Cold Country Coop Size?

[speedy2020]

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Seriously, 20 chickens? That's less than 1 sq ft per chicken. Do they pick on each other in this situation?

I am not joking... they are wondering outside the run and underneath the coop all day and go inside to lay egg during the day and sleep at night. I have 9 chickens right now and only use 35-40% of the 2x4 roos beam.

 

[Chick Charm]

In cold weather I think you are going to be better off with the 4 sf per bird in your coop, or bigger if your really want.

It has been my experience IN WARM WEATHER that there is not the NEED for 4 sf per bird but is something that most of us still give our chickens. The bigger you build the better in cold weather. I have at times had as many as 17 full sized chooks in my 5 x 4 x 7 set up and no problems with pecking because all the birds free ranged from morning till dusk. Provide them with plenty of roost 98 to 10'' per bird) and nest boxes (1 box for every 5 bird works for the girls and they still all lay in the same one) and they should be ok.

Best of wishes to ya.

 

[jeannieo]

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not me! I started with eight in an 8 X 12 coop and now have 28 and am looking to expand in the spring!

 

[CityChook]

Hi Fellow Minnesotan-
I'm in the Cities. I have 4 chickens in a 6x8 coop with a 6x8 covered run, which is 12 sq/ft per bird inside and out (24 sq/ft if you want to consider it combined). It has worked out VERY VERY well for me. Many will scoff that this is un-necessary, but my chickens are very happy and healthy all winter long. They actually lay better in the winter than they do in the summer, so they must be somewhat content. This is our third winter and I've never had a problem with social/aggression issues or frostbite.

I knew that I wanted to build my coop with ample indoor space per chicken, but we ended up going with this size because we wanted a usable building for down the line when we didn't house chickens inside anymore. At this size, it's large enough to roll both of our motorcycles inside for winter storage and then use as a nice cocktail spot/potting shed in the summer. I often threaten the girls with this concept when I haven't gotten an egg for a couple of days...

The coop is insulated (ceiling too, but not floor), walk-in and hard-wired for electricity (best decision EVER). Now that my hens are older, they don't go out in the snow, so this year I've been leaving their pop door closed and not worrying about clearing snow from their run. They weren't going out anyways, so I quit worrying about it. Having that door shut keeps it considerably warmer inside (winters past I opened the door until it hit 10F). They don't mind - they have plenty of space inside to run around, jump on stuff and they have two windows to sunbathe and look out at the deep snow that they're glad they don't have to walk on. I've given them cabbage etc. to keep them entertained -- I think they could care less. They've been cooped up now since Thanksgiving-ish as we've had a lot of early/deep snow this year.

Feel free to contact me directly any time if I can help you with planning. Our chickens have really been a welcome addition to our family.

cc

 

[cabincrazyone]

Hi CC, Sorry I didn't see your post until now. I appreciate your input, being from Mn.
I thought this thread had answered all my concerns about the chickens making it through the cold winter. I knew egg production would go down a bit with the cold, but I've been getting the impression in the last couple days, that it slows WAY down. Now that's got me wondering if I need to have huge heating bills in order to get some eggs. I'm glad to hear your production is not hampered by the weather.
There's another question that is tied to this thinking .... almost everyone here (BYC) agrees that ventilating for dryness is more important than keeping in the heat. I talked in person to a fellow who keeps chickens just a couple miles from here (just outside the city limits). He said he keeps the coop closed up for warmth all winter and has a little moisture but it's not a problem. He also heats it otherwise not many eggs.
Gad! I'll be glad when I have some experience. The learning process can get on a person's nerves. lol

 

[jeannieo]

It's been my experience that it's not heat that makes the girls produce but light. When the days started getting shorter, egg production slowed down as I knew it would. But then it slowed waaayyy down so I put a light in the coop, giving them 12-14 hours a day of light (natural light during the day and turning the light on in mid afternoon). It took about three weeks but egg production slowly increased to about 10 a day average (26 hens but probably only 20 of which are capable of laying)

 

[elmo]

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Thanks!

Yes, the back vent does let air enter the coop, which is what I need to have happen during our sweltering summers. But when we started to get fall weather, I decommissioned the back vent by blocking it up with foam insulation board, weather stripping, and latching the awning flap closed. I also used bubble wrap to add a layer of insulation to the windows and have latched them closed, too. For winter, only the high vent on the front of the coop is open (with the awning flap partially closed).

We're having a real cold snap here (for us) right now, with lows in the 20's, but I turn on the radiator on its lowest setting inside the coop when I close the pop door for the night, and it warms up and stays in the upper 40's inside, measured right at roost level. Toasty!

 

[cabincrazyone]

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More great information! I just learned one more thing. Thanks Jeannie.

 

[CityChook]

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Actually, it isn't a heat thing. It's a light thing. Chickens need 14 hours of daylight to lay. If you don't provide supplemental light in the winter then you won't have any eggs until late spring. Some folks like to give the chickens a break in the winter. But our winter is a 5-6 month gig, which is a LONG time to wait. I have chickens because I want eggs so I have a light on a Christmas tree timer that goes on at 4 a.m./off at 8 a.m. and then on again at 3:30 p.m./off at 7 p.m. with natural light during the daytime. This gives them some more light in our short winter days and keeps the egg production up as well as SLIGHT heat. I haven't noticed a large increase in the electricity bill. It's worth it to me. My coop is well insulated and has a large Southern window to let in as much light/warmth as possible, so I take advantage of that for heating the coop as well.

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IMO, ventilation is way more important than heat. Granted, this winter I have been leaving the pop door closed and it has helped keep the coop warm. However, this is NOT my ventilation. I have a ridgecap vent in the soffets/roof of my coop as well as vents in the eastern gable (up high in the peak). The gables can be closed in times of deep cold, but for the most part I keep them open. It is VITAL that you let the moisture (and some of the heat since it rises together) out of the coop or you could have problems with frostbite and respitory problems. Moist air is more dangerous than cold air. I know it seems backwards to think of insulating a coop only to cut holes in it to let the heat out, but trust me, it works. If you can smell ammonia in your coop then it's not vented well enough.

Get chickens with smaller combs that are cold hardy -- my coop has been as cold as -10F inside (even with supplemental heat) with no problems. They are pretty tough animals.

Take a look at Patandchickens personal page. She has a lot of great information on ventilation.

Hope this helps and

 

[patandchickens]

I talked in person to a fellow who keeps chickens just a couple miles from here (just outside the city limits). He said he keeps the coop closed up for warmth all winter and has a little moisture but it's not a problem.

Oh yes, there are a lot of people like that around. Especially for some reason up here in Canada. Sometimes they get away with it. Pretty often they don't, and have problems with frostbite ANYWAY, which just convinces them to shut things up *tighter* and run the heat *more*. If you heat the coop to above freezing of course you will not get frostbite. That does not mean it is necessary or desirable though.

Pat​