 

[TinaRew]

You don't need to avoid all air movement, just strong wind.

As a basic rule of thumb, if it is not strong enough to ruffle the chickens' feathers, it is not a problem. (That is different from people. For bare human skin, any amount of air movement can make us colder.)

Chickens stay warm by trapping warm air inside their feathers. When wind moves their feathers, it lets the warm air out and cold air in, and the chicken cannot stay warm as well. That's the reason for avoiding wind or strong drafts (the ones that can ruffle or disarrange the feathers.)

You might be able to check by looking in the windows when the chickens are inside, or putting some kind of camera inside to record the chickens (game camera, security camera, cell phone, etc.)

It matters most when the chickens are on the roost at night. During the day, it is fine to have some areas windy, as long as the chickens also have some areas to get out of the wind.

A common recommendation is to have the ventilation be above the chickens' heads, so it does not blow directly on them. (Other locations can work too. Just make sure there is airflow, but it's not too strong at the level where the chickens sleep.)


That might work just fine. You might not even need to block it for the winter-- just find a way to check, on a nasty windy day or night, whether wind is actually ruffling the chickens' feathers.

Yes, plastic around the run can be a good way to block wind in winter. Do remember to leave some openings for ventilation in the run too-- maybe the top foot of all sides, or something like that.

Thank you, this is really helpful! A camera might not be a bad idea.