This is a good start. There are some good points there, but overall the article is full of inaccuracies and untruths. It would be good not to keep perpetuating those. The newbies are watching (reading) and absorbing. So if it's going to be an official article, it should be accurate.
Here are some points that stand out:
- "Keeping the coop insulated is essential" - wrong. People keep chickens as far north as Alaska without insulation. Also, you don't explain what insulation even means, in the context of this article. You briefly call the coop bedding "insulation"... Is that it? Or insulation in the walls? New chicken owners will read this article and head to the hardware store to buy styrofoam sheets and whatnot to actually insulate their coops, and that's not a good idea.
- "The deep litter method" - you use this term incorrectly. What you describe is the deep bedding method, not the deep litter method. The two are very different and the article only perpetuates the confusion. The deep litter method is a moist composting system that needs to have water added. If you do it wrong, the water will freeze and make things worse. The deep bedding method is completely dry, and foolproof in winter. People who don't know the distinction may look up DLM and attempt that, and end up with a frozen coop floor, so let's get that one straight.
- Ventilation. Yes, it's extremely important, but you don't say anything specific about it. How much? What's good ventilation vs. bad ventilation? No mention of drafts, people's biggest fear in winter. Drafts are not a big deal if it's the crack between two boards in the wall that's barely letting air in. People tend to want to seal their coops shut in winter, thinking any small gap is going to kill their chickens. A bad draft is one that's strong enough to ruffle and open the chickens' insulating feathers. Cracks are fine. Any roost-level actual ventilation is not. And ventilation should be 1 square foot per chicken, in all weather, yes even in winter. This is the most misunderstood and overlooked winter chicken keeping advice and it's worth a mention!
Your ventilation paragraph doesn't mention ammonia at all, which is another big oversight. All it talks about is warm moist air, and the chickens getting a bronchial infection and frostbite. They won't get a bronchial infection from moist or freezing air. It's the buildup of ammonia (from their poop) that can give them respiratory problems. It's good to make the distinction so people understand the poop side of things, not just the moisture side of things.
- They need to roost with their feet flat, tree branches are not okay - all that is wrong. No, they don't need their feet flat and no, tree branches aren't for young or small birds only. Chickens have been roosting on branches long before people invented flat boards to give them. There have been multiple studies on the matter, that more or less show that the fuss over roosts is all in your head. Unless it's something ridiculously small and thin, like 1" diameter, the chickens are going to be totally fine. Including on (sufficiently wide) branches. If you don't believe me, give them a big branch, wait for them to go to sleep and go look at them with a flashlight. You probably won't find any exposed toes - that's what all that fluff is for, to cover them up!
- Scratch/corn keeps them warm at night - this is an old wives' tale that just won't die. And it keeps being propagated by half-baked articles like this one. Digestion (of anything) doesn't produce enough heat to make any difference whatsoever.
I'm sorry if this comes out too direct, I just want to set the facts straight because inexperienced people use these articles to learn from, so I think the standard needs to be held higher. It's a nice article otherwise, and makes some important points, like not heating the coop - nice big all caps, too, to drive the point home. That's an important one. You're on the right path. With a few tweaks, this could be a very useful article.
Here are some points that stand out:
- "Keeping the coop insulated is essential" - wrong. People keep chickens as far north as Alaska without insulation. Also, you don't explain what insulation even means, in the context of this article. You briefly call the coop bedding "insulation"... Is that it? Or insulation in the walls? New chicken owners will read this article and head to the hardware store to buy styrofoam sheets and whatnot to actually insulate their coops, and that's not a good idea.
- "The deep litter method" - you use this term incorrectly. What you describe is the deep bedding method, not the deep litter method. The two are very different and the article only perpetuates the confusion. The deep litter method is a moist composting system that needs to have water added. If you do it wrong, the water will freeze and make things worse. The deep bedding method is completely dry, and foolproof in winter. People who don't know the distinction may look up DLM and attempt that, and end up with a frozen coop floor, so let's get that one straight.
- Ventilation. Yes, it's extremely important, but you don't say anything specific about it. How much? What's good ventilation vs. bad ventilation? No mention of drafts, people's biggest fear in winter. Drafts are not a big deal if it's the crack between two boards in the wall that's barely letting air in. People tend to want to seal their coops shut in winter, thinking any small gap is going to kill their chickens. A bad draft is one that's strong enough to ruffle and open the chickens' insulating feathers. Cracks are fine. Any roost-level actual ventilation is not. And ventilation should be 1 square foot per chicken, in all weather, yes even in winter. This is the most misunderstood and overlooked winter chicken keeping advice and it's worth a mention!
Your ventilation paragraph doesn't mention ammonia at all, which is another big oversight. All it talks about is warm moist air, and the chickens getting a bronchial infection and frostbite. They won't get a bronchial infection from moist or freezing air. It's the buildup of ammonia (from their poop) that can give them respiratory problems. It's good to make the distinction so people understand the poop side of things, not just the moisture side of things.
- They need to roost with their feet flat, tree branches are not okay - all that is wrong. No, they don't need their feet flat and no, tree branches aren't for young or small birds only. Chickens have been roosting on branches long before people invented flat boards to give them. There have been multiple studies on the matter, that more or less show that the fuss over roosts is all in your head. Unless it's something ridiculously small and thin, like 1" diameter, the chickens are going to be totally fine. Including on (sufficiently wide) branches. If you don't believe me, give them a big branch, wait for them to go to sleep and go look at them with a flashlight. You probably won't find any exposed toes - that's what all that fluff is for, to cover them up!
- Scratch/corn keeps them warm at night - this is an old wives' tale that just won't die. And it keeps being propagated by half-baked articles like this one. Digestion (of anything) doesn't produce enough heat to make any difference whatsoever.
I'm sorry if this comes out too direct, I just want to set the facts straight because inexperienced people use these articles to learn from, so I think the standard needs to be held higher. It's a nice article otherwise, and makes some important points, like not heating the coop - nice big all caps, too, to drive the point home. That's an important one. You're on the right path. With a few tweaks, this could be a very useful article.
