*Extreme* cold weather coop designs?

[giantsridge]

We are enjoying our first batch of chickens, which currently spend their nights in a tractor that I built. With winter coming, I want to build a larger, permanent coop for them, but am concerned about how they are going to handle winter (we live in northern MN, where low temps of -40F are expected and we sometimes go several days with a HIGH temp of 0 F...).
The location for our coop will not have a water supply or power, although I could run an extension cord to it if absolutely necessary.
I am looking for advice on what temp the girls need to be happy and comfortable, as well as any ideas/pics/suggestions for building a coop in these really cold climates.

Thanks!
Shawn

 

[CityChook]

from the Cities -

I have some winter information on my site:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=8650-winter-chickens

Don't know how many chickens you have... assuming not THAT many if you're housing in a tractor for the summer.... note: more chicken bodies = more body heat.

I think you're likely going to need at least a power cord for a water heater. I found that my water bowl would get a skim of ice on top after only 10 minutes of refreshing, and that's in a heated coop... Some people change water out several times a day, but that's not a simple solution in the great white north.

As far as temperatures go, I heated my chickens/coop (6x8 and 4 chickens) last winter with a ceramic heat emitter over their roost. When the temps dipped below -15F, which lasts 2-3 weeks in January-ish, I added another infrared heat bulb (left over from their brooder). My coop, which is insulated and has windows for warmth from sunlight, tended to hang around 10-12F inside, but got as cold as -5F at times. The girls were fine and had no frostbite.

Ventilation (keep it up high and closable) is very very important, as is keeping your coop draft free. I'd almost say that these two factors are even more important than insulation and heat. Check out patandchickens ventilation page for some great information and lynns page for more winter advice:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-seasonal-concerns

You can also use the search function (blue bar above) and do some searching on the coop forum on words like "cold" or "winter" to get information/advice/experience from others, particularly during the depths of last winter.

PM me directly if I can be of any other help! And welcome!

 

[patandchickens]

There is a looong thread somewhere on here about cold weather coops, with a lot of input from people in Alaska.

Our weather here isn't as cold as yours, we seldom get down below -35 C (that's, what, minus twenty-something F?) but we do have a number of days when the high is below -18 C (0 F).

Your best bet is to have the chickens in an insulated/ventilated coop within a large outbuilding, like a barn. The large structure, even though unheated, will considerably buffer the outdoor nightly lows.

Failing that, I would suggest building an AMPLE SIZED coop (see below) and insulate it as heavily as finances permit. 6" stud walls, filled with insulation, are great, they offer nearly twice the insulation value of normal 4" stud walls. And insulate the ceiling real well too. See my ventilation page (link in .sig below) for discussion of designing and using ventilation for the winter. Insufficient ventilation causes humidity, and humidity (much moreso than cold per se) is what will give you frostbitten chickens.

There are three reasons IMO for building an AMPLE SIZED coop, like as big as you reasonably can. First, larger buildings are much more thermally stable. They contain more thermal mass, more air volume, and proportionately less surface area. This means they will tend to hold their heat better, on a real cold night, than a small coop would. The difference between, like, an 8x12 coop and a 4x4 tractor is considerable. If the coop can be within a larger building, or even just attached by one wall to it, then you get even more benefit.

Second, when it is -40 out, your chickens are not going to be spending lotsa time outside. And winter confinement stress easily leads to picking and cannibalism, which habits are not always curable even by reducing flock size once theyv'e started. You really want to give them as much living room as possible. Winterizing the outdoor run so that it is largely protected from the elements will help too. Personally I allow about 15 sq ft per chicken indoors (plus run), and would not go below 10 sq ft per chicken indoors. The less you allow, the poorer your odds, although of course some of it depends on luck.

And finally, no matter *what* the climate, it is cheaper to build a larger coop now than to decide two years from now that it's not big enough. Adding on is not always possible, and awkward at best.

At this point, you or someone else reading this is probably thinking "Oh, no, you have to have a small coop for cold winters, to concentrate their body heat". This is NOT TRUE AT ALL. There is no such thing as too big a coop. If you find yourself wanting to concentrate their body heat, it is easy to knock together a temporary roost box or hover or partitioned 'coop within a coop' type arrangement, so they have a smaller warmer area to retire to but still have the use of the whole indoor space. REally truly.

You might also do a 'search' on popcan solar heaters and other passive solar schemes. For instance I plastic-wrap my very small lean-to front run, and then by opening the window and popdoor inside it, I can get a considerable solar-heat boost. My arrangement does require manual opening and closing, but, hey

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[gottalovemychickens]

i cant stop laughing at everyone using C and not F for temps LOL . I know yall are from C-A N-A D-A . but i still cant get over . Gotta love our friends to the north !!!!

 

[LynneP]

We built ours inside a barn, as Pat suggests. Works like a charm! We are so pleased and had a brutal winter last year.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693

 

[grandmaof5]

Quote:
At -40, both F and C are the same...too cold! Those of us 'of a certain age' still remember Fahrenheit and sometimes still have to do a bit of converting in our heads.

