Coop Size and Warmth

[chickensforkids]

I currently have 7 week old chickens and we are turning an existing shed into a coop. The shed is 8X8. Will this be too big for my chickens to keep each other warm during a New England winter, or do I need more?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

That will be just fine for your flock - and leave a little room for additions should you choose to expand the flock (more birds, however, are not "needed" for warmth in your situation).

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your goal should not be to keep the place where the chickens are warm. Your goal should be to allow the chickens to keep themselves warm. With their down coats they can do that themselves with very little help. All you have to do is see to it that they are not hit by a direct wind while on the roost. Cold does not bother them but a cold wind does. Think of all the wild birds you see in the winter.

The other issue is that they need decent ventilation so bad air can escape. The easy way to do that and keep a wind from hitting them is to have your ventilation openings above their heads when they are on the roosts. That way any wind is over their heads and not hitting them directly.

When they are snowed in the coop this winter they will really enjoy all that good space you are providing them. They should do well in there.

 

[pastryman]

I agree with the others. They can take a lot of cold.

 

[chickdiva]

I was actually wondering myself if you have to place some type of heat in the coop during the cold winter months.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I was actually wondering myself if you have to place some type of heat in the coop during the cold winter months.

Supplemental heat provided in the winter makes the humans feel better, but does little to benefit the birds - in fact, supplemental heating in the winter can cause more problems than anything else. Chickens are very well designed to keep themselves comfortable in bitterly cold temperatures provided appropriate shelter in which to do so.

 

[pastryman]

Only with young chicks chickdiva. But you might need heat under the drinking water or under the eggs.

 

[wamtazlady]

Before my grandmother passed away she gave me all her books on raising canaries. Now, most people consider canaries a very delicate bird. The books talked about having to go to your cages first thing in the morning to break the ice on the water dishes so the birds could have a drink. The books said as long as the birds did not have a draft on them, they would do fine in the cold. If it works for canaries, it should work for a chicken.

 

[JackE]

Hers's a neat old book:

http://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood#page/n0/mode/2up


I built my coop, following the info in it. In the book you can read about back in the day, people in Canada keeping chickens in open-air coops in -40 temps. Like was already said, chickens are built to handle the cold. They don't need a lot of help from us. Give them a place out of the wind and they'll be alright.

 

[chickensforkids]

Thank you so much for all of the information. It just backs up what I had already read/thought... I was secretly hoping that might "need" a few more.