Heating or not? The temperature will barely touch 20F in my area.

[aart]

I am not suggesting surviving on snow, but needing water 24/7 is unnecessary. There is a difference between being thirsty and dying of thirst. There is a difference between being hungry and starvation.

Yes, I've used a dish of snow as a back up, and it gets used,
sometimes before the waterer freezes.
Also have had chickens spend all day noshing on snow banks and ignore their nice warmer waterer inside the coop. SMH.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens are birds. Where do wild birds get water when the ground is covered with snow or is frozen?

My chickens have dug holes in the ice in my waterers if I'm slow to refill them. Their beaks can do that much damage. I think it is good to give them as much thawed water as you reasonably can for as much of the day as you can. Running out of water for an extended period of time can affect egg-laying so don't get ridiculous about it. But there have been times I could only give hem water in the mornings and it did not seem to hurt egg production much if at all.

 

[Fintechie]

Do you plan on putting a solid roof on the run?
Would help protect the window there...but not sure you built the framing at an angle to shed rain/snow melt.

Yes we put on a tarp on top of the run two week ago. The pictures were from May.

 

[Fintechie]

My suggestion is that you read this article. We all have different experiences because we do things differently or have different conditions. There is more to it than just temperature or breed. What works for some doesn't work for others because of these differences. This article is by someone that experiences truly cold temperatures and tries different things.

Alaskan’s Article

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

My experience is limited to -10 F and above. We had single combed chickens sleeping in trees that suffered no damage. These had great ventilation and were in a sheltered location where wind wasn't a problem. To me those are the two big issues though chickens with smaller combs and wattles give you a larger margin for error.

If your roosts are low enough that any wind entering that small window is above their heads when they are on the roost you might be OK with that small opening all the way around at the top of your walls. It looks like your big windows are close to the same height. I'm not looking at pure height but more of the path a wind entering that window opening would take to escape. If you feel you need to add anything I'd put some type of "gable vent" up pretty high on what I'll call the sides or the front. The overhang might be enough to keep out most rain and snow but some type of louver could help with that.

Good luck!

Thanks for the link and suggestions. Last few days, we sealed the one window (external facing) with clear hard plastic and keep the window inside run. We added a tarp to cover the run, so that snow/rain won't blow through the window and avoid any draft of course. Not sure if that has enough ventilation?

 

[Folly's place]

Ventilation is MOST important! You will find out if you have enough soon; if the inside humidity is higher than outside, it's not well ventilated.
You will be out there at 2am clearing snow off your tarped run, good luck with that! Snow load on the roof is a big deal!!!
Clear vinyl or tarps on three sides of the run will help a lot in winter too.
Mary

 

[Fintechie]

Thanks for the link and suggestions. Last few days, we sealed the one window (external facing) with clear hard plastic and keep the window inside run. We added a tarp to cover the run, so that snow/rain won't blow through the window and avoid any draft of course. Not sure if that has enough ventilation?

Ventilation is MOST important! You will find out if you have enough soon; if the inside humidity is higher than outside, it's not well ventilated.
You will be out there at 2am clearing snow off your tarped run, good luck with that! Snow load on the roof is a big deal!!!
Clear vinyl or tarps on three sides of the run will help a lot in winter too.
Mary

Here is how the coop looks outside and inside now. To prevent draft winds, my hubby sealed the outside-facing window and boarded half of run-facing window. I am not sure if that is a good idea, but he insisted... we can a a tarp of the run with about 15 degree angle.

 

[Folly's place]

Could you add sheet vinyl to the outside of your run walls, at least on the windward sides? That run facing window can be entirely open too then.
As it is, the coop looks underventilated to me, if both doors are shut.
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

Here is how the coop looks outside and inside now. To prevent draft winds, my hubby sealed the outside-facing window and boarded half of run-facing window. I am not sure if that is a good idea, but he insisted... we can a a tarp of the run with about 15 degree angle.
View attachment 1956900 View attachment 1956901

Your windows are quite a lot higher than roost so I don't see why drafts would be an issue with windows fully open. Especially the one facing into the run, if you plan on keeping that tarp in place. Are those the only ventilation or are the soffits open too?

Have you or your hubby ever actually tested inside there for drafts at roost height on a windy day? You might find there is no draft at all - some movement of air is fine, as long as it's not enough to ruffle feathers.

Our first big storm after our coop was installed, I ran out in the wind and rain and held up a ribbon inside the coop to make sure that drafts weren't an issue even with all 5 windows open.

 

[Fintechie]

Hey, thanks!
yes, both doors are closed and locked at night in fact due to so many predators around. Soffits around are open but not much. Well, time to convince my passive aggressive hubby...

 

[CatWhisperer]

It’s going down to 13 F tonight. I have serama, silkies, Polish, a tiny D’Anver, and a frizzle bantam Cochin. This is my first winter with these birds, all of which I’ve heard have problems with the cold. My coops are insulated but I don’t think there’s enough bird bodies to warm them. From people who have these breeds, any suggestions?