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BReeder! said:
wow, I've been terrible about getting on here lately. Work, family and everything else... Last I was on here was Sept 11th, and I was struggling to integrate our 2 younger Orps with the other 5 hens. Good news is they went into the coop one day on their own. They slept together in a nesting box for awhile to avoid any minor harassment from the bigger girls, but have started to go on the roost now.
Winter is coming fast unfortunately. Being our first winter with chickens, I am wondering what I really need to do for them.
I have a floor vent and roof eve vents that I will leave open. There's a side wall that is completely made of hardware cloth that I will cover with some twinwall poly that I have - keep wind out and warmth in while allowing light to come through. It is a north facing wall, so indirect sunlight coming through it. Will that be enough light though?
I will put a thick layer of straw on the coop floor to provide some insulation for the floor, keep their feet dry, and nesting material for them to snuggle into for warmth if needed. Is that enough? The coop is not insulated in any way. Walls are all 1/4" plywood. I have some foamboard insulation I wanted to put in the coop but haven't had the time, and I am wondering whether or not it is a good idea. It's the styrofoam type. Thoughts?

Any opinions/information is appreciated. I figured that local opinions are best as you understand what winter is like here. I am in Plainfield (Will county - west southwest of Chicago.
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I have cattle panel hoop coops w/clear tarps over them. The south side is just wire and the north side is covered in 6 mil plastic.
The only issues with frost bite is late in winter when we get the rain that turns into wet snow at night. High humidity at just below freezing. -20 no frostbite.
 
Justso said:
My hen house is not insulated, in a past house l did put up foam board and the hens spent all winter picking it off. I was worried about them ingesting it. It sounds like you've done a thorough job, I will note that I switched to wood shavings because I feel it absorbs moisture better, but each to their own I say! :D
Based on what I'm reading I would say don't worry about your coop being too leaky, as long a it blocks the wind you should be good to go.
Maybe your orps can come teach my Javas to climb up on the roost, they are so stubborn and I'm getting sick of lifting them every night::tongue
(I'm just up the road in unincorporated Naperville)
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Unincorporated Naperville may be the closest chicken connection I have found yet. While it is legal in Plainfield, it just doesn't seem to have caught on. Thanks for the advice. It's great to meet somebody else in my neck of the woods.
 
Molpet said:
I have cattle panel hoop coops w/clear tarps over them. The south side is just wire and the north side is covered in 6 mil plastic.
The only issues with frost bite is late in winter when we get the rain that turns into wet snow at night. High humidity at just below freezing. -20 no frostbite.
Click to expand...

Can you share a picture of your setup?
 
Our girls didn't give us any eggs Tuesday or today - or so we thought. They have access to the garden now that we cleared most of it. They enjoy clearing weeds and insects for us. After no eggs the second time in a week I started searching. Under the coop... nope. In the run... nope. In the tire full of grit... nope. The dust bath tire... nope. So into the garden I went. In a fresh compost pile on one of our garden beds, here's what I found.
 

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BReeder! said:
Our girls didn't give us any eggs Thursday or today - or so we thought. They have access to the garden now that we cleared most of it. They enjoy clearing weeds and insects for us. After no eggs the second time in a week I started searching. Under the coop... nope. In the run... nope. In the tire full of grit... nope. The dust bath tire... nope. So into the garden I went. In a fresh compost pile on one of our garden beds, here's what I found.
Click to expand...
:lau:barnie
 

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