Maine

[OpalSecret]

@OpalSecret X2 on what LG said about avoiding insulation:



Focus on cold-hardy heritage breeds rather than insulating or heating a coop. There are people on BYC keeping chickens down to -40 without needing those things.

Definitely focus on LOTS of ventilation as much as you can. Frequently during last winter (because of a design error) I was down to between 0.6 and 0.7 sq ft per bird. The coop and roost designs were very efficient at getting fresh, draft free air in the coop, but I still had problems with frostbitten comb tips. This spring I modified the coop to get about 0.95 sq ft per bird (under ANY prevailing weather condition and that's the hard part) and increased flow efficiency through the baffled inlet vents. That's still below the 1.0 sq ft per bird rule of thumb, but I'm sure we'll do MUCH better next year. My goal is zero frostbite for their second winter (and beyond)!

And thanks @lazy gardener for the mention of the Woods coop. I'd never heard of it. Very cool idea! We often get hammered with the worst winds coming out of the south so the exact design wouldn't work for my location. But there are many good ideas in the design itself! I'll have to read that book before I build and design my second chicken coop. I hope to not need to do that for a long, long time, though

Hey there Hoopy! Yea, I have gotten that from nearly everyone, more ventilation. I wasn't going to heat the coop, tho' everyone I know is shocked to hear that for Maine. LOL But read a nice article I found on chickens in winter.
I read somewhere also that someone pulls up their water at night and that has prevented the frostbite? Then just puts the fresh water back out in the morning. I'm not sure so I am still reading and learning.

The site I have picked out is where I have these big Colorado blue spruce trees on the north side in the front yard. The coop would get morning sun, all day sun and then some in the evening. I have another Colorado blue spruce in the west that would be a bit of a wind break as well. I'll get some pics tomorrow. It's pretty level ground.

 

[buckabucka]

I wondered why this thread was so quiet, but just today figured out I had been logged out for a few weeks.
I have a very old hen that I just treated for fly strike. It has to be one of the nastiest things I have ever had to treat, but she seems to be doing okay now.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Hey there Hoopy! Yea, I have gotten that from nearly everyone, more ventilation. I wasn't going to heat the coop, tho' everyone I know is shocked to hear that for Maine. LOL But read a nice article I found on chickens in winter.
I read somewhere also that someone pulls up their water at night and that has prevented the frostbite? Then just puts the fresh water back out in the morning. I'm not sure so I am still reading and learning.

The site I have picked out is where I have these big Colorado blue spruce trees on the north side in the front yard. The coop would get morning sun, all day sun and then some in the evening. I have another Colorado blue spruce in the west that would be a bit of a wind break as well. I'll get some pics tomorrow. It's pretty level ground.

Very cool! Two thoughts:

Water - there are many schools of thought on this. I DO keep a waterer in the coop year-round. Others do not keep water in the coop at all. You have to decide which is the right choice for you and your flock based on your whole chicken "operation". But if you do decide to use a waterer two things:
1.) Make sure the waterer is not open in any way, this will add to humidity in winter and increase risk of frostbite and...
2.) Unless you like swapping out waterers every hour of every day I'd wire your coop for electricity to run a deicer.

If you do decide to go with a waterer in the coop I cannot recommend this thing enough:
https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-HB-60P-Poultry-Drinker/dp/B005BV1WLE/

I LOVE it. You can buy it cheaper on sites other than Amazon. But it's amazing. I got it for less than the parts would have cost for me to build one. And at 60W it can be powered off a solar/battery system if needed.

Location:
"All Day Sun" - In the summer that can get brutally hot. I put my coop on stilts to create shade and put a rigid roof over the run which also increases shade. We're planting shrubs this season which will increase summer shade availability in years to come...

If neither of those things are practical for you, here is a future idea I have, but have not yet implemented: grow hops on the south side of the run on a trellis that will let them shade the run.

Hops LOVE full sun, you can't give them too much. They're perennial and very hardy. They provide heavy shade in the summer if grown close enough together and the bines will quickly die back in the late fall/early winter allowing for maximum sunlight penetration into the coop/run area in the cold seasons. Plus if you homebrew... Hops!

 

[OpalSecret]

Very cool! Two thoughts:

Water - there are many schools of thought on this. I DO keep a waterer in the coop year-round. Others do not keep water in the coop at all. You have to decide which is the right choice for you and your flock based on your whole chicken "operation". But if you do decide to use a waterer two things:
1.) Make sure the waterer is not open in any way, this will add to humidity in winter and increase risk of frostbite and...
2.) Unless you like swapping out waterers every hour of every day I'd wire your coop for electricity to run a deicer.

If you do decide to go with a waterer in the coop I cannot recommend this thing enough:
https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-HB-60P-Poultry-Drinker/dp/B005BV1WLE/

I LOVE it. You can buy it cheaper on sites other than Amazon. But it's amazing. I got it for less than the parts would have cost for me to build one. And at 60W it can be powered off a solar/battery system if needed.

Location:
"All Day Sun" - In the summer that can get brutally hot. I put my coop on stilts to create shade and put a rigid roof over the run which also increases shade. We're planting shrubs this season which will increase summer shade availability in years to come...

If neither of those things are practical for you, here is a future idea I have, but have not yet implemented: grow hops on the south side of the run on a trellis that will let them shade the run.

Hops LOVE full sun, you can't give them too much. They're perennial and very hardy. They provide heavy shade in the summer if grown close enough together and the bines will quickly die back in the late fall/early winter allowing for maximum sunlight penetration into the coop/run area in the cold seasons. Plus if you homebrew... Hops!

