Cold Weather Chickens

[Meg-in-MT]

What an excellent article. Clear, precise, and full of information. I love your Woods coop, too!

 

[RoosterRules]

I am one of those Canadian chicken keepers who does not heat the coop. I live in zone 3a. My coop is steel sheeting lined with several layers of corrugated cardboard on the inside. The outside is insulated with layers of snow. For ventilation, my roof is split into several sections and hinged so it is cracked open by half a foot minimum. On sunny days I open the entire roof completely since my coop is only 5 feet high. Underneath the roof the coop ceiling is all hardware cloth for when I open the roof. I will post pictures in the spring, right now the entire thing is just a white mass because of the snow insulation and the vented side being on the back, facing bush. I have electricity to the coop but use it only for their water. I do not supplement light but for some reason they still lay eggs every other day, even at minus thirty. I had wanted Chanteclers but they sell out so fast in my area that I ended up with Brahma and Russian Orloff. Thinking of crossing the two breeds. The picture shows the cardboard lining that I covered the metal sheeting with. It has worked out well keeping the birds entertained by pecking at it and ripping pieces of it. They focus on one spot and once it is starting to look shredded, I just replace the sheet with new cardboard.

 

[aart]

that will likely frost some wattles,

what a great line, cracked me up!

My coop is steel sheeting lined with several layers of corrugated cardboard on the inside.

Need more pics!

 

[RoosterRules]

Need more pics!

I attached about 2" of cardboard sheets in between the wooden frame that holds the tin. This is the door.

They peck at it around the roosting bar and it just ends up as shredded paper on the ground.

 

[aart]

Wider shots from farther back.
I have some cardboard up in places, they do like to peel off a strip once in while.

 

[RoosterRules]

Wider shots from farther back.
I have some cardboard up in places, they do like to peel off a strip once in while.

My coop is tiny so I can't take pictures from farther on the inside, but maybe these shots will do.



Sometimes I just slide in new pieces of cardboard without cutting them to fit and it looks piecemealed, but chickens don't care. (The cardboard outside the screen on the east side, to the right here, is part of the baffles.)

The screened box is on the north side and is a summer thing, I nail a board in its place in winter.


The heap of snow below are the north and east sides, the wind has already taken down some of the snow. At night and in snowy weather I lower the roof panels.

Lowered roof

This coop is cold but has no draft and gets sunshine from the south facing door that is only shut at night, and the open-air option in the ceiling.

 

[aart]

The heap of snow below are the north and east sides, the wind has already taken down some of the snow.

HolySnowDrift!!
Did you build that up intentionally or is that just how it happens up there?

 

[RoosterRules]

HolySnowDrift!!
Did you build that up intentionally or is that just how it happens up there?

I built it after first snowfall. It probably would accumulate over time but it was an easy solution to stop the cross-breeze between the screened areas.

 

[Howard E]

Winter blast update....Woods House report:

Temps went to -10F last night, winds honking from the north at 30 mph+.

Birds came out this morning like they always do. 23 birds and only one or two had any sign of frostbite on the tips of their combs. RIR mostly. The Cinnamon Queens with larger combs....none. The rest.....none.

Plastic water bucket with bird bath heater in it was not frozen......but 2 of the 3 nipple valves were. Got those unstuck and got everyone a drink. Made a warm mash of their layer crumbles and some whole oats, mixed with hot tap water to warm it up.....plus a tray of sprouts (oats and BOS). 4 eggs to far with more on the way.

Looks like it's all grins and giggles out there.

 

[Howard E]

BTW, while in the Woods house this morning, with sun streaming in and out of the wind, even at 0F, it was not too bad in there. Warmest place I could find outside.

The Victory House was another story. Even though I put in larger windows than spec, it lacks the heat gain from the sun, and worse, I didn't block off the rear eaves, so it is drafty and what solar heat gain their is, moves on out. That is what cold and drafty feels like. It was actually warmer in the wide open Woods house.

To give that a better test, I need to find a way to block off the rear vents to cut down on the drafts.