First Winter With Chickens, What To Do?

[Zebedee1]

Hello everyone! This is our first flock and so far we have been doing great however this is our first winter that we will be going through with the girls. We live in Jacksonville NC so our winters aren’t super cold and harsh but I am just looking for tips on what to do and what not to do for the winter temperatures. Should I worry about plastic wrapping the run or leave it open? Do I close the windows completely or leave them cracked? Any advice will be appreciated! I attached a picture of our coop and run to get a visual on what we have going on. Also we do tend to let the girls out and roam the yard for a bit everyday so they can get some extra sunlight and what not.

 

[DobieLover]

what to do

Provide protection from harsher winter winds but just as importantly, provide ample ventilation.

what not to do

Don't close them up tight.
Don't heat the coop.
Don't keep water inside the coop.

Should I worry about plastic wrapping the run or leave it open?

Personally, I would wrap it to provide wind blocking. Leave the upper foot or so open.

Do I close the windows completely or leave them cracked?

Close windows that allow drafts to blow directly across the roosts and open feathers. Do you have a ridge vent?
Do you have a predator apron on your setup? If so, I would never shut the pop door and that will be an ideal source of low, fresh air intake.
It's a bit late in the season for renos but I would install a long, narrow
opening at the top of the side of the coop under the run roof as it that is an ideal location for high ventilation.

 

[hammyanne]

Hi there! How exciting! How low do the winter temps get down in NC? I’d say keep the windows cracked open if that’s the only source of ventilation in the coop, but make sure the chickens have roosting spaces that are draft free and dry.

I’m in NY and I wrap my run in translucent tarp and do deep litter in there as well. The deep litter adds some enrichment and generates some heat from composting in place. The tarp creates a windbreak. I use a heavy duty tarp so I can reuse it year after year. Here’s a photo of my run mid-wrap:

 

[Zebedee1]

Provide protection from harsher winter winds but just as importantly, provide ample ventilation.

Don't close them up tight.
Don't heat the coop.
Don't keep water inside the coop.

Personally, I would wrap it to provide wind blocking. Leave the upper foot or so open.

Close windows that allow drafts to blow directly across the roosts and open feathers. Do you have a ridge vent?
Do you have a predator apron on your setup? If so, I would never shut the pop door and that will be an ideal source of low, fresh air intake.
It's a bit late in the season for renos but I would install a long, narrow
opening at the top of the side of the coop under the run roof as it that is an ideal location for high ventilation.

Awesome thank you for all the help! So I do have a gable vent on each side on the coop so provide ventilation and so because of that I’ve cracked the widows rather than having them all the way open like I did in the summer. I do have hardwire everywhere to include the windows and gable. When you said pop door are you talking about the door for them to go in and out of the coop?

 

[DobieLover]

When you said pop door are you talking about the door for them to go in and out of the coop?

Yes. If your run has a predator apron on it there is no reason not to let them come and go from the run at will. That is the way my coop/run is setup. I never close the pop doors.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How cold exactly does it get, and how stormy/windy? I think a lot of folks overwinterize (which then leads to ventilation issues) when they're not faced with conditions that need it. Except for the very rare, once-every-few-years sideways sleet type storm, I don't close any vents or wrap the run because some snow and freezing temps (lowest we've had is 8F which isn't that low I know) are tolerated well by healthy birds. Really the only thing I do to prepare for winter is plug the heated waterer in, and add more wood chips if drainage in the run is starting to falter.

 

[Bantam bell Wood]

Hi there! How exciting! How low do the winter temps get down in NC? I’d say keep the windows cracked open if that’s the only source of ventilation in the coop, but make sure the chickens have roosting spaces that are draft free and dry.

I’m in NY and I wrap my run in translucent tarp and do deep litter in there as well. The deep litter adds some enrichment and generates some heat from composting in place. The tarp creates a windbreak. I use a heavy duty tarp so I can reuse it year after year. Here’s a photo of my run mid-wrap:

Thank you for the translucent tarp advice. In Maine winters are harsh and the translucent tarp will be a great help. I am starting to build up the deep litter in the coop and that’s going well- it seems so anyway, no ammonia smell and overall dry. Do I also practice deep litter in the enclosed (soon in translucent tarp) run?

Thank you.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Thank you for the translucent tarp advice. In Maine winters are harsh and the translucent tarp will be a great help. I am starting to build up the deep litter in the coop and that’s going well- it seems so anyway, no ammonia smell and overall dry. Do I also practice deep litter in the enclosed (soon in translucent tarp) run?

Thank you.

You can, but you will need to lightly water it periodically, so that composting will happen.

Alternatively, you can just leave it dry and frequently turn it over with a garden fork.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In Northwest Arkansas (somewhat similar to your climate) I never locked the chickens in the coop during the day. The coldest I saw while I was here with chickens was -4 Fahrenheit. I left the pop door open and let them decide if they wanted to go out. If the wind was calm they went out. If a cold wind was blowing they stayed in out of the wind. They can handle cold weather, but they need wind protection.

Your biggest risk from winter is frostbite. This is where ventilation comes in. If moisture builds up they can get frostbite even when it is not that much below freezing. But as long as moisture does not build up they can handle really low temperatures. I'll mention -4 Fahrenheit again. The moisture can come from their breath, their poop, any open water source in the coop, or leaks when it rains.

So you need a well-ventilated coop but wind protection when they are on the roosts at night. How high are those windows compared to the roosts? Would any wind from them hit the chickens or pass over their heads? That will tell you if you can open the windows on those really cold breezy nights.

Those gable vents definitely help. I'm not sure how big they are. Maybe you could cover the bottom part of those windows to block any breezes hitting the roosts? I'd consider ripping out the top of the wall under that run cover and convert that to hardware cloth for good ventilation up high.

I count 6 chickens. With the size of that coop I would not wrap the run. The coop looks plenty big enough for them if the wind is too strong for them to want to go out. With your raised coop you are not going to get any wind protection from the coop. I'd still expect them to be out in the run on most days in your climate.

Good luck!

 

[Bantam bell Wood]

You can, but you will need to lightly water it periodically, so that composting will happen.

Alternatively, you can just leave it dry and frequently turn it over with a garden fork.

Thank you, in Maine, I’m not sure how the watering would/will go in the winter. I’ll do a little investigating to see what folks out here are doing. In the coop the deep litter I’ve started is not dry but also not moist. I’m monitoring it now to see what’s happening. It hadn’t been cold here yet, except a few partial night hitting 32° or just below for a few hours.