Is it worth it?

[Chickylove12]

Here's a thought that I've been bouncing around in my head for a while now. I think I've got a way to do it for next winter...use the heat generated from a composting bin to add a little heat to the coop. Right now, I run electricity from my house and just have a cinder block heater that I made myself (pretty easy and cheap to make), but I'm thinking since I have a composting bin anyway and it generates heat that is just being wasted, I should capture it and use it. So, I'm considering composting along side my coop and running pvc thru the bin angled upward toward the coop. If I have both ends open, the warmer air should rise. If I attach that end of the pipe to the coop (with a valve to shut off), the warmer air should flow into the coop and draw in colder air from the other end to be heated. Ideally, I could have that end plugged in to the bottom of the coop to pull the cold air from there. Not sure if anyone else has tried this, but it sounds like a fun project.

Maybe post under heating or such a thread..to get more specific responses. Heating with electricity makes me to nervous..fire..or power cut.

 

[Chickylove12]

Chanteclers? I own them, they're fantastic birds and the only ones that laid through sustained -28Cish temperatures. Quite docile, too; can't imagine you being disappointed in them. I live in a climate like yours and was so impressed with the Chanteclers I'm selling off most of my other birds except my Ameraucanas.

Definitely better if you don't have to put heat in. I almost burnt my coop down a few years ago; now I cull for hardiness instead.

Some of my lovely Partridge Chanteclers, pictures taken back this fall when there was still such a thing as green grass...

View attachment 1239940 View attachment 1239941 View attachment 1239942
I haven't had RIRs but I wouldn't recommend them unless you're purchasing from a real breeder. The hatchery lines are quite widely known to be aggressive bullies. I see very little good about them.

They are beautiful! Thanks for the tip.

 

[Birdinhand]

Here are the pics you asked for. I have an inner coop/roost that you can not see in these photos, it's inside the main covered area, it is well ventilated but also off the ground and insulated and has windows. I only close it down for brief periods in the winter if the temps drop suddenly. we have 40 degree swings at times, though it never gets as cold as where you are. the upper area that you see here that has the wood paneling is a second floor where I grow out meet birds twice a year. they are off the ground and I use about 6" of pre-composted wood chips/leaves/dirt for their litter. all litter eventually ends up going through an insulated composter that gets up to 130f.

In the above photo, you can see how I do the seams. in the beginning I was using screws and washers with the idea that they would be permanent and then found that it was getting expensive so I switched to U-nails/fencing staples but you can see the occasional screw and washer. my favored install approach now is to take one of the screws and washers and re-use it over and over, nailing the first u-nail, then taking the screw and washer and going up a few feet, and putting it through a section of fence at a 45 degree angle so that as I screw it in, it adds tension to the fencing. if you add too much tension, it will pop the solder and separate or even break a link of the fence, but as you get the hang of it, you learn how to gauge the tension needed to get the fencing nice and flat before nailing it down every 3" or so. Also, you have two main options with the fencing where it goes into the ground, you can dig down about two feet at a 45 degree angle away from the coop and bury that much fencing, so that any vermin who try and dig down, loose ground as they go and give up. backfilling with 5/8th's gravel also helps deter the diggers, or you can go all the way under the coop with the fencing. going forward, I recommend going all the way under the coop, as well as putting fairly deep eaves around the edges, say 12", to keep the water away from the ground where the fencing goes in, otherwise it begins to rust prematurely.

in the above photo, you can see that I enveloped the entire coop in the framing stage, including the ceiling, so that the hardware cloth is continuous... there is no more than a half inch gap anywhere along the outside.

In the above photo you can see a close up of the washer and screw just to give you an idea of what I am talking about. I just wish I had a video of the process I now use where the screw and washer act as a "come-along", but hopefully you get the idea.

In the above photo, you can see that I use two heavy duty latches on each door. my doors are tightly fitted to assure no rat or coon or any other vermin can enter. I generally do not have to worry about mice, chickens actually will attack mice and they just do not pose the kind of issues that rats can.

In the above photo you can see how I applied a translucent roof to allow light to come in and added windows to the side. in northern climates especially, light is very important to maintaining activity and ovulation through the winter.

hope this helps give you some ideas!

 

[Chickylove12]

View attachment 1240032Here are the pics you asked for. I have an inner coop/roost that you can not see in these photos, it's inside the main covered area, it is well ventilated but also off the ground and insulated and has windows. I only close it down for brief periods in the winter if the temps drop suddenly. we have 40 degree swings at times, though it never gets as cold as where you are. the upper area that you see here that has the wood paneling is a second floor where I grow out meet birds twice a year. they are off the ground and I use about 6" of pre-composted wood chips/leaves/dirt for their litter. all litter eventually ends up going through an insulated composter that gets up to 130f.

