HELP!! Winter Coop?

[chicken chic]

I have only been raising chicks since May.
Can I use this chain link dog kennel enforced with chicken wire, tin roof & 20MIL plastic for coop in the winter (MO) or do I need to build a house? It's dry, vented & no drafts that I'm aware of but didn't know if it would be warm enough. Chicks are still laying eggs with temps down to 30's at night.

 

[jetdog]

Same set up as me but I have a coop for them to go in, I just feel better if I know they are warm and safe, it wouldn't take much to build a simple box type of coop.

 

[chicken chic]

We had this in there but they NEVER went in it! They only sat on top & pooped all over it so I sold it this past Sunday

 

[jetdog]

You will have to lock them in for a few days so they know where home is, I think I locked mine in for 5 days and no problem after that.

 

[chicken chic]

oh! didn't realize that but then again that one was pretty small. they said that it would hold six chicks but the house was only 2 1/2 feet sq.
Maybe it would have been fine but I just didn't have the heart to squish them into it.
We will be building this one soon but I was hoping what I have will be alright until we can get it finished. I guess my daughters SAE project for FFA turned into more than we had anticipated.
I'm SO thankful for this site but wish we would have found it before bringing our ladies home.

 

[chicken chic]

Hey! That does look similar. do you sand on the floor of your run? We are wanting to do that in the spring. Seems like a good choice.

 

[jetdog]

Yes sand in the run and the coop it works great they love dusting with the roof and over hang it never gets wet and very easy to clean with a cat litter scoop, They keep busy scratching around in the sand all day.

 

[foreverlearning]

That roof is not good for a snow load. You want a slanted roof (prop yours up on one side) so the snow doesn't stay and make it collapse. You also need some sort of ventilation so they don't get frost bite from the moisture of their poop. To do this you have a few options: You could use the propped up side of the roof and place hardware cloth or chicken wire on the opening. -Or- You could release the clamp for the plastic at the top a little to create ventilation. I feel safer with mine in a coop (lots of things looking for a meal here) but it is not required. It is doable with a few small modifications, good luck!

 

[4 the Birds]

Same set up as me but I have a coop for them to go in, I just feel better if I know they are warm and safe, it wouldn't take much to build a simple box type of coop.

+1

I would build a coop inside the run and move the nest boxes inside the coop or at least to the back wood wall. The box openings and boxes look a little small compared to the bird size but it is hard to tell from the picture.

 

[my sunwolf]

That coop looks fine to me. I would be worried about the snow load as well, but that's another issue altogether. The coop should be warm enough down to 0˚F as long as it has ventilation (as you've mentioned it did). I'm trying to find some good open air coop links, but there are some really great designs and theories out there.