Newbie here - Pointers appreciated

[ken-e]

Hi Everyone,
I've been lurking here for a while and finally registered. so...Hi! This site has given me plently of information, but I'm wondering how everyone in the northern climates deals with small flocks. Im thinking of 4-6 hens EE's, probably. I have yet to build the coop - That's this springs project so again the climate issue and coop construction. I live in Manitoba where from Dec - March it can be below -25C (-13F for my souther neighbors) on a regular basis. Plus we just bult a house on what use to be a hay field so there are no trees for quiet some distance and the north winds can make the outside temperature feel like -40C. I have heat lamps already and I can build the coop on the southside of our detached garage, but I wonder if that is enough? Is 6 hens going to give off enough heat to keep them from turning into frozen drumsticks?

Thanks
Ken

 

[B'villechicken]

Hi and welcome to BYC. Where do you live? It sounds like Ontario. I don't know about EEs specifically but I have Red Stars in upstate New York. Chickens do well in the cold as long as there is enough ventilation. There is a regular here from Ontario named patandchickens that is the expert on ventilation. She has a primer on ventilation on her home page. Build your coop as you would your house. Same type of construction with fiberglass insulation in the walls & ceiling and 1/4 or 3/8 plywood paneling. Make windows that you can open. I added a working cupola and can open it up especially in the summer. The temps here frequently get below zero fahrenheit and I rarely add any heat to my coop. I made a cookie tin heater for my waterer and they do well. I still get 7 or 8 eggs per day out of my 8 hens.

Good luck,

David

 

[ken-e]

Thanks for the advice. We live in Manitoba, Ontario is our neighbor to the east. I think I read on here at one time, that some people do not suggest insulation because of mold/mildew issues. Anything without insulation in our climate is mighty chilly.

 

[CityChook]

Welcome to the from Minnesota!

I have only 4 hens in Minneapolis. We have survived 2 winters now. All is well thanks to some excellent advice of friends on the BYC.

Chickens are quite tough and can handle a good amount of cold temperatures. They have built in down coats! I think they deal with cold better than hot. Choose your breed wisely for cold weather hardy birds.

One thing to remember about a small flock is that they aren't going to produce the body heat that a large flock can produce. They will likely need some sort of heat provided. There are many options for heat - do a search (blue bar in the header) and you will learn more than you care to know...

The recommended size is 4 sq. ft. per chicken. For 6 birds, it would need to be 24 sq. feet (like 8 ft. by 3 ft, or 6 ft. by 4 ft.). Personally, I built bigger and am very very glad that I did. Here in MN, my girls tend to get stuck indoors A LOT. With only 4 sq. ft per bird, they'd be too cramped for any length of time, inviting problems such as feather pulling and cannibalism. Think "cabin fever." So if you can, maybe plan on making it a little bigger than the "average." Also, if you have any way to "enclose" the walls of the run, like with a clear plastic tarp, it will keep the snow/wind out, making the run that much more appealing to them and they are likely to venture out a little bit more during the winter.

If you can, hardwire a heat lamp fixture over the roost and connect it to a switch. It will make your life considerably easier and reduce the chance of fire. Personally, I wish I had wired TWO fixtures as I occasionally have to run two heat sources when it's REALLY cold. Having a spare light on a switch would have been really nice...

You'll need a heated water dish, so plan on at least one electrical outlet near where you'll be feeding/watering.

Insulate your coop - walls and roof - and install appropriate ventilation during the construction process. Do a search. Some prefer rigid foam panels, some prefer fiberglass batting. Either way, you'll need to seal it with plywood interior walls to keep the chooks from pecking it.

Be generous with your ventilation. You can always close up too much ventilation if you feel that it's letting too much heat out. Go to Patandchickens site - she has lots of good information to share. Nothing hurts more than standing in hip deep snow, sawzall-ing open walls that have insulation to put in more ventilation because you are having frostbite/health problems.

Windows are nice - not only for the view and the natural sunlight, but also for added heat in the wintertime.

I use deep litter on the floor. By the time spring rolls around, I've easily got 9-10 inches going. It helps insulate the floor, dry out the poo and is gentle on their feet/legs. It makes wonderful compost/mulch for the gardens when it's done in the coop.

Last but not least, at the risk of sounding obsessive, I have a digital thermometer inside the coop that sends the temperature to a dock in my kitchen. I can tell 24/7 what the temps are in the coop. This has really helped me sleep at night.

Feel free to PM me anytime if I can be of help -- Most of all, have fun!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Glad you joined us. My temperatures are a lot milder than yours so I won't try to advise you. These links may help.

Pat’s Winter Coop Temperatures
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures

Pat’s Ventilation
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

 

[patandchickens]

Hi, welcome to BYC! Your situation sounds not dissimilar to mine (we probably don't get *quite* as cold as you, lowest since we've lived here was -34.5 C, but it is a low cold spot and pretty open/flat/windy, so I can relate

)

First thing to do, plant windbreaks so they can start growing up!! Seriously

I would suggest building your coop as large as possible b/c there will be long stretches of wintertime when the chickens may well not want to go outside much, even if you give them a wind-sheltered run. Don't worry about whether they can keep it warm -- if temperature becomes an issue you can partition off a smaller area *within* the coop for them to roost in, or even to run a lamp for heat if you think it's necessary, and if you're getting into the -30s C frequently then it certainly may be desirable sometimes. INSULATE VERY HEAVILY, and consider options for utilizing solar heat to capture as much free heat as possible for nighttime. You mention having a detached garage. Any chance of building the coop *in* the garage? That would give it extra thermal protection. If not, against the S garage wall is a very good plan. Combine that wiht a run that has excellent windbreaks (mostly to just slow, not stop and swirl, the wind) and you should be good to go

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Chieftain]

Welcome aboard! I'm new at this too, but I figured out how to build a double walled coop for cold and heat protection and sound control as well. I assume you are designing and building from scratch..?? make it bigger than you need, and as lavish as you can afford. I spent a few hundred bucks more than I could have, but spread out over a period of time, it's less painful, and it certainly has been effective.

Good Luck! Let us know if you need any specific design help, and keep everyone posted on your progress.

 

[rosaline]

I dont live where you do. I live in England so I dont know how cold you must get. Here it is cold most of the year and windy. If you are worried about the wind you can plant some trees ( if you have the room) that helps with keeping out the wind. Maybe a fence around some of the coop might help as a wind breaker.
Im trying to buy Orpingtons as I know they are fat birds that do well in the cold. Good luck and I hope all goes well x

 

[jlapham]

Great ideas everyone just keep their feet dry at any cost. They can take the cold. Here at the homestead we have just under 100 birds both meat and egg layers. In the winter I keep at least 1 foot of bedding on the floor they love scratching.

 

[LynneP]

Hi Ken

I see the northern chickeneers are piling on.

With so few hens, do you have room in that garage to create a small insulated indoor space isolated from the car exhaust as pat mentioned?

I'm just wondering how to save some money as well as deal with those prairie temperatures.

Some thoughts in the link below...we built in our barn.