How does my brooder/coop setup look for my 4.5 week olds?

[FirewifeJess]

I moved their lamp today to the back corner and their food and water to a more accessible spot near the man-size-door at the front, and my plan, now that they've got a LOT more feathers than they used to, is to always leave the window (at the floor, on the right) open from now on. Nights are in the 40s, days are in the upper 50s and low 60s, and they of course have each other to keep warm. Would you all say it's ok by now to leave that window open? To this point I've been closing it before I go to bed each night and opening it in the morning when I wake up. I'd rather them have more ventilation too. What do you think?

 

[itsren]

It's difficult to tell... does the window have chicken wire or hardware cloth? If not, predators will be a huge issue. As for whether or not it's warm enough - hopefully a more experienced chicken owner will respond. I'm curious, too. I hope to move mine out within a couple of weeks. I live a couple cities away from you, and we have very similar weather patterns.

 

[FirewifeJess]

All openings including that window have very secured hardware cloth over them. My husband put a wood staple over each and every crossing of the hardware cloth, LOL! Every 1/2"! I think it would take a grown man kicking it in for it to budge.

 

[itsren]

I think it would take a grown man kicking it in for it to budge.

We still have to build our coop. After that ice storm we had this year I'm debating whether or not we should insulate it. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[FirewifeJess]

We still have to build our coop. After that ice storm we had this year I'm debating whether or not we should insulate it. What are your thoughts on that?

I have been thinking about that too and so far, not too worried. It was a nasty storm but I know people have birds in much harsher climates than we do, in uninsulated coops. My coop is a shed though and the inside is unfinished, so it wouldn't take much to insulate it actually. Basically I think that in our climate they'll be fine with each other, but I also have 11 birds and plan to have more in the future, and you only have 3 to keep each other warm. How big is your coop and/or what type is it? Do you have an idea of what you're going to build?

 

[woodsman23]

My birds are just 8 weeks and no heat for them as of late, this am wa 19 F and they are fine, no insulation in the coop, even the water was iced up just a bit this morning in the coop.