New to BYC and hoping to get some soon but...

Date sort Score sort
:welcome Welcome to the Chicken Keeper community. I am sure you will love having chickens - not only do they feed you with eggs, but chicken TV is very relaxing. Glad that you are planning things in advance - build the coop before they come.

I recommend that you don't heat your coop. If you heat your coops, your chickens will not acclimate to the cold temps. Then - wham, a snowstorm rolls through and you lose power. Now the chickens have no heat, aren't acclimated to the cold and what are you going to do? cross your fingers and hope they are OK? My chickens liked to be outside during sunny winter days. Provide a wind-block for them and they will sun-bathe to their hearts content.

Also, heaters in the coop are dangerous with all the dander and dust that chickens make. I am forever sweeping feathers and gunk off the top of the LED shop light I have hanging in their coop. And yes, I add supplemental light so they lay year-round. Even if I didn't add enough to keep them laying, I would have to add light because the coop is really dark - always. It is a concrete building with only 1 window that faces east.

I live in the -30 degree F winters to 100 degree F summers of northeastern WI. I do not heat my coop and my chickens do fine. As long as there is ventilation (ie. air exchange) but no draft on the roosts - you chickens can handle the cold. My first year, the chickens got a little bit of frostbite on their tips of their combs but that is all. I block most of the window now and last couple of winters there has been no problems.

I do have heat plates that I put under my metal waterers during winter. I have 2 waterers so I can switch out the frozen one for a thawed one when necessary.
 
Welcome :welcome Nice to have you here! I also live in Wisconsin.... no electricity in my coop and I never had problems with my chooks in the winter. I have a walk in coop and run, full metal roof over the run. I use thick clear plastic ( shower curtain liners work well) in the winter, attached with zip ties - let’ light in, keeps rain and snow as well as wind out. The chickens go outside everyday, many winter days they will go out in the yard.... as long as I keep a path shoveled, they don’t like to walk in deep snow. Frozen eggs and frozen water are the main issues to manage, you already have some good suggestions :thumbsup
 
Welcome to Backyard Chickens very smart start before they are there easy and less than a prefab coop garbage buy a small shed like 8 x 6 or 8 x 10 ventilation is your big worry if said shed has a window bonus but skip straight to hardware cloth no chicken wire wont keep a bear out but others it will
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom