Keeping the coop warm in the winter, HOW?

[MeepBeep]

They have nest boxes on the wall and the floor.  Unfortunately, they prefer the floor boxes.  One in the back corner to be specific!  Will this cause any problems aside from frozen eggs?

If you don't have any heat in the coop and you don't collect eggs multiple times a day during cold weather you will risk and potentially have frozen eggs... During moderate temp days if the sun is out the thermal heat from the sun will likely keep the coop warm enough to prevent freezing eggs, or you might get lucky and broody bird will keep them warm, but all bets are off if the sun isn't out and/or the temps drop... This is the #3 reason for me heating my coop...

 

[bruceha2000]

Good to know that they should just go to the lower roost if they are too drafty. I was mainly concerned as I'd heard of someone's rooster freezing to death because he refused to roost inside the nice warm coop (or semi-warm) because he wanted to be up higher. The lower roosts have been changed a few times. They are currently 2x4s with the 4 side up. The high roosts are 2x4s with the 2 side facing up (1.5 if you want to get technical).

I have 2 house vents installed in the coop. Bigger than the vents I see on most chicken coops, but they were the most economical choice. Plus there is a window that can be opened or shut depending on the weather.

They have nest boxes on the wall and the floor. Unfortunately, they prefer the floor boxes. One in the back corner to be specific! Will this cause any problems aside from frozen eggs?

I would flip the 2x4s to the flat side. Adult large fowl feet don't fit well on a 1.5" board and they can't cover them with their feathers well. I put my smaller Black Australorp on a branch in the ornamental cherry (they and the wild birds like to eat the pea sized fruit) figuring the stupid birds would figure out they could get more that way. She sure looked uncomfortable on that 1.5" round branch and no other birds took the hint. I thought at least the Cubalayas would since they are smaller birds anyway.

Might be worth trying to find out if there is something different about the far low one that makes it preferable to them. However, the ground will be 32F even when the air is -20F so the ground level nests will actually be warmer than ones that are off the ground with cold air under them.

 

[Indoroowet]

I am also *new* here, but from what I have learned,
and this is for all other posters who wonder about a heated coop,

- most chickens are cold hardy, (but they can not deal with extreme heat);
--- as long as they can sit down on something flat and big enough to have their feet flat,
--- so they can hunker down on their feet,
--- they will not be bothered by cold feet.
--- If their toes curl downwards over the perch,
--- they might get frost bitten toes from extreme cold,
--- because their feathers do not cover their complete feet.

- they like to roost up high, the higher the better;

- they need a place which is DRY !!! and NOT DRAFTY !
--- so big vents are a must !!! ,
--- the perches should be above the top of the door !,
--- why not drafty ? -- a draft blows their feathers *open* and
--- lets the heat they generate, out of their insular feather covering !
--- feeding them corn will generate more heat for the chickens,
--- so some diet containing more corn will help them.

- they need lots of fresh water all year long,
--- so a water supply that is NOT frozen is a must.
--- just lurk on the net (here or any other website) for several ways.
--- on how to keep water from freezing.

The best insulation there is anywhere, is *still air* !
Look at double or triple pane windows.
The reason why they *work* is because the air in between the panes is *still air*.
So ... , a lot of bedding, straw or wood shavings, slows down the movement of air.
Therefore ... , it is warm when used as a surface to *lay or sit on*.

What they thus need during the day is a wind free area,
where they can relax or move around.
During the night, they need a very dry environment,
and the venting area, which is 1 square foot per chicken, is paramount.
Thus, a water supply in the same area as where they sleep, is a NO NO !

I think I have covered what other posters have been telling me,
and I have slow but sure incorporated all the suggestions made to me.
So thanks to all of you who have been *guiding* me in getting the hens ready for winter.
By the way, I live in Utah, so cold and rather dry climate in winter.

 

[MeepBeep]

The best insulation there is anywhere, is *still air* !
Look at double or triple pane windows.
The reason why they *work* is because the air in between the panes is *still air*.

FYI Air is not the best insulator, far from it... The reason 'air' and/or another gas is used in multi-pane windows is because it's a decent insulator when trapped and still, but more importantly it is optically clear and that kind of necessary for a window

Not saying air is a poor insulator, as it's not in some instances, trapped still air has about an R-5 per inch value, but that assumes trapped still air, the air in a coop is not trapped nor still, since there is ventilation the air is obviously moving, and moving air even if slowly has pretty much no R value at all... Also air transmits heat by convection as well as by conduction, and has little to no resistance to radiative heat like visible, infrared or ultraviolet light for example... This is why it's very important to minimize drafts, as drafts will 'untrap' the air that is normally trapped by the birds feathers and leave them pretty much with no insulation...

