how many is too many?

[windnleavesfarm]

You'll be better off letting them go outside.  If they are healthy chickens, they will have no problem with the cold.  Your chickens probably got sick before, because they were being kept in an unhealthy environment, like a poorly ventilated coop.  THAT's a quick way, in the winter to get some sick birds, not exposure to cold weather.  You putting heat in the coop is not doing those birds any favors at all.  Guess what happens if during a particularly cold spell, the heat goes out in that coop.  You totally unacclimated chickens are really going to suffer, and that will be all on you.  Give up on the heater, and let the chickens outside to be chickens.
And if you are talking 30 birds, it BETTER be a big coop, or you may see some cannibalism as well. 
Jack 

okay thank you i never really thought about the heater thing.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I am in MD so I don't get the harsh winters you do, however, this is what I learned by reading on this site and books:

1. If you have cold hardy breeds (ie breeds without huge combs and breeds with a lot of down/feathers) they will do fine outside as long as they have a place where they can get out of the weather if they want to, especially if there is a lot of wind.
2. If you got frostbite on the combs, I am wondering if you had enough ventilation in your coop. Search for the topic ventilation and find the article that was written about it. Many birds get frost bite because the moisture in the coop in the winter condensates on their combs and then freezes. So ventilation is much more important than heat, especially in the winter. Make sure the ventilation is up high so that it doesn't blow directly on the birds.

It is not bad to keep them in the coop, but you'll need a much bigger coop (costs). It is easier (cheaper) to keep them in a 4 sq ft per bird coop and give them access to a (partially) covered run. You can shield the run from the wind with tarps.

 

[windnleavesfarm]

chickens along with any other animal like fresh air and sun when they can get it...I personally would not want to be locked up in a building all winter long.  

okay thank you. i appreicate it.

 

[Bullitt]

Here is some information.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/home...d-cold-weather-zb0z10zblon.aspx#axzz2bsag5pTz

 

[windnleavesfarm]

I am in MD so I don't get the harsh winters you do, however, this is what I learned by reading on this site and books:

1. If you have cold hardy breeds (ie breeds without huge combs and breeds with a lot of down/feathers) they will do fine outside as long as they have a place where they can get out of the weather if they want to, especially if there is a lot of wind.
2. If you got frostbite on the combs, I am wondering if you had enough ventilation in your coop.  Search for the topic ventilation and find the article that was written about it.  Many birds get frost bite because the moisture in the coop in the winter condensates on their combs and then freezes.  So ventilation is much more important than heat, especially in the winter. Make sure the ventilation is up high so that it doesn't blow directly on the birds.

It is not bad to keep them in the coop, but you'll need a much bigger coop (costs). It is easier (cheaper) to keep them in a 4 sq ft per bird coop and give them access to a (partially) covered run. You can shield the run from the wind with tarps.

okay thank you very much!

 

[OrchidDragon]

Check out what this chicken owner did for his coop during a Kansas winter. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/wichita-cabin-coop

His coop run is much smaller, but the same theory could be applied to a larger run with a roof. Use plastic sheeting as a wind break on the bottom of the run with a few inches at the top for ventilation. If the chickens are out of the direct wind, their bodies would produce heat inside the protected run. If you leave the chicken door open, they could go inside the coop whenever they wanted.

 

[JackE]

Check out the link below. That book was written over 100yrs ago. You can read about how back in the day, they kept chickens in unheated, uninsulated, open air coops. Even up in Canada, with -40 F temps. THAT's cold, but it was done. I built one of those open air coops. I get temps down into the single digits, along with some strong winds. I have some BRs with regular sized combs, and haven't had any frostbite at all. With the front of the coop wide open. Chickens can handle the cold. But not being kept in a poorly ventilated small box.
Jack

http://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood#page/n7/mode/2up

 

[windnleavesfarm]

Check out the link below. That book was written over 100yrs ago. You can read about how back in the day, they kept chickens in unheated, uninsulated, open air coops. Even up in Canada, with -40 F temps. THAT's cold, but it was done. I built one of those open air coops. I get temps down into the single digits, along with some strong winds. I have some BRs with regular sized combs, and haven't had any frostbite at all. With the front of the coop wide open. Chickens can handle the cold. But not being kept in a poorly ventilated small box. Jack http://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood#page
/n7/mode/2up

th

Thank you very much!!

 

[RandomDude42]

How many fit on the roosting bar is probably how many you can have at the most. If you don't have a roosting bar or plan to disregard it, I'd say you have space for 7-10 chickens.

 

[gwtgl]

I'm a newbie and would like to know how I'm doing so far. That being said I have a 4'X8' coop 7' tall, meaning I've put 5 rows high and 6 columns wide of nesting space for 30 ISA Browns with more than enough space to run. Is this sufficient?