I'm very confused whether to heat my coop or not, as well as having proper ventilation.

[nikchic]

I live in British Columbia, Canada, I have 4 chickens that live in a 6 x 12 insulated coop with an automatic door. ( I know, too big of a coop for only 4 chickens). We planned at first to get 20 chickens but have only 4 as they are from my son's school and are part of our family. I've read tons on here about NOT heating the coop unless its really cold. We've just had the lows of -17 Celcius and it only goes to a high of -14 Celcius (sorry I do not know the conversion to Fahrenheit.). What we have done is put a heat lamp in the coop on a timer to go on at 1am till 7am. What I am worried about is them being able to acclimatize. I'm also concerned about ventilation. I don't understand if you are supposed to seal up all areas for wind how do you also have ventilation? I am very worried we are doing it wrong and I worry till wee hours into the night. Will you please tell me at what temp should I be worried? Thanks so much!!!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

What is -10F in Celcius terms? Now that I have had heat in there will I do damage to them if now all of a sudden I take it off the timer? I'm so worried about them. Also, what about when the sun heats their coop to around zero, but it's still -14C outside???? I have no control of that. My neighbors use only scratch and table scraps for feed that is another one of my questions. Is it ok to mix scratch and layer mash half and half?

-10 F is -23 C.

The basic rule of thumb many of us go by is no supplementary heat until -20 F, which is -29 C. The outside temperature being different than your coop temperature isn't a problem. That's due to the insulation and is just fine. In the wild, some animals insulate themselves naturally by digging into the leaves or making burrows or even digging out holes in the snow to capture their body heat. Your coop has just done this for your chickens, and they will appreciate it. They will probably choose to be outside some, and inside some--trust that they're smart enough to come inside when they get too cold or wet. They aren't the smartest animals, but they aren't super dumb, either. When they get too cold, they'll seek shelter and huddle together for warmth. My hens run outside even during cold, rainy days. Then they come inside to warm up. I leave their pop-door open no matter what the weather. Some days they spend the entire time outside, sometimes they spend the entire day inside. Trust their instincts.

Your hens' bodies will adapt to the cold. If you are concerned about your heat lamp, wean them off it slowly. First, turn it off on the warmest days. Then turn it off on slightly colder days, etc. Make sure that your hens have nice wide roosts and plenty of bedding.

The main trigger for frostbite is not cold alone: it's cold+moisture. That's where the ventilation comes in. You want vents high in your coop so that they draw moist air out the top of the coop. This will help prevent frostbite. You can also help prevent frostbite by massaging Vaseline into the combs. Massage it in well, since there is some evidence that it's the massaging action stimulating blood flow more than the Vaseline itself that helps. If possible, try to find a balance between enough ventilation and no drafts. Sniff the air, is there a smell of ammonia? Touch the wood. Is the wood moist at all? Ammonia smell and damp wood are dead give-aways that you need more ventilation and drier bedding.

You should not worry about your coop being too big. I've never heard of any problems from a too-big coop, but a too-small coop is very bad for chickens and will lead to all sorts of problems like pecking and cannibalization. The more room, the better, I say!

As far as feed--your neighbors are not providing their hens with good nutrition. Scratch and table scraps are pretty much the candy bars and potato chips of the chicken world. Your commercial layer feed has been formulated to contain all the nutrients that the hens need to lay eggs. If you mix it half with scratch, you are throwing off that nutrient balance. Your chickens will get too much of some things and not enough of others. Scratch and table scraps are treats, and should be used as such. Remember, a chicken has a lot less body mass than a human, and eats a lot less volume. So a handful of scratch or half a peanut butter sandwich to a chicken is a large percentage of her diet for the day, and you've thrown her nutrition off. Yes, throw them your table scraps, and use scratch for treats. But don't let it make up a huge percentage of what they eat.

 

[mxmarg]

Thanks for telling your story Suzi, I've got a similarly sized coop for 5. This is our first winter too and (speaking of knowing your birds, Hokum C) it's been a big waiting game to see what the girls will tolerate here in central Wisconsin. So far there's been a low of 8 degrees one morning last week and so far so good. Subzero temps overnight tonight expected and for the next several overnights. No heat and everyone's hanging in.

I think I need to add more ventilation too... which for the newbies like us seems crazy... especially for our dinky 4x4x4.5tall coops and 5-6 birds. The one square foot per bird rule still stands for these small coops, right experienced chicken wranglers?

The info on this thread has been outstanding thus far everyone! Can't wait to have this winter under my belt and have the experience to feel more assured of their welfare!

Thanks a lot peeps!

