coop ideas for michigan?

[patman75]

My coop is on my BYC page. No insulation, no heat just draft free and plenty of ventilation.

 

[Pixiestick]

Quote:
where in michigan are you from? i'm in sw mi. my friends have chickens and a few of theirs got frostbite this year. that's mostly what i'm worried about. the frostbite.

 

[patman75]

Quote:
where in michigan are you from? i'm in sw mi. my friends have chickens and a few of theirs got frostbite this year. that's mostly what i'm worried about. the frostbite.

I'm in the thumb. As long as they have no drafts but good ventilation they should be fine. It also helps if you get breeds that have smaller combs. My leghorns get a tiny bit of frost bite because they have huge combs while none of my other birds get any frost bite.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
1) Choose chickens that are well-suited to cold. Bantams are not as cold-hardy as full sized chickens. Things with small (pea/walnut/cushion) combs -- such as Wyandottes, Buckeyes, Chanteclers, Brahmas -- are cold-hardier than things with big single combs.

2) Build big. Some people may tell you to build a coop so they're really crowded in so "their body heat will warm the coop". Those people also generally battle frostbite every winter. Don't do it. A larger coop will be as warm or warmer (design matters a lot -- see my 'cold coop' page, link in .sig below) and FAR easier to manage and more chickenfriendly.

3) Put the popdoor and the people door on the usually-downwind sides, e.g. S and/or E side.

4) plan your ventilation to allow good ventilation in the winter, see my ventilation page (link in .sig below) for suggestions.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[mcfarmall]

Hey True Grit, tell me more about the upside down inside out windows. Is that to get the air movement higher above the floor level thus avoiding drafts? I assume the inside out reason is so they can be adjusted without going inside the coop.

 

[moetrout]

I am in SE Michigan. My coup is not insulated, but does have finished walls on the inside which probably helps to seal it up from drafts a little more than if it were not finished. I noticed this winter my roo had a little frost bite on his comb, but nothing drastic. It's not like the whole thing froze and fell off, just a little black at the tips. I feel the heat in the summer is a bigger problem than the cold in the winter. Sure you'll feel bad for them being out in that frigid cold, but then you'll see them running around like it's nothing at all and realize they are just fine. Your biggest problem for winter is keeping liquid water available.

 

[JackE]

Here's a coop for you. They had coops like these in cold northern climates years ago.
Jack

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=445004

 

[True Grit]

Quote:
Eggsactly! The ventilation ends up on top, more or less above roost level. I have the hardware cloth on the inside where it is invisible from the outside.

 

[True Grit]

Thanks for the compliments Hillbilly Hen and Pixiestick. Dh was very gratified.

I didn't even know he could build until he built the coop. I especially like the removable panel that lets a lot of air flow through in the summer.

 

[obaan1]

I live in southwest Michigan and have insulated coops, draft free, with good ventilation. My large breed birds go out and about in the winter weather. My bantam silkies prefer to stay inside their coop and just look out during inclimate weather. Make sure everyone has enough room for living comfortably or you'll have a lot of feather pecking going on. It's a long time from November to April (our snow season). Bigger is better.