I am soo concerned...

[TouchO'Lass]

I'm in very similar weather to you, Grace. I'm in north central Washington orchard country, just south of the Canadian border in high desert, just under 1000' elev. I'm working to have the recommended 4 square per bird, lots of ventilation and plenty of run for my 15 girls. I've read all of Pats excellent info on ventilation, etc...

That being said!: Look to the people around you, also. Most people around here turn over a fruit bin (4x4x2H), cut a hole in the side and throw a piece of plywood on top of the skids. The skids (about 4") and the bottom slats (1/2" between boards), together with an open door end, sitting inside a makeshift chickenwire run, seem to provide all that 4 to 6 hens need, ventilation and coopwise.

I just can't do that, anymore than I'll let my dogs ride in the back of my truck, but these folks have been doing this for FAR more years than I, and bring ME eggs, SOOOO...

I plan to have an 8x8 coop, all the wire and latches to prote ct from predators, and lots of predator proof run (10'x24'). The locals make fun of me, but I can deal with that more than I can deal with the orchard worker's dogs, eagles and hawks taking my girls...

IMHO Read, read, read, read, read! There is so much experience from both ends of the spectrum in here. Find what works for your area based on this info and those around you....

Best of luck!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Not airFLOW, air EXCHANGE. Freezy drafts are bad, as you surmise. Freezy STILL AIR is generally perfectly fine as long as it is relatively dry; whereas less-freezy very-humid air is a fairly reliable way to get frostbite. (and 10 or even 5 chickens in a 4x6x4 coop is a HECK of a lot of humidity input)

See, that is the (other, aside from cannibalism issues) problem with a tiny coop for a real cold winter area... you need some way of physically separating the vents from the roosts so that what air motion you unavoidably get thru the vents (although you design the vents to make this mvmt as gentle as possible, and really it can be QUITE a gentle airflow if you do it right) is not right on the chickens when they're sleeping.

Generally the best cold-winter approach is a LARGE coop (minimizes cannibalism, sanitation and air quality problems) with ample ventilation (that can be adjusted according to weather shifts) on the downwind side at enough of a distance from the roost that there is a good basically-dead-air zone for them to hang out and sleep.

You can certainly TRY the "let's seal them up in a small box" approach, but, the odds are not in your favor. (e.t.a. - it "works" for many people in the sense that a reasonable number of their chickens survive in some fashion -- and they tend to believe it is the best they can do, b/c "if they get this much frostbite already, all bundled together and shut up tight, just imagine how much worse it'd surely be with more room and more ventilation".... but that does not make it the best way of doing things...)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Life is Good!]

The best thing I've done for our coop to cut drafts in the doors (people only, we don't have an external egg door) is the same thing we do for our house doors.

Go to local hardware store - spend $5 - $7 or so on really good door-seals (the kind with the foam that pushes against the door every time you open and close it), same with a really good threshold, same with an external application 'sweep' (goes on the outside of the door and has a rubber edge that hangs down to prevent drafts coming from under the door).

We're in wet, windy, cold winter, hot hot hot humid summers - Chicagoland. So my husband has gotten draft-blocking (and rain blocking) down to a science!

 

[motoclown]

Just make your coop bigger, how hard could it be......

 

[YourGrace]

Thanks all... After having put our ten, 6 wk old chickens into the coop yesterday, I saw that it is definitely too small for them to all grow up in. Sadly enough, I must let go of AT LEAST 5 of them. One of you mentioned to make the coop bigger, "how hard could it be?" You say. Going off your profile pic of a clown, I assume you are joking, as just getting it to the size we have was hard enough. We used every bit of scrap wood from around the yard. We are BROKE. That's why we thought having chickens to provide us eggs would be a benefit. So Pat, I think you are giving me great advice and I am a huge animal lover and am very sad that I haven't given them a proper home. My husband is thinking of putting the vent right next to the roost. He is tired of hearing me tell him about everyone's different ideas and he is just going to do what he thinks will work. So wish us luck, or even more, wish our chickens luck.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
When I built my coop/run, half the material was salvaged stuff. I'm a big fan of make do with what you have and can find. See my BYC page for pics of mine I built years ago, many others on this forum also has "non-conventional" coop designs and constructions. Good luck and go with what you think will work for you.