Oohhh thanks Hoopy! I love that waterer! I would think that wouldn't cause frost bite. And yea, my dad had those self watering containers and I remember the chickens back then always-always knocked them over and I had to go out and refill them. That waterer looks better than the ones with the nipples under the bucket so it doesn't drip.

OK, just went out and took pics of the spot I was thinking would be good. You can see the big Colorado Blue spruces and the white fence there. I thought to have the building closer to the trees on that end and then have the run extend down along the white fence area to the last Spruce. There is a big birch tree there to the left that does give shade and will watch today to see if it does extend over to where I want to put the coop or not. This location however is not that far from the house and to where I could set up electric and handy to a hose. That wisteria you see in the middle is gonna be removed most likely. The Spruce side is to the north and a bit west.

So the coop and run would go from East to West alongside those Spruce and the Maple tree and white fence.

Whatcha'll think?

And aye, I'll be definitely doing some landscaping too and plan to give the run a roof for shade and to keep snow out.

 

[HoopyFrood]

...
OK, just went out and took pics of the spot I was thinking would be good. You can see the big Colorado Blue spruces and the white fence there. I thought to have the building closer to the trees on that end and then have the run extend down along the white fence area to the last Spruce. There is a big birch tree there to the left that does give shade and will watch today to see if it does extend over to where I want to put the coop or not. This location however is not that far from the house and to where I could set up electric and handy to a hose. That wisteria you see in the middle is gonna be removed most likely. The Spruce side is to the north and a bit west...

Whatcha'll think?

Looks nice! If you do put a roof on the run definitely mull over the directions wind and weather can come from. I opted for s shed style roof for simplicity (easy of construction) but if it faced the wrong way it would be a giant kite!

It actually is a giant kite in noreaster conditions, but those are far less windy for us than the hard blowing storms of spring-fall that come at us from the south... those hard winds apply downward force on the shed roof, which is ideal in those conditions.

 

[lazy gardener]

I do keep water in the coop during the winter, and usually in the summer as well. My thinking is this: If the birds inadvertently get shut in the coop, I want them to have access to water. The little bit of evaporation from the surface of their waterer is IMO a non issue. Far more moisture is added to the air by the birds respiration and poo. Remember this: evaporation is related to surface area. I also believe that evaporation happens at a greater rate, the warmer it is. My heated waterer is set up to provide a "moat" which actually has very few sq. inches of surface area. I'm betting each individual chicken adds more moisture to the air than my waterer does.

 

[lazy gardener]

4 more days till hatch for my broody hen. I decided to break the second hen. She's currently pacing in the tractor, and rather peeved that I'm keeping her away from her nest full of golf balls.

 

[OpalSecret]

I think you are right lazy gardener about the water in the coop. I would rather they had access to water at all times than not.
Awww about your broody hens! What kind are they?

Ok, thinking of everything you all have said, I watched that spot I had thought was going to be the perfect place and yep, you are right, it could become too hot. It has all day sun and no shade hits that area at all. I plan to have a metal roof over the run and coop, so yep, it would be hot. I had chosen it cause of the trees blocking the north winds, thought that might be a good idea. I didn't think the sun would be that bad, but umm yep, it is.

So...contemplating a new place then is along side the ravine. It will get morning sun up til noonday and then as the sun starts to dip down, when it would be hottest, the shade of the trees will be upon it. Plus, I will be able to still see it by my office window and from my room. It is a more in the front garden area than I would have liked, but I know I can still do some landscaping there too and still have some partial shade as well depending on what I plant etc. Still not far from the hose nor electric either. I will watch this area over the next day or two but I am betting this is going to be the better choice. I could still snake some chicken tunnels over to the other area.


Thank you guys for making me really take a closer look at that spot!! This is one of the reasons I was taking my time too with it all.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I think you are right lazy gardener about the water in the coop. I would rather they had access to water at all times than not.
Awww about your broody hens! What kind are they?

Ok, thinking of everything you all have said, I watched that spot I had thought was going to be the perfect place and yep, you are right, it could become too hot. It has all day sun and no shade hits that area at all. I plan to have a metal roof over the run and coop, so yep, it would be hot. I had chosen it cause of the trees blocking the north winds, thought that might be a good idea. I didn't think the sun would be that bad, but umm yep, it is.

So...contemplating a new place then is along side the ravine. It will get morning sun up til noonday and then as the sun starts to dip down, when it would be hottest, the shade of the trees will be upon it. Plus, I will be able to still see it by my office window and from my room. It is a more in the front garden area than I would have liked, but I know I can still do some landscaping there too and still have some partial shade as well depending on what I plant etc. Still not far from the hose nor electric either. I will watch this area over the next day or two but I am betting this is going to be the better choice. I could still snake some chicken tunnels over to the other area.


Thank you guys for making me really take a closer look at that spot!! This is one of the reasons I was taking my time too with it all.

Good thoughts! As far as providing seasonal shade goes, I forgot another option that we were considering besides hops... a little easier that dealing with hops: runner beans! We didn't try that this season, but hopefully next season we can.

Good luck!

 

[OpalSecret]

That sounds good Hoopy! This other spot, to the left of that birch tree and back is where I am thinking now for the coop. This whole area is where my formal garden is to go, mostly flowers but I was planning to have chicken tunnels and paths all winding throughout. (My weird vision LOL) but yea, it might be more prominent than I thought. I'll be watching it over the next few days to be sure.

Was working in veg garden and out back behind the garage with setting up the pumpkin patch this weekend.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!