 

[Pigglies]

Quote:
The bottom roosts are flipped flat side up. The top boards cannot be flipped at they are part of the attic. I had branch roosts at first, they didn't like that. So I put in a flat 2x4 roost. They sit on it for awhile, then jump up to the top ones. That's why I was wondering if I need to close off the attic somehow so that they cannot roost there.

 

[Kassafrass]

Ugh, i am feeling hopeless. My poor chickens...i will do my best with what i can! I'm thinking i just need to start over with our coop for next year!

 

[speckledhen]

I am also *new* here, but from what I have learned,
and this is for all other posters who wonder about a heated coop,

- most chickens are cold hardy, (but they can not deal with extreme heat);
--- as long as they can sit down on something flat and big enough to have their feet flat,
--- so they can hunker down on their feet,
--- they will not be bothered by cold feet.
--- If their toes curl downwards over the perch,
--- they might get frost bitten toes from extreme cold,
--- because their feathers do not cover their complete feet.

- they like to roost up high, the higher the better; not necessarily. Large breeds do not need to jump down from high places so make sure they have a step ladder if they are going up high so they do not jump down and cause leg injuries-- some like Silkies do not roost at all, usually so you have to make concessions for floor sleepers if you have them.

- they need a place which is DRY !!! and NOT DRAFTY !
--- so big vents are a must !!! ,
--- the perches should be above the top of the door !, Depends on if the door closes tightly enough. Mine aren't drafty.
--- why not drafty ? -- a draft blows their feathers *open* and
--- lets the heat they generate, out of their insular feather covering !
--- feeding them corn will generate more heat for the chickens, That is one of those old myths that floats around, that corn is like a little body heater. There's more to the corn issue. It's not that simple. Good body weight will help them in winter, certainly.
--- so some diet containing more corn will help them.

- they need lots of fresh water all year long,
--- so a water supply that is NOT frozen is a must.
--- just lurk on the net (here or any other website) for several ways.
--- on how to keep water from freezing.

The best insulation there is anywhere, is *still air* ! Yes, a double wall with dead air space between the walls helps a great deal!
Look at double or triple pane windows.
The reason why they *work* is because the air in between the panes is *still air*.
So ... , a lot of bedding, straw or wood shavings, slows down the movement of air.
Therefore ... , it is warm when used as a surface to *lay or sit on*.

What they thus need during the day is a wind free area,
where they can relax or move around.
During the night, they need a very dry environment,
and the venting area, which is 1 square foot per chicken, is paramount.
Thus, a water supply in the same area as where they sleep, is a NO NO ! Inside the coop? Not sure what you mean by this. All my chickens have access to water 24/7.

I think I have covered what other posters have been telling me,
and I have slow but sure incorporated all the suggestions made to me.
So thanks to all of you who have been *guiding* me in getting the hens ready for winter.
By the way, I live in Utah, so cold and rather dry climate in winter. I lived in Utah, twice, via the Air Force. Owned a house there in Roy once. Liked dry winter climate.

 

[Indoroowet]

Thanks !!

So for perches:
They like to roost up high, but provide some kind of ladder system for bigger birds,
and provide some bedding for those birds which do not sleep on perches.
If the door is drafty, make sure that the perches are above the door.


Thus, a water supply in the same area as where they sleep, is a NO NO !
Inside the coop? Not sure what you mean by this.
All my chickens have access to water 24/7.

Does that mean, it is OK, to keep the waterer *in* the sleeping area ?
In your case, is the waterer in the sleeping area (24/7 access) ?
Do they they therefore have to go inside the sleeping area to get water ?
In my case, the sleeping area is a separate area, and the water supply is outside the sleeping area,
underneath the coop, where the feed supply is also.
See attached sketch

If *the sleeping area* is closed, and there is a water supply *in* that area,
would that water supply not add to the humidity ?





The door is an *automatic door*
Open between 06:30 and 20:30 in summer.
I may have to change the schedule in winter ... ?

BTW, I did have a CCTV in the coop, just to satisfy my curiosity,
where they were sleeping.
I did see them (3 chickens) ON the perches.

 

[speckledhen]

I have big coops, not small ones. There are roosts, but no "separate sleeping area". In most of them, there is a 3 gallon waterer, one has a 5 gallon one. In my smallest coop, an 8x4 coop, I have a 1 gallon waterer sitting on a concrete block. So every bird has access to water all the time.
Photo of the smallest coop-you see the waterer on the lower right.

 

[Indoroowet]

Whoaaa ...
3 of my coops will fit in that area .... !

That chicken abode of yours, *looks* like it is as big as the bedroom I had when I grew up in Europe ....