Cold weather

[ChickenDude12345]

So I live in northern nh and the low tonight is -1, my coop is insulated but it doesn’t seem much warmer in the coop in the morning but I don’t know. Some of their combs have show some signs on their combs that looks like frost bite with little bits of white and black. It’s starting to get colder here should I be worried or change anything with my set up?

 

[wamtazlady]

As you have your coop insulated, does that mean you also close up your coop? By that I mean how much ventilation does the coop have that is never closed? A chicken can be in a well ventilated coop in the minus temperatures without getting frostbite. However, in a closed up humid coop that same chicken can get frostbite near freezing.

I live in NW Montana where temperatures in the -20s F are not unusual during the winter. The coop has about 10 square feet of ventilation that is never closed. This allows all the moisture a chicken makes when breathing and pooping to leave the coop. A dry chicken is a warm chicken. Those down jackets the chickens wear work very well if you provide a dry place that has no draft blowing on them.

You might want to get a thermometer that also shows the humidity. Humidity inside the coop should be about the same as outside the coop.

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree with wamtazlady - Thing DRY not warm.

Idealy - you want the ventilation above the birds, you want the birds' heads to be about 12 inches at least below the ceiling. And the roosts away from the wall (although I have a hen that is determined to lean on the wall). Plenty of bedding, and a lot of ventilation on the lee side of the coop, away from the prevailing wind.

It seems so counter intuitive, we think close it up tight and trap the heat. But what you trap is moisture, and that makes damp chickens, and that causes frostbite. Think of being in an unheated car in cold weather with a group of people, almost immediately, the windows fog up. That is what you want to prevent.

Mrs K

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

I agree with wamtazlady - Thing DRY not warm.

Idealy - you want the ventilation above the birds, you want the birds' heads to be about 12 inches at least below the ceiling. And the roosts away from the wall (although I have a hen that is determined to lean on the wall). Plenty of bedding, and a lot of ventilation on the lee side of the coop, away from the prevailing wind.

It seems so counter intuitive, we think close it up tight and trap the heat. But what you trap is moisture, and that makes damp chickens, and that causes frostbite. Think of being in an unheated car in cold weather with a group of people, almost immediately, the windows fog up. That is what you want to prevent.

Mrs K

Silly question, but I imagine the humidity should match what it is outdoors right? So the goal is to not make it any higher?

 

[aart]

Silly question, but I imagine the humidity should match what it is outdoors right? So the goal is to not make it any higher?

Yes.
Why it's good to measure humidity inside and outside the coop.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Yes.
Why it's good to measure humidity inside and outside the coop.

Great, thank you! Just wanted to confirm, keeping an eye on both.

 

[Silkie Princess]

So I live in northern nh and the low tonight is -1, my coop is insulated but it doesn’t seem much warmer in the coop in the morning but I don’t know. Some of their combs have show some signs on their combs that looks like frost bite with little bits of white and black. It’s starting to get colder here should I be worried or change anything with my set up?

It's - 11°C here tonight. The lowest temp my chickens were in was - 23°C! And they were fine. My current set - up looks like this (pic with lots of chickens) . Last year they were in this coop (chickens no longer live in it). It’s the second pic

 

[ChickenDude12345]

As you have your coop insulated, does that mean you also close up your coop? By that I mean how much ventilation does the coop have that is never closed? A chicken can be in a well ventilated coop in the minus temperatures without getting frostbite. However, in a closed up humid coop that same chicken can get frostbite near freezing.

I live in NW Montana where temperatures in the -20s F are not unusual during the winter. The coop has about 10 square feet of ventilation that is never closed. This allows all the moisture a chicken makes when breathing and pooping to leave the coop. A dry chicken is a warm chicken. Those down jackets the chickens wear work very well if you provide a dry place that has no draft blowing on them.

You might want to get a thermometer that also shows the humidity. Humidity inside the coop should be about the same as outside the coop.

I have about 4 feet of ventilation around the top of the coop that I can fit my hand through from the outside. I will get a thermometer that shows humidity I don’t currently now

 

[SpicyDisaster]

The coop has about 10 square feet of ventilation that is never closed.

Silly question, what do you mean by square feet of ventilation? Is that essentially just measuring height and width of the open spaces? Our coops has five 16"x6" vents and then a 6'x6" vent along the back. So that would then be 7ish square feet?

 

[aart]

Silly question, what do you mean by square feet of ventilation? Is that essentially just measuring height and width of the open spaces? Our coops has five 16"x6" vents and then a 6'x6" vent along the back. So that would then be 7ish square feet?

6.3 sqft