Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[ChevalierNoir]

I need y’all to help me feel better about not insulating the coop. All the ‘always-open’ ventilation will be at the roof level and I plan on sealing any gaps that are at the floor/roost level. The run will be all hardware cloth but I’ll cover the bottom half with plastic for the winter.

My neighbor was adamant that I put insulation in because when he had chickens they had to put Vaseline on their combs and wattles during cold spells because of frostbite. To be honest, I don’t think they had enough ventilation up on top of the coop, plus they sometimes used heaters which I think could have not let their chickens truly acclimate to the cold.

They don’t have their coop or hens anymore.

 

[saysfaa]

Most likely your neighbor had problems with frost bite because he insulated the coop. Technically, the problem isn't the insulation itself. For insulation of a building to make any difference in the winter, the building has to NOT have much airflow.

Chickens produce a LOT of moisture - much, much more than other farm animals (2.5 units per hour for hens vs 0.1 units per hour for swine, for example)*. If there is not enough airflow then that moisture isn't carried out of the building. Instead, it condenses and makes the combs damp. Damp combs freeze at MUCH higher temperatures than dry combs.

Or if you want personal experience. My coop has three solid sides and one open side in the winter. Even the leghorns' combs did not get any frost bite in the past three winters (every winter I have had them). Last winter wasn't very cold but the previous winters have been quite a bit colder than normal.

*I'm not sure what units were used in the first study I found on google scholar that gave direct comparisons but they were the same units over the same time periods in the hens and the swine. Those researchers thought it was because of how much more oxygen was used by the hens. They measured that too in that study.. Source but I've seen the part about hens generating much, much more moisture other places I thought were reputable.

*Not that ventilation isn't important for other kinds of livestock too.

 

[aart]

My neighbor was adamant that I put insulation in because when he had chickens they had to put Vaseline on their combs and wattles during cold spells because of frostbite.

Neither insulation nor Vaseline will prevent frostbite.
Even with good ventilation frostbite can happen.
BTDT. It's ugly and kinda scary but not fatal.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/

 

[Folly's place]

Another good plan, besides ventilation and blocking winter winds, is to get breeds with smaller combs and wattles. Roosters with big single combs and large wattles are especially likely to get them frozen, not life threatening, but must be very uncomfortable.
Mary

 

[ChevalierNoir]

Neither insulation nor Vaseline will prevent frostbite.
Even with good ventilation frostbite can happen.
BTDT. It's ugly and kinda scary but not fatal.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/

Thank you for sharing your article! I think it was the polar vortex of 2019 that he was remembering, right before we moved to our house. I’m already being put at ease with our plan.

 

[TheDandyLion]

You'll be fine if you follow the great advice from the folks here.

I'm going into my 2nd winter with my hens. No insulation, furnace filters in the eaves to prevent blowing snow, and no open water source in the coop. These are three things I kept coming across last fall.

I have 5 hens and we made it just fine. Just wait until your 2nd year, the nervousness changes....I now have 3 chickens who are partially bald (molting) with the looming freezing temps at night. They are doing fine, but I keep shivering looking at them.

 

[Folly's place]

@chickflick , I'll be in Eaton Rapids for a haircut at 10AM Friday, and could meet you near Dimondale at 11 or 11:30-ish. Let me know! haven't heard from you yet.
Mary

 

[Chickin Fairy]

I need y’all to help me feel better about not insulating the coop. All the ‘always-open’ ventilation will be at the roof level and I plan on sealing any gaps that are at the floor/roost level. The run will be all hardware cloth but I’ll cover the bottom half with plastic for the winter.

My neighbor was adamant that I put insulation in because when he had chickens they had to put Vaseline on their combs and wattles during cold spells because of frostbite. To be honest, I don’t think they had enough ventilation up on top of the coop, plus they sometimes used heaters which I think could have not let their chickens truly acclimate to the cold.

They don’t have their coop or hens anymore.

I don't have insulation or heat to my coop. I use the deep litter method which creates heat, but not a ton. Chickens are well adapted to living in cold climates, much more so than hot weather. I have a big window that I cover about 3/4 of the way and they have plenty of ventilation. The only time I had trouble with frostbite was when I stupidly put water in the coop and my rooster got his wattles wet. Leave waterers outside in the run to prevent moisture from building up.

 

[1muttsfan]

I do have insulation in my coop, the type that looks like bubble wrap with foil backing. But it is mostly for summer heat, it does help keep the coop cooler.

I use the deep litter method, but it freezes a solid in the winter so adds zero heat.

Barring strong north or northwest winds I keep my pop door open all year round, and a small window on the other side of the coop slightly open at the top. You should have intake low and output high to properly turn over air in the coop.

And my water is in the coop, on a heated base.

 

[aart]

put water in the coop and my rooster got his wattles wet.

If they don't dip their wattles in an open waterer, they(along with the hens) will get them nipped whilst noshing on snowbanks.