coop with open roof in cold climate

[Captain Carrot]

the main thing to worry about is drafts at roost level. Chickens can cope with the cold as long as they have somewhere warm and draft free to sleep. as long as the the walls are solid, they'll be fine with your open roof.

Take a look at this https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I ended up with a garden coop style roof on my small raised coop simply because I had to redo the roof and this was the only option I had without taking the whole structure apart. It's a real drawback, I think, for a critter to be able to climb onto the top of the roof and stare down at chickens through the wire. I've never heard of chickens being scared to death, but I have heard of this happening to rabbits.

I'm not using that small coop anymore for night time housing, but before I do use it again, it's on my list to fix this problem by adding wire all around the edges of the eaves of the roof. It will be a fiddly, annoying job because of all the rafters in the way, but I think it's worth doing.

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
I ended up with a garden coop style roof on my small raised coop simply because I had to redo the roof and this was the only option I had without taking the whole structure apart. It's a real drawback, I think, for a critter to be able to climb onto the top of the roof and stare down at chickens through the wire. I've never heard of chickens being scared to death, but I have heard of this happening to rabbits.

I'm not using that small coop anymore for night time housing, but before I do use it again, it's on my list to fix this problem by adding wire all around the edges of the eaves of the roof. It will be a fiddly, annoying job because of all the rafters in the way, but I think it's worth doing.

There are post where chickens trample each other being scared or are ambushed form a blind area by a predator that found a weakness in the pen (raccoons) -

 

[patandchickens]

My main predatorproofing concern, with having critters be able to get up onto a wire roof and look down on sleeping chickens, is mostly along the twin lines of a) the better you let 'em inspect the buffet, the harder they try to get in; and b) people not-infrequently underestimate the strain that just the *sheer weight* of one or more good sized raccoons will place on all attachment points or seams of a wire top. But yes, if the chickens woke up and got scared by all the funny raccoon noises and saggy ceiling, I could imagine it sometimes possible for them to pile up and someone get smothered, too.

Pat

 

[jgervais]

Great to hear there are some people who have used the garden style in cold climates. I think it will be really beneficial in the summer - and there is always the option of adding an insulated board to the top like Pastor Mike said.
The Garden style is just so good looking, I had to go with it! haha
I think after our first year as chicken owners we will be able to modify the coop as needed for our climate - and live and learn as we go.

Never thought of predators being able to look in on the coop - maybe I will add some hardware cloth to the rafters - sometimes when you see someone do it one way its hard to think of any other way of doing something, but that suggestion makes a lot of sense....
thanks again

 

[FireTigeris]

I have hardware cloth flat on my run (notice I'm in FL) and the leaves there are piling up attracting roaches -ewww-

My coop:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=44847-my-coop

go see!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

It's been awhile since I've been to the site for that coop, but I thought they had suggestions for modifications, for people that live in areas with more severe winters. I think covering at least part of the top was mentioned. I remember that some of the customers had done that.

Ventilation simply means an exchange of fresh air in the coop. The air comes in one opening, moves through the coop and goes out another opening. A draft is when that air is blowing directly on the chicken. This causes them to lose more body heat. It can ruffle the feathers slightly, letting trapped heat escape. It also blows on their combs and wattles with a wind chill effect. This is not a good thing in the middle of a cold winter, when it's 20 below.

In the summer when it's hot, chickens can benefit from a breeze. In the winter, they need a draft free place to roost. They also need a draft free area to shelter in during part of the day when they need it. To figure out where there could be drafts, look at all the openings in a coop. The air can be moving between any two openings. To make it easier, picture a string going between any two openings. Provide an area in the main living portion of the coop and also the roost area, where the air is not going to be moving through. Don't have any of the strings intersecting the roosting area or a portion of the floor area.

That's the biggest drawback of having the entire roof open. There's not much of the coop that can't have a draft in it. If you cover a portion of the top, you can shelter part of the coop from drafts. It shouldn't effect the attractiveness of the coop at all. It will just make it less drafty in the winter.

 

[Glenmar]

Quote:
Love the coop and where did you find those funky colored feeder/waterers?

I painted them.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

I wonder if you could build a draft shelter over the roost? Maybe use one of those auto sunshades (like silver bubble wrap)?

 

[Fred's Hens]

It's not the temps. I keep hens in northern Michigan with -20 night after night here in the AuSable Valley. We even had a -30 this past winter. Chickens don't need heat and they don't need insulation, which is pointless when there's no heat. What they do need is a dry, safe coop.

Ventilation is important and my barn has plenty. But, I do not want snow swirling up and over walls or through eves. Snow can find its way over, under and through if it is windy. That snow makes the coop wet and messy. The coop needs to stay very, very dry.