How do YOU winterize your coop?

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

Starting this because winter is coming soon! Here in Alabama, winterizing isn’t necessary. I’m starting this thread for people who need advice on how to properly winterize a chicken/duck/poultry coop.
Let’s get to it!

I am new to chickens and live in north east Ohio. Started my flock in April and finally getting eggs over the last month.

My coop is an old 12 x 12 garden shed so right now i have 6 windows that would be pane in or pane out. I developed a picture frame system with some nails in the window frames that are not screwed all the way in so the glass can block wind and rain but the air can still circulate. It is however quite cold in there today at 45 degrees.

I imagine it will soon be cold enough that i should close the windows completely. Any tips for adding ventilation yet keeping some warmth.

 

[HuffleClaw]

I am new to chickens and live in north east Ohio. Started my flock in April and finally getting eggs over the last month.

My coop is an old 12 x 12 garden shed so right now i have 6 windows that would be pane in or pane out. I developed a picture frame system with some nails in the window frames that are not screwed all the way in so the glass can block wind and rain but the air can still circulate. It is however quite cold in there today at 45 degrees.

I imagine it will soon be cold enough that i should close the windows completely. Any tips for adding ventilation yet keeping some warmth.

Great post! As for ventilation I’m sure someone will come along to help you with that on this thread

 

[hillbilly91]

I am new to chickens and live in north east Ohio. Started my flock in April and finally getting eggs over the last month.

My coop is an old 12 x 12 garden shed so right now i have 6 windows that would be pane in or pane out. I developed a picture frame system with some nails in the window frames that are not screwed all the way in so the glass can block wind and rain but the air can still circulate. It is however quite cold in there today at 45 degrees.

I imagine it will soon be cold enough that i should close the windows completely. Any tips for adding ventilation yet keeping some warmth.

House vents are great as you can put one on both sides and at night or bad weather close them or during the day open them.

 

[hillbilly91]

House vents are great as you can put one on both sides and at night or bad weather close them or during the day open them.

Just to clarify I'm talking about the black vents for the crawl space of a house

 

[Mrs. K]

Depending on how many windows and what direction they face. When I first started chickens, I nearly shut the coop up tight to keep it warm.... the wrong thing to do.

Think of a very cold windy day, and when you go around the corner of a building, you feel almost instantly warmer, you are out of the wind. That is what you want for a coop, a place where your birds can get out of the wind. You want a dry place, not a warm place.

So even much colder than 45 degrees is perfectly fine for your birds, if they can get out of the wind, and do not get damp from having the coop closed too tightly.

My vents are on the south side, and I never close them.

Mrs K

 

[RWise]

The only thing I do to winterize is hang a blanket on the north side to block most of the north wind.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

House vents are great as you can put one on both sides and at night or bad weather close them or during the day open them.

Like a standard hvac vent with and damper?

 

[hillbilly91]

Like a standard hvac vent with and damper?

No, look up foundation vent on home depot. Just my opinion the cheaper ones are better because basic ventilation is all that's needed

 

[DrFeathers]

Getting ready for our second winter with chickens in Long Island, NY.

I have 8 hens in a 4x4x4 coop on 2’ tall stilts with 6x8 covered run attached plus the 4x4x2 under the coop. Last winter I wrapped all the run wire with heavy plastic sheeting just leaving 1-2” bare at the top on all sides to allow ventilation. Girls did fine with the run essentially functioning as a giant coop. As others have suggested I also added an extra thick layer of straw to the run, both coop and run use deep litter method.

For water I use 5gal bucket with horizontal water nipples and in winter I add a stock tank de-icer with internal thermostat to keep it from freezing. This summer I added a second water bucket, this one 6gal, and am debating just using the big one over winter with the current de-icer vs buying another de-icer and using both.

 

[lissalischicks]

I live in California and I don't get the snow and minus temperatures but it does get cold at night (not as cold as some of you). We also have bitter, strong winds (sometimes gusts in the 50s.) I cover the run with plastic sheeting. The hen house is in the run so it protects the girls from the winds and keeps some cold out.