Baby it's cold outside - glad for the extra sq. footage!

[Buff Hooligans]

Citychook, you are one smart chook. Thanks for posting this. Good discussion for you extra frozen people over there in Minn. (It's 43 and wet here.)

 

[scarter]

I was really feeling good about our girls until I read this post! We live just east of the twin cities off of exit 10 in WI and our coop is made of pallets and non insulated. We have a bare ground coop with lots of litter on the ground and only a lamp in the wee mornings until around 8. I was in there yesterday with the girls for quite some time and they seemed fine. I gave them scratch and the were doing their normal purring and scratching around me. Nobody looked cold or shivering or uncomfortable. The only heat that is in there is for their water and that has kept it thawed even with this cold weather. I'm going to be watching this thread.

Usually up until about two weeks ago they were clamering to get out every morning and free range even with the snow but they sure don't want to get out of the coop these days. They seem very content to hunt and peck inside and not get out so I've kept the door closed.

 

[CityChook]

I'm sorry, Scarter. This thread was not meant to guilt people.

It is still -9 as I write this. I've been out to the coop this morning and all seems well. They were still on their roost, though, and under the light. I fought the heat light for a long time, but I'm glad I have it and it is keeping them warm for now. I think reducing the draftiness inside the coop is key - it tends to feel warmer inside (at least to me) than the temperature gauge tells me. I think it's because there is no draft.

The heated water dish is an absolute must here. Water freezes on contact. I love mine.

BigMike - I have thought about a chicken hutch for the basement. I may still get one. It would be nice to have alternative housing available in case it's needed - BEFORE it's needed. I have seen those hutches quite often on craigslist.

I talked with Patandchickens earlier this winter about a cubby in the corner of the coop where they could hunker down together to keep warm at night. There is certainly plenty of room. Until this cold snap, it hasn't seemed necessary. Fortunately, these temps aren't super common. We will have a week or so more of below zero (only at night) and then the temps are expected to return to normal, which is still cold but do-able. Those really cold temps are typically reserved for February...

It's going to be 5 today and people are excited. Funny what a little perspective can give you! Thanks everyone for your feedback - I love BYC!

 

[ssteiner]

I feel like a big baby. I live in Southern California and you should see us falling all over each other because the temperature "plunged" all the way down to 46 last night. We received an "incredible" 1.75 inches of rain yesterday and you'd think it was the second coming by watching the news: "STORM ROCKS SOUTHLAND."

Anyway, I sneak out to my rabbit hutch style 10 sq foot coop in the middle of the night with a flashlight just to make sure my girls are okay (they are). I guess I don't need to worry so much!

-Scott

 

[AllChookUp]

Hey, CityChook - I am just northeast of you, between Forest Lake and Scandia ("Oh, ya, sure").

I'm lucky that starting yesterday, I'm working from home full-time, and I can run out and check on Hank and the girls. I have a light that comes on automatically for 4 hours at dusk, and I've also been using a red heat lamp all day yesterday & today.

The coop temp shows about 20, but the water is fine (heated), and they seem happy. Egg production is going great. I opened the coop door so they could stretch out into the run yesterday afternoon, but they only went out for a few minutes.

I would have built larger if I had to do it over again, but my coop size is OK for the 13 chickens I have. I just worry about them being "cooped up", when they're usedto free-ranging.

Oh, and BTW, I don't think it's going to get as high as 5 above today.

.

 

[patandchickens]

Yeah, I truly, truly think there is no such thing as "too large" a coop, and that an extra-large coop is actually MORE useful in very cold climates than in milder ones. If you want to concentrate the chickens' body heat in a small place it is very easy to make a smaller enclosure within the large coop. That gives you, with very little work, all the thermal benefits of a small coop with the lots-of-space-to-move-around-and-get-out-of-each-others'-way benefits of a large coop.

My chickens were totally indoors for the past week and a half (I just got back from visiting family in PA, and the person taking care of the chickens and horses could only come out once a day, thus no opening and closing of run doors was possible). They have 15 sq ft per chicken indoors. They seem completely happy. They got some pumpkins and hay sweepings to pick at to while away time, but having room to spread out makes a huge difference too.

Pat

 

[LynneP]

I appreciate having the work space too, a large coop is an excellent thing, likewise to a large run. Energetic birds with space to run will do so and keep warmer as they exercise- fewer laying problems too.

Another thing you can do to reduce air space, assuming you have extra bedding, is to open a couple of extra bales and fluff them over the rest during a really cold spell. I also add hay to my nest boxes to protect the eggs from freezing and to give the hens extra insulation when they're sitting quietly in there...I haven't used it yet but I also have a medium-size dog cage that fits under a platform next to an insulated wall. If the girls seemed unusually stressed I could set it up there for them with hay bales around the outside and lots of bedding. I wouldn't confine them in it, just give them huddle space. It would have to be an exceptionally long period of extreme cold for me to do this. I think the real secret is keeping the water liquid!

 

[spookyevilone]

I live in the TC area too and right now, I'm glad all my birds are indoors. They're in my living room, in cages. I don't want to be outside long enough to go from my front door to my car (-9F + -40F windchill? NO THANKS!) even wearing a huge puffy down coat. I can't imagine the birds would like it either.

The original plan was to winterize the garage for next year, but.. I think I'll keep them in my basement.

Brrrr!!!!
-Spooky

 

[Jena]

It is so good that you took all that time to research and prepare, now it is really paying off for you.

Excellent.

Jena.

 

[Catalina]

I live a few hours west of the Twin Cities.

It's snowing! Again. And fairly cold, about -5 and dropping as the sun sets. I just gave the girls some warm mash. They eat a lot more now that it's so cold.
Their water hasn't frozen yet. It usually freezes over night. I still have to buy a heated waterer. We survived last winter without one, but
Is it colder this year?
The waterers they sell around here are so big-I want a nice small one that won't take up a ton of room.
I'm soooo glad I bought a flat panel heater last year. It works great! We tried giving the girls a small house (it was a rabbit/small animal house) to sleep in, in the coop, last year, but they hated it. And ended up sleeping on the floor or on top of the little house. I took it out after a couple weeks.

There were 5 eggs (from 5 hens) in the nest box today, so they can't be too uncomfortable.