Keeping The Coop Warm In The Winter

[farmgirl02]

Hey, there!!
I have been trying to find some succsessful ways in keeping the coop warm in the winter. For keeping the wind out I have always put cardboard duct taped over the windows and on ecspecially cold nights, putting duct tape strips over the vent holes. The cardboard over the windows has worked pretty well in keeping the wind out, but as for keeping the cold out, it does not work very well. Also, which bedding do you prefer for keeping chickens warm in the winter?


Happy New Year!!

 

[RichnSteph]

What's your definition of "cold"? Our coop has cross ventilation above the chickens heads about a foot on all four sides. Last night it was 33 degrees here and they were fine. With chicken coops the thing you have to worry about more than heat/cold is air movement and moisture. With no air movement and moisture during cold weather your chickens can/will get frostbite. With a dry coop with a little air circulation they can keep themselves warm (those feathers are darn good at it) down below freezing. As far as bedding goes all of ours sit up on the roost which is a 2x4 laid so the 4" side is where they rest their cute little feet.


RichnSteph

 

[WthrLady]

We're headed to -10 tonight (not including the wind -30 with that)

They've been down to 4' already this winter. Tomorrow will only be 9'.

As long as they are out of the wind...they can go quite cold. If they are closed up too tightly, moisture builds up and is made much worse by warmer cold temps. Dry cold air is easier than damp air of the same temp.

 

[WNCcluck]

If the birds haven't been artificially heated / lighted, they've likely acclimated to your weather pretty well. It seems easy for us as humans to go with the "I'm cold; you put on a coat" theory of temperature control. How cold is cold in your area?

I'd hesitate to seal up the coop too tightly for fear of the moisture buildup. Keeping the wind out makes great sense.

As far as bedding goes, are your birds sleeping on the floor? If they're on roosts as would be normal, the bedding may not make much difference. We have sand / PDZ on our coop floor for easy cleaning. Our girls sleep on the roosts, so we don't worry about what's on the floor.

 

[RonP]

Agreed, dry is much more important than warm.

Good ventilation helps greatly to reduce the humidity.

 

[farmgirl02]

"Cold" in my area is 32 to 18 degrees at night. I can keep the wind out, but I am just worried that it isn't warm enough for them inside their roost.

 

[Percheron chick]

18* is downright balmy. Don't worry about it.

 

[DanEP]

Just keep out the breeze and open up those vents.With no ventilation there will be a build up of moisture in the coop which will lead to frostbite on combs and waddles a much bigger problem than cold.Chickens come with a down coat that is way better than any you or I can buy.I had a cochin bantam that hatched chicks last winter and even the baby's did just fine in single digit temps. Open the vents and don't worry most chickens seem to handle cold better than they do heat.

 

[WthrLady]

If the birds haven't been artificially heated / lighted, they've likely acclimated to your weather pretty well. It seems easy for us as humans to go with the "I'm cold; you put on a coat" theory of temperature control. How cold is cold in your area?

I'd hesitate to seal up the coop too tightly for fear of the moisture buildup. Keeping the wind out makes great sense.

As far as bedding goes, are your birds sleeping on the floor? If they're on roosts as would be normal, the bedding may not make much difference. We have sand / PDZ on our coop floor for easy cleaning. Our girls sleep on the roosts, so we don't worry about what's on the floor.

x2

 

[WthrLady]

18* is downright balmy.  Don't worry about it.

three days ago our high was 16. I was out working in only jeans and a sweatshirt.

Sad how fast we get used to it.