Extreme cold coming our way

[irlybird]

Good morning. It’s our first winter with our girls and they seem super happy. Their coop is insulated and dry. Their run is covered and as of yet the snow hasn’t drifted in at all.

We usually have temps around -5c to -10c at night. We got a warning that temps will dip to -20c plus wind chill. Is there anything we need to do to keep our girls safe?

We have ventilation along the roofline on one side and two windows that we’ve kept open 3 inches each till now. Never damp in there. I’m wondering for these cold days if we should shut the windows Incase of the wind and just let the roofline ventilation do its thing. The vent at the top is 10ft long and 8 inches high (8x10ft coop).

 

[chickens really]

I would if the top vents are good.

 

[Mrs. K]

It is much more important to keep them dry and not warm, but out of a direct wind. Think wind break, if while in the coop, the wind is blowing inside the coop, shut the windows, otherwise leave them be. More ventilation is much better than not enough. That being said, I only have roof line ventilation, and it seems to work fine in this arid climate.

If I am worried about too cold, I add fresh or dryer bedding on the floor. A brooming- out of the coop, and fresh dry bedding is good.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Birds can get dehydrated in winter as well as summer so I've started soaking rolled oats in a Sav-a-Chick electrolytes/vitamins solution.
This avoids the 'wattle dippage' of an open waterer.
Gives them a boost and gets them hydrated.
1/8 teaspoon to 1 cup of warm water, mix until dissolved.
Add solution to 1 cup of rolled oats, stir well on occasion until all liquid is absorbed, might need to add more oats. Takes an hour or two, then give it to the birds.

Have done this every few days during extreme cold, and I believe it's really helped them, they all stayed mobile. Gives me a good chance to assess mobility, any bird that doesn't go for the oats gets watched very carefully and may be brought to a warmer place for a couple hours to 'reset'.


@BantyChooks taught me about 'cold reset'. I bring bird into the slightly warmer garage for just a couple-few hours. Makes sure she eats, give her a dose of electrolytes, see what's coming out the other end, and just observe. Then take them back out to coop, has 'saved' a few here, it's pretty amazing how they bounce back.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Your coop sounds very well designed as is. If there is a draft on the birds from the open window I suggest closing it. Minus 10 Celsius is 14F, and -20C is about -4F, your chickens will be fine as long as their coop is dry, clean and well ventilated. It has gone down to -10F here last winter and the chickens were fine. My rooster did get a bit of frostbite on his wattle because it is rather large but otherwise they were fine. Give them some corn for their "bedtime" snack and that should help them on cold nights as well. Best of luck.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I took this photo hen it was -15C or +4 F. It had been a little colder but didn't have my camera with me then. I leave my pop door open and let them decide what they want to do.

The coldest my temperatures typically get in winter is about -22C or -8 F. I've never had a problem. If my temperatures got down to -29C or -20F it might be a different story. There is a limit somewhere, I just haven't hit it yet.

As long as the wind is not blowing mine choose to go out. If a cold wind is blowing they find a protected spot or stay in. This tells me that a cold wind hitting them is not good. I'm not sure how those two windows affect wind inside the coop, especially where the chickens spend the night. What you describe for your high ventilation sounds like plenty to me, I'd think you'd be OK shutting one or both windows. Depending on how those windows are oriented to the high ventilation they may or may not create a breeze over the roosts when one or both are open. In a coop your size the chickens should be able to find a place out of the wind during the day.

The Woods coop design is used in the northern US/southern Canada. It has a pretty open front for good ventilation but the roosts are in the back, sort of a cul de sac, where the breeze doesn't hit them. It's that cul de sac effect you are looking for.

 

[Folly's place]

It sound good to me too. If there's no wind blowing in, leave things as they are.
Pictures! Post pictures, including dimensions, if you can. In winter, we have the windward sides closed, and the leeward sides open at the top, so there's ventilation, but not serious wind and snow blowing in. A window, draft right at a roost that they use at night would be a window that I would close.
Mary