View attachment 1240031
In the above photo, you can see how I do the seams. in the beginning I was using screws and washers with the idea that they would be permanent and then found that it was getting expensive so I switched to U-nails/fencing staples but you can see the occasional screw and washer. my favored install approach now is to take one of the screws and washers and re-use it over and over, nailing the first u-nail, then taking the screw and washer and going up a few feet, and putting it through a section of fence at a 45 degree angle so that as I screw it in, it adds tension to the fencing. if you add too much tension, it will pop the solder and separate or even break a link of the fence, but as you get the hang of it, you learn how to gauge the tension needed to get the fencing nice and flat before nailing it down every 3" or so. Also, you have two main options with the fencing where it goes into the ground, you can dig down about two feet at a 45 degree angle away from the coop and bury that much fencing, so that any vermin who try and dig down, loose ground as they go and give up. backfilling with 5/8th's gravel also helps deter the diggers, or you can go all the way under the coop with the fencing. going forward, I recommend going all the way under the coop, as well as putting fairly deep eaves around the edges, say 12", to keep the water away from the ground where the fencing goes in, otherwise it begins to rust prematurely.
View attachment 1240030
in the above photo, you can see that I enveloped the entire coop in the framing stage, including the ceiling, so that the hardware cloth is continuous... there is no more than a half inch gap anywhere along the outside.
View attachment 1240029
In the above photo you can see a close up of the washer and screw just to give you an idea of what I am talking about. I just wish I had a video of the process I now use where the screw and washer act as a "come-along", but hopefully you get the idea.
View attachment 1240028 In the above photo, you can see that I use two heavy duty latches on each door. my doors are tightly fitted to assure no rat or coon or any other vermin can enter. I generally do not have to worry about mice, chickens actually will attack mice and they just do not pose the kind of issues that rats can.

View attachment 1240027 In the above photo you can see how I applied a translucent roof to allow light to come in and added windows to the side. in northern climates especially, light is very important to maintaining activity and ovulation through the winter.

hope this helps give you some ideas!

Wow...thanks for all that great detail. I really appreciate that.

 

[Chickylove12]

Chanteclers? I own them, they're fantastic birds and the only ones that laid through sustained -28Cish temperatures. Quite docile, too; can't imagine you being disappointed in them. I live in a climate like yours and was so impressed with the Chanteclers I'm selling off most of my other birds except my Ameraucanas.

Definitely better if you don't have to put heat in. I almost burnt my coop down a few years ago; now I cull for hardiness instead.

Some of my lovely Partridge Chanteclers, pictures taken back this fall when there was still such a thing as green grass...

View attachment 1239940 View attachment 1239941 View attachment 1239942
I haven't had RIRs but I wouldn't recommend them unless you're purchasing from a real breeder. The hatchery lines are quite widely known to be aggressive bullies. I see very little good about them.

Oh Gosh...I would just freak out over a fire.

 

[BantyChooks]

Oh Gosh...I would just freak out over a fire.

I've seen too many smouldering piles of ash on here to ever run heat out again. So sad for those poor chickies. Some of my bantams are too fragile for sustained -20c temps, so I bring them indoors for a day. Perks them right up without setting the coop on fire.

 

[Chickylove12]

I've seen too many smouldering piles of ash on here to ever run heat out again. So sad for those poor chickies. Some of my bantams are too fragile for sustained -20c temps, so I bring them indoors for a day. Perks them right up without setting the coop on fire.

Oh yes...I know me and my anxiety..I would be constantly worried. I will get a cold hardy breed...do deep litter...although I hear sand is quite thermal too.

 

[BantyChooks]

Oh yes...I know me and my anxiety..I would be constantly worried. I will get a cold hardy breed...do deep litter...although I hear sand is quite thermal too.

I really don't like sand. It's supposedly good, though, IF you're willing to sift it every day. I don't have that kind of time. Especially since my coop is 12 x 12 and I have ~40 birds year round.


The chanties should be great for that

 

[Chickylove12]

I really don't like sand. It's supposedly good, though, IF you're willing to sift it every day. I don't have that kind of time. Especially since my coop is 12 x 12 and I have ~40 birds year round.

Yes...I am stalking your photo album as we speak.. lol..
GORGEOUS coop!

 

[BantyChooks]

Yes...I am stalking your photo album as we speak.. lol..
GORGEOUS coop!

Ha! Thanks. It's so much fun to spend time in after having a 50 year old crumbling mouse infested coop for the first ump de ump years. I swear I had to do repairs daily on that thing. The bottom half of the door had gotten smashed in some wind so I had to repair it with hardware cloth, duck tape, and hope. Couldn't use nails, the wood was too rotted and split.

Rafters were open too, well, covered with a tarp because the roof leaked wicked bad. I am amazed I still had a flock by the time demolition day rolled around.