Hey everyone, new to the site, I have an introductory video!

Speaking as a fellow north Jersey chicken lover....get rid of that heat lamp or you will risk burning down the coop, your house, and your neighbor's house! Remember, wood shavings and chicken feathers are very flammable, not to mention that temperature can rise quickly to roast the chickens in such small coop.

After surviving my first cold winter with 4 young chickens last year, when there were times that temperature dipped down to -10F at nights, the chickens were fine. I lived to have some good night sleep too after staring at the thermometer and humidity gauge for a couple late nights. Granted, we have an insulated coop, but the coop windows and pop door are always opened for ventilation, even in the dead of the winter, so the temperature inside and outside the coop are the same. Don't worry, the chickens can make themselves into a puff ball to retain body heat. Being that your coop is situated between buildings, it is well sheltered from the wind. New Jersey is really not that cold compare to some other places where people have successfully raised chickens without the danger of using a heat lamp.

I would suggest that you raise the roosting bar by a couple inches so the chickens don't get back-splashed by their own poop dropping at night. Make the roosting bar 4" wide so the chickens can flatten and sit on their toes to keep their feet warm. Increase ventilation (to provide still fresh air) as much as you can to minimize smell and condensation build up.

Like the others have mentioned, 2 chickens are fine with that coop. Resist chicken math, or a much bigger coop will be needed.

We too got our chicks from Moyer last June.
 
Nice to see reasonable population and weatherproofing on one of those tiny coops.

Ditto.... forget about the heat, take the lamp right out of there.
Ventilation is much more important that heat....dryness is key as you already know.

Good thoughts on security...but not quite enough.
City coons are probably well versed in bungie cords.
I use hasps with carabineers thru the loops, some folks say coons can get those off and only a padlock will really deter them, my coop has not faced intrusion so I cannot say for sure. You can get hook and eyes with spring releases on them too, which would be an improvement over the ones you already have.

Another thing with those coops, the roost is too low, they may roost(sleep) and poop, in nests when you open them after they start laying.
If you can raise the roost up 6" or so that should keep them there instead of in the nests.
@aart As per this thread, I removed the heating lamp and is stored away for good. I am going to make the purchase on hasps and carabineers this week and install them as soon as possible. I have just the material for raising my roost as well I can use a larger piece of wood with some "L" brackets to give my hens more lift of the coop floor. Also, do you or anyway else know if placing a mini night light in the coop would be good so that the hens can see and get up on the roost? I understand that chickens cannot see well in the dark so I am afraid that they will not be able to get up on the roost if it is pitch black inside the coop at night.
 
@aart As per this thread, I removed the heating lamp and is stored away for good. I am going to make the purchase on hasps and carabineers this week and install them as soon as possible. I have just the material for raising my roost as well I can use a larger piece of wood with some "L" brackets to give my hens more lift of the coop floor. Also, do you or anyway else know if placing a mini night light in the coop would be good so that the hens can see and get up on the roost? I understand that chickens cannot see well in the dark so I am afraid that they will not be able to get up on the roost if it is pitch black inside the coop at night.
They should go up to roost before it's too dark, but that coop has very little openings for ventilation and light.
Many folks use a light to guide the birds back to the coop to roost, especially when younger.
You could get one of those mini dome, battery operated push lights....or a string of battery operated mini holiday lights that are in the stores now.
.....I wouldn't use anything too bright and you don't want it on all night or it will screw up their bio rhythms, they need a dark period to rest.
 
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Good luck and remember raccoons and opossums have incredibly strong jaws. I've had raccoons tear their own teeth out to escape a trap.
 
Nice video and great looking chickens. First time I have seen chickens as pets in Jersey city. I was born and raised in Hoboken NJ. I Love the idea of having chickens in the city. I recently brought home 2 Barred Rock chicks. Let the chicken fun begin. Have a great day.
 
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Nice video and great looking chickens. First time I have seen chickens as pets in Jersey city. I was born and raised in Hoboken NJ. I Love the idea of having chickens in the city. I recently brought home 2 Barred Rock chicks. Let the chicken fun begin. Have a great day.
@Ro-Ro Yea I just needed a hobby and I was looking into this for a while. My fiance has was raised with chickens in her yard so I thought it would be nice for her as well. We both enjoy them and what the heck if you have ample space for them, city or not, they are awesome animals to have around. I do turn heads though when I bring it up among my friends/co-workers. "YOU HAVE CHICKENS IN JERSEY CITY???!" It's all good fun.
 
Hey everyone, just want to say thank you so much for your welcomes, comments, and suggestions. I already took the liberty in fixing one or two things that seemed to be issues within this forum. The link below shows a short video on an update since posting this thread of modifications I have done to the coop. Nothing much, but a step in the right direction. Again thank you so much!

 
Hey everyone, just want to say thank you so much for your welcomes, comments, and suggestions. I already took the liberty in fixing one or two things that seemed to be issues within this forum. The link below shows a short video on an update since posting this thread of modifications I have done to the coop. Nothing much, but a step in the right direction. Again thank you so much!

Looks Great!
 
You are very smart to join this community. It's a heck of a lot of fun here, but such a wealth of experience and knowledge in one place cannot be found anywhere else. It's guaranteed to shorten your learning curve with your chickens.

There's nothing wrong with providing a little night light for the chickens. It helps to instill self confidence in young pullets such as yours, making them feel calm and safe in their coop. But since the coop is so small, if the light is within reach of the chickens, go with something large enough they won't mistake it (mini-holiday lights may be too tiny and swallow-size) for something to eat. I like those plug-in LED lights.
 

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