Any ideas for winter design?

[Araucana16]

I've recently made a decision to get chickens! I had some a few years back, but turns out they were illegal

We petitioned the HOA, but no difference was made in the ordinance. Recently one of the people on the HOA suggested that we buy chickens and ask some neighbors a walking distance away who live on a farm to let them live on their property, in a coop we supply. I was thinking not, it's a hassle to have to walk down every morning before school, and after as well. But chickens are too wonderful, so I'm going to go for it this spring!

We have a 8x10 run, or thereabouts, made of 2x4s and chicken wire. It's not very secure, seeing as it doesn't have a top, and our neighborhood is infested with coyotes, foxes, and raccoons (oh joy...), but I am going to staple some chicken wire to the top this summer, add a shaded area, and install a perch, some nesting boxes, and a sand pit. At night I have a large dog crate (probably 3x5) that my puppy never took a liking to. My three old hens used to sleep in that in my garage at night, and it was plenty big for them. I was going to secure some plywood to the sides of the crate so predators wouldn't be able to get to the girls, and now my only concern is the following :

- will my birds be at high risk for predators in the daytime, are there steps I should take to secure the run?
- how many birds can I put in a 3x5 at night, and an 8x10 in the day? I'd probably get 3-6, haven't decided. I would give them time to stretch their legs every day.
- I live in Denver. It's hot in the summer (100 as high), and cold in the winter (below freezing at times.) I am concerned for their safety inside the crate. Is that just not safe? I will obviously place a "window" in the side of the wood for ventilation, but I'm worried that the birds will overheat in the summer and freeze in the winter!

Any thoughts?

 

[Whittni]

You need insulation, like a house. You need to have hard wire for the window(s) and a foot under ground and locks that raccoons cannot open. You'll also need rocks around the edges of the run on the outside. To be cost effective, go small, maybe with bantams or a few chickens. A crate won't stop a hungry coyote. They'll hurt themselves to get your birds.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Whittni is right on on most if not all of his statements especially if your birds are not cold hearty.

I live in Canada which is an Indian name meaning COLD from what I can gather.

I have a cold hearty breed Golden Comet and Delaware rooster.

I kept my chickens one year in a baby barn with only ¼ inch veneer plywood and absolute no insulation and no heat lamps or sources of heat with temperatures hovering around -40º F with no issues.

Just saying what worked for me with my birds and my set up.

I did feed heavy with corn to compensate.

 

[Araucana16]

Thank you for the input!

I am kinda new to this (after spending the past few weeks gorging myself with chicken info, I am stunned that my first few hens make it as long as they did!), so here is what I gather :

I'll need something to make sure they are warm. This is just an idea, but what if I put towels or blankets in with the crate in the winter, lots of them, to capture warmth, along with heat pads? I could certainly see what I could do about temporary insulation along the sides to keep them warm.

And as for the crate not keeping out coyotes, I understand that metal won't, which is why I plan to secure wood to the sides of it, and I think it would help if I tied it to a fence post in several places, yes? I could do the same with the coop, and I could probably get together some large rocks to place around the outside and inside walls. Would that do it? I can't put the coop on my property, so I would feel that going further than that would compromise my neighbors, who are fine with me putting chickens there (we are giving them a share of the eggs, and they have a huge horse paddock we are placing the coop in), but probably not with major reno

 

[Hokum Coco]

Talk to somebody who has lost chickens to an electrical fire before you contemplate heating your coop. If you have a cold hardy breed that is fully fledged COLD is not a problem.

More chickens die from heat than cold. If you want to protect your birds I would advise putting in an air conditioner before you think about keeping hardy chickens warm.

If you are getting a tropical chicken then I say go for it.

 

[chickenkeeper12]

Personally I think that putting a light in the coop is just a idiotic move because it can catch fire and if it turns off they won't be used to the cold a die. What I do is I put cardboard next to all the walls and windows. During the day I take them away from the windows so that the coop can still get ventilation. Onto the run. All I do is take tarps and rap around a side and a half and leave one corner open. When its not as cold I role up the bottom two feet so they can see what's going on and they can get a little breeze. During snow storms I total cover the whole thing so a single flake of snow cant get in. Once the snow storm is over I take the corner tarp off and let them have some air. For me it seems to work nicely but that's just me.

What should I give my girls/guy when there is snow on the ground. I'm not sure and this is a good time to ask. Btw is bird seed alright for them.

Thanks
Mike

 

[Araucana16]

@ chickenkeeper12 - I gave my hens bird seed, they loved it. I would, but maybe consult someone who knows more, I did that without research

I will probably put the tarp over it, that's a good idea! I wouldn't have a way to put a light in the coop anyway. I guess the birds will have to do with covered coop/run, heat packs, blankets, each other, and towels

But that's just for night! I'm concerned about daytime. It's actually not too bad. Maybe if the weather is okay, I'll keep them outside with tarp and good blankets in one corner, and if it's bad, just in the crate.

Now I'm just concerned about predators & heat. During the day, I'll make sure the chickens have plenty of water and a sandbox, and they will have tons of ventilation. During the summer, when it's hot, I am not too busy so I could be with them to make sure nothing goes wrong. At night it's up to 75 degrees. I don't think that's a problem, but you never know, especially if I keep them in basically a wooden box (it'll have cut outs big enough for the chickens to look out, but predators can't fit there heads in.) As for predators, I'm not too concerned about them at night... most of my neighbors have very easy prey (dogs, plus gobs of wild rabbits and skunks) and only one has ever been killed in my 8 years here. I had 3 hens in bare minimum protected coops (not even a top) for a whole summer, and not one even got touched. I'm confident I won't lose one at night. I'm just not sure if they are a huge problem in the daytime. The daytime run is just chicken wire and plywood, basically. I've decided to put a thin plywood floor on the bottom, and probably rocks around the edge. It'll have a top, but it's just made of plywood & chicken wire also. They'll be there from about 6:30 - 5:30, sometimes later in the day.

Are you seeing huge problems with this? Thanks so much by the way! I know I'm a huge bother