 

[Ravencoop]

Hi there! I haven't read all the pages on this thread so don't want to copy all the good info as always but would like to share this story! I live in cold country Ontario and as a first time winter chicken stewart i too was concerned about the Gals in cold weather. I've learned that our new reality of extreme temperature swings is more of an issue than consistent cold climes. Warming trends cause havoc in the coop in the form of moisture and creates more work cleaning out damp bedding before extreme cold swings. I've learned my Chickens (Red & Black Sexlinks) are very hardy in the cold! The other day it warmed up to 10 C and was a good opportunity for them to get out for a walk and a dust bath in their favourite location in the sand and sun. At the end of the day when shutting them in the coop I was down 1 bird!! After an exhausting and puzzling search she was no where to be found. That night it dropped to -27 C. I did a another seach the next day in case but feared the enevitable. The next night was -20 something. Two days later in the AM while out on the back deck I heard pecking. Thinking it was a woodpecker on the siding of the house I stormed to the end of the deck and looked over the edge to find an egg in the sand beside and upside rain barrel. I felt instantly warmed knowing she's still around! She sand bathed her way up underneath the rain barrel and spent two very cool nights on her own wiithout a roost or her fellow coop mates to stay warm. She was removed in a relatively happy state albeit a little thirsty but returned to the group without any kind of stress and continued producing eggs! We had - 37 C the other night and the flock is doing just fine in a coop with approx R 8 insulation value and a 150 watt heat lamp on just during the wee hours of the morning. I don't believe they even need the lamp however I would like to give them a little warmth!
Thanks to BYC for all the good info to make my coop a success!!
RC

 

[americana-lover]

Certain breeds are better in the cold than others. Like silkies are great in the cold, but not naked necks. To me, it sounds like you might not need much ventilation if your coop is that big with only 4 chickens.

 

[1muttsfan]

You will hear many opinions for sure.

I do not ever supply any heat, keep one window on the wall away from the roost at least cracked open at all times, and unless it is exceptionally windy leave the pop door open down to 25 degrees farenheit (it opens into a secure run). Never had frostbite.

 

[aoxa]

Certain breeds are better in the cold than others. Like silkies are great in the cold, but not naked necks. To me, it sounds like you might not need much ventilation if your coop is that big with only 4 chickens.

Naked Necks are extremely cold hardy

To the original poster:

We've been down to -30C with wind chill and we do not heat ever. They are all fine. Yours would be too, but now that you have started heating, you'll have to wean them off slowly. You'll have a problem if the power goes out and they are not used to the cold.

 

[RavenWood]

I live in British Columbia, Canada, I have 4 chickens that live in a 6 x 12 insulated coop with an automatic door. ( I know, too big of a coop for only 4 chickens). We planned at first to get 20 chickens but have only 4 as they are from my son's school and are part of our family. I've read tons on here about NOT heating the coop unless its really cold. We've just had the lows of -17 Celcius and it only goes to a high of -14 Celcius (sorry I do not know the conversion to Fahrenheit.). What we have done is put a heat lamp in the coop on a timer to go on at 1am till 7am. What I am worried about is them being able to acclimatize. I'm also concerned about ventilation. I don't understand if you are supposed to seal up all areas for wind how do you also have ventilation? I am very worried we are doing it wrong and I worry till wee hours into the night. Will you please tell me at what temp should I be worried? Thanks so much!!!

Welcome to Backyardchickens nikchic! I'm also a fellow BC'er up in Vanderhoof, BC. Temps sometimes drop down to -35 celcius up here. I don't heat my henhouse. I do have more hens than you do, so they do generate a bit more heat, but your hens will adjust. Heating part time probably makes it harder for them to acclimate to the cold when the heater isn't on so I wouldn't bother with the heat lamp. Choose a relatively warm, sunny day as the day you no longer turn on the lamp. Your coop is insulated too, so that's great! If you are overly concerned with the size of the coop being too large for them, just section part of it off so they have less to 'warm'.

Make sure they have a nice wide wood roost (not metal) so they can blanket their feet with the feathers, give them nice thick shavings on the floor and if you shake it regularly and add fresh on top, the poop will fall to the bottom and generate it's own heat! I also make sure that the hens have a good feed late in the day so that they have revved their metabolism up before bedtime. Because of our work schedule I feed at night and grain in the morning.

Ventilation is a must otherwise you build up ammonia and moisture and both are more damaging than cold. Put your vents up high, near the roof since warm moist air rises and can then escape. It's good to have vents on opposite ends. Vents can be as simple as several drilled holes or you can actually cut out a square and buy the vent covers like those used on houses. If you plan to get more chickens, plan the venting according to how many birds your coop can house comfortably.

I always recommend opening their door daily, not only does it let in fresh air and natural light, it helps circulate and get rid of the moisture and they have the choice to go out if they want to. I will only leave their coop door closed on days below -25 or if it is storming/excessively windy. If you are concerned about frost bite on hens with larger combs/wattles, you can put bag balm, heavy hand lotion or vaseline on very lightly and that will help prevent moisture loss.

Hope that helps

 

[Hokum Coco]

I also keep other birds in conjunction within this loft.

My pigeon egg hatched on Dec 26 or 27 2012. The other one has pipped and should hatch Dec 27 or 28. Things look good so far. If you let your birds acclimatize (ACCLIMATIZE is the key word) you can leave them out in extremely cold temperatures -10F is fairly normal for us in Canada winter months. No heat; no insulation in my loft.

I did provide a Styrofoam cooler as a nest cover for these Squabs. When the squabs grew to the point where the parents could no longer incubate them.
Here is a picture of the squabs I took recently.
I will be removing the cooler in a few more days.

 

[nikchic]

What is -10F in Celcius terms? Now that I have had heat in there will I do damage to them if now all of a sudden I take it off the timer? I'm so worried about them. Also, what about when the sun heats their coop to around zero, but it's still -14C outside???? I have no control of that. My neighbors use only scratch and table scraps for feed that is another one of my questions. Is it ok to mix scratch and layer mash half and half?