Chicken Coop / Sheds For Canadian Winter

[Misty Lee]

Do you have a heat lamp? I know some people are against using them, but I think here in Wisconsin it’s needed for some of the -50° days.

Use an oil filled stand up heater.

 

[The Meadow]

I would pop out the circular vent up top and just put wire mesh about 1in by 1 in in there. Our coop is made of even slighter vinyl than yours. I used the thin reflective insulation you can get in a roll. I still left three vents about 6 inches by 4 inches open. I ran a metal post across the roof at the peak - on the inside - and suspended a heat lamp from there. I did not hang it close to the ground. Instead I slanted it such that it threw its heat to the area the chickens roosted on. I padded their roost area with lots of wood chips and made a platform between the perches that they like to cozy up together on. Finally this past winter I bought one of those ceramic heaters that looks like a tv screen? They loved cozying up to it. Oh, and I cut into our walls and screwed panels of plexiglass to make windows. On sunny days they brought in lots of heat. At night I replaced the cut out plastic and insulation layer to keep the heat in overnight. But mostly the best thing I did was to keep it open to the air to let the moisture out. My first year I had the heat... but too much moisture. Cut vents near where the roof starts. It seems illogical but boy does it work! Sweaty chickens get frostbite. Dry chickens stay warmer. Your shed looks like a great one to start with!

 

[choncy77]

looks like you already have a soffet vent in the center up high,its round and looks like it should be a vent. that will help with ventilation. should be one on both ends, like an attic

 

[choncy77]

looks like you already have a soffet vent in the center up high,its round and looks like it should be a vent. that will help with ventilation. should be one on both ends, like an attic

 

[Ladies-Eight]

You could frame the inside with the insulation between the 2 x 4's. Do a frame for the top to fit in the top. Put the insulation up and cover with Masonite or paneling. That should hold it in place.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

You could frame the inside with the insulation between the 2 x 4's. Do a frame for the top to fit in the top. Put the insulation up and cover with Masonite or paneling. That should hold it in place.