I have 16 2 week old babies and we want to begin building their hen house so it's ready when they are. I originally only wanted about 8 hens, but as you all know, that pesky "minimum order of 15" coupled with the irresistible "mystery chick" = 16 babies!
So, I will probably re-home some of my babies (especially because I think I might have 3 roosters and only want 1, at the most), but I am already smitten with them and parting with them might prove difficult.
I live in the foothills of the Adirondack Mts, in upstate NY. It's pretty common to have a week or more during the winter when the temperature never gets above 0F and the night time temps fall well below zero (like -10 or -12). Also, we have a lot of wind...pretty common to have 10-15 mph winds with gusts of 35 mph. I expect to move their house up next to ours in the late fall to make caring for them easier and to help provide some protection from the winds. I also may erect some type of wind barrier (probably a tarp strung between some posts) to help cut down on the wind, too. We'll also insulate the whole thing with 1" or 2" greenboard, foam insulation, and the nest boxes are going to be inside the house so they're not hanging out there in the cold.
OK, here's the question: If I (ok, me and hubby) build a coop large enough for 16 birds (in case I really can't part with any) but later on down the road decide to reduce the size of the flock (because I may decide 16 really IS too many chickens), will that larger coop be too hard for them to keep warm in the winter?
Thanks!!
So, I will probably re-home some of my babies (especially because I think I might have 3 roosters and only want 1, at the most), but I am already smitten with them and parting with them might prove difficult.
I live in the foothills of the Adirondack Mts, in upstate NY. It's pretty common to have a week or more during the winter when the temperature never gets above 0F and the night time temps fall well below zero (like -10 or -12). Also, we have a lot of wind...pretty common to have 10-15 mph winds with gusts of 35 mph. I expect to move their house up next to ours in the late fall to make caring for them easier and to help provide some protection from the winds. I also may erect some type of wind barrier (probably a tarp strung between some posts) to help cut down on the wind, too. We'll also insulate the whole thing with 1" or 2" greenboard, foam insulation, and the nest boxes are going to be inside the house so they're not hanging out there in the cold.
OK, here's the question: If I (ok, me and hubby) build a coop large enough for 16 birds (in case I really can't part with any) but later on down the road decide to reduce the size of the flock (because I may decide 16 really IS too many chickens), will that larger coop be too hard for them to keep warm in the winter?
Thanks!!