 

[write2caroline]

My parents live in La Pine Oregon and You need to make sure you do a few things

First chickens have these underfeathers that poof up in cold - just like a down jacket or pillow creating air pockets that keep them warm

So keeping this in mind: Have wider perches so that when they sit on a perch their feathers cover their feet.

humidity and draft are the bad guys. Humid turns to frost - frost leads to frost bite. A cold dry coop is a 1000 times safer for chickens than a cold wet frosty coop. You could use bag balm or vasaline to protect combs but it is messy and gets dirty.

You can use deep pine chips if you have to keep the girls inside - this will help with cool floors, mess, smell - change it weekly if you can.

Think of feathers like a sweater - great on a cold day and not so great if you have a biting breeze - like the summer in San Francisco. Feathers do not block the wind so, yes ventilation is key to removing humidity and bad if your coop is windy inside. - hot summers like they have in La Pine you want the breeze to blow through.

On the coldest days you can use in the corner of your coops a 5 gal bucket with lid (get them free (frosting buckets) from bakeries sometimes) fill it with hot tap water and put lid on bucket - The lid keeps in the steam which allows the bucket to cool slower but supply heat through a night - lid also prevents humidity and frost. Think of it like a cheap radiator - operates on same principal and safer than using electricity.

If you need to insulate a coop - go old school - In the 20's and 30's people used newspaper inbetween walls - you don't want air tight but draft free - keep the ventilation at the top. We used a lot of pallets and found objects - old shutters - it is amazing what you can find when you are looking for things. Pioneers used mud and hay. Indians in Florida used Cochina. Look around and use what you have including pine needles. What is it the girl scouts say: Use resources wisely. They are everywhere. We live in a country where people toss amazing stuff that can be repurposed for spiffy coops!

Caroline

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A lot of good advice so far. The wide roost is really good advice, a minimum of 1.5" so they can cover their toes.
It gets frustrating when some info seems to conflict with your perception of what is right or the issues you're dealing with.
Just because you're cold doesn't mean your chickens are.
My chickens are much happier at 20 than they are at 70. Lots of breeds were bred to be cold hardy. If they are dry, I don't worry about air movement.
Heating doesn't help the birds if they're not acclimated to the cold and they have to go out into 0 degrees in the morning is harder on them.
Aside from the frostbite issue, air quality is the bigger concern. Chickens don't have big lungs and suffer respiratory problems, especially when cooped up. It gets well below 0 here but with high humidity so yours will be much better off. I had very little frostbite.
Your chickens would be better off in a building with only 3 sides and a roof than something with 3" vents.
If it were me, I would use all the wood to make a building with 3 sides, keep the east side open covered with wire mesh, find some used galvanized roofing someone's giving away on craigslist. They'll be healthier in the long run. The bottom line is they can take cold much better than bad air.
I have small and large coops. None insulated. Shortly after building my first coop, the first modification I made was to take a saw and cut the biggest windows the framing would allow on ONE side of the building.
The small coop size thing (provided adequate ventilation) isn't so bad if they just sleep in there. Chickens are much happier, healthier and cheaper to keep when free ranging. They can supplement about 20% of their feed with seeds, insects and vegetation.
Or if that's not possible, a pen to let them roam to prevent boredom. They need to keep occupied and can't do so in a small space.

I overwintered 20 birds in a coop 3'X14' but they were only in there to sleep and there is ventilation along the entire high wall

As you can see, it's made with scraps. Like yours, the size was dictated by what I had on hand.
It's basically just a roost with walls and a roof, there were several light bodied, mediteranean breeds with big combs during one of our worst winters in many years - they all came through with flying colors.
You can see part of the run to the right that is covered and they can also get under the building to scratch and stay occupied regardless of weather.
Like yours, all but one of my coops are built up with chicken space underneath. They can dust bathe under there when all other ground is frozen or snow covered and they escape the heat under there in summer.