My conversion chart is as follows:

-40 -too cold for anything to be out! brrrr...put another log on the fire

-20 C -cold, but brisk if you wear a nice, wool scarf and hat and walk quickly

0 C - freezing temperature of water

12 C - oh, spring is here!

15-18 C - perfect for this grandma

20-25 C- summer

>25 C - too hot for me; turn on that fan!

30 C- I refuse to move away from the fan! >

Sorry to high-jack the thread; back to regularly scheduled posting *


* Re: insulation for extreme winter; Which would be a better choice - rigid foam or pink fibreglass?

 

[giantsridge]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

I like the idea of building the coop within a larger building, but unfortunately do not have a space that would work for that. Its gonna have to be outside. On the good side, I have plenty of salvaged lumber and materials to work with, and I'm always in favor of ALOT of insulation.

Questions.

Ventilation. I'm glad ventilation was brought up, as I hadn't realized how important this will be. I did not see any specific guidelines for just how much should be included however- is there a certain opening size per bird I should design for? In our cold climate, are the vents usually covered at night, then opened during the day?

Coop size. I had planned to build about a 55 sq ft. coop, for our 6 birds. I thought this would be more than enough, even if we add more birds next year. But it sounds like winter conditions require more space than I thought. Any comments on what kind of area is working for others in this climate?

I was also wondering about building 'up' rather than 'out'. If I built 8 ft walls, could I expand the floorspace by adding a loft-style area partway up the wall? Anyone doing anything like this?

Our coop will be elevated up off the ground, for aesthetic reasons and to deal with snow accumulations. I was planning to use the deep litter method to build up an insulative layer on the floor...is this recommended?

Thanks again for the suggestions!
Shawn

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Take a look at my ventilation page (link in my .sig), it may answer most of your questions and supply some useful design suggestions. Generally you would try to leave the vents open as much as possible including at night -- but, play it by ear, as everyone's coop runs differently (and may run differently from year to year as your #chickens changes)

Coop size. I had planned to build about a 55 sq ft. coop, for our 6 birds. I thought this would be more than enough, even if we add more birds next year. But it sounds like winter conditions require more space than I thought. Any comments on what kind of area is working for others in this climate?

I really like 15 sq ft per chicken indoors (plus run, which is roofed and I wrap it mostly, not entirely, in plastic to make it more congenial in nasty winter weather, with hay or whatever on the ground). With that amount of space, even if they are on indoor lockdown for weeks or just don't *want* to go outside, they do not get too grumpy with each other.

But there is really no magic number that comes with a written guarantee -- some chickens will suck it up and remain goodnatured despite prolonged serious crowding, others will go postal even at fairly generous space allotments. So really the best I can tell you -- and I know this is not what you're wanting to hear

-- is "build it as large as feasible".

A roofed run, that can be plastic-wrapped on two or three or three-and-a-half sides for wintertime, is also a big asset.

I was also wondering about building 'up' rather than 'out'. If I built 8 ft walls, could I expand the floorspace by adding a loft-style area partway up the wall? Anyone doing anything like this?

Lots of people have done it; however in reality chickens are fairly 2-dimensional critters (really they are chiefly *ground-dwelling* birds by nature) and while some will spend some time on the upper levels during the daytime -- mostly lower-ranking birds trying to escape persecution -- on the whole they simply do not use second-story space as if it were ground level, thus it does not really "count" towards useful square footage. I'm not saying don't do it (it can help a *little), I'm just saying, don't count it when you are figuring space allotments per chicken.

Our coop will be elevated up off the ground, for aesthetic reasons and to deal with snow accumulations. I was planning to use the deep litter method to build up an insulative layer on the floor...is this recommended?

There really is no "the" deep litter method, just a whole lot of different things involving litter being deep, each with their own idiosyncrasies. But as far as the style where you let used bedding and poo accumulate -- it is worth experimenting with in a walk-in coop, but not in a small coop such as reach-in style or tractor where it will simply cause too many air quality problems. I would suggest not trying to follow a recipe or set of directions, though, and simply experiment with different styles of cleaning and management til you find something that works the way you want

And of course, as far as just putting in lots OF litter, so the bedding is simply deep (yet clean) for insulation purposes, yes, by all means, go right ahead and do that no matter waht the coop is like

Make sure to design your access doors and pophole sufficiently high above the floor that they aren't blocked by deep litter and the deep litter doesn't spill out the openings every time they are open.

Good luck, ahve fun,

Pat, really not looking forward to winter but supposing it *is* probably necessary to talk about it at some point soon, sigh

 

[kaydog]

i cant stop laughing at everyone using C and not F for temps LOL . I know yall are from C-A N-A D-A . but i still cant get over . Gotta love our friends to the north !!!!

Harldy any country uses Fahrenheit .... if anyone uses is it I know they are from the USA

 

[Acre4Me]

Harldy any country uses Fahrenheit .... if anyone uses is it I know they are from the USA

You replied to a 12 year old thread. Kay dog hadn’t been on BYC for 11 years…