Newbie in Mn with a question (Oh yah, y'know)

[MyLittleRedCoop]

Hi, from Minnesota!

This website has been the source of a TON of great ideas as we are just starting the adventure of chicken raising. This summer we are building the coop. Next spring we will get the chickies! I can hardly wait!

I feel like I've got a pretty good idea of how I'd like the coop to look, the size, nesting, etc... However, the one thing I am still fuzzy on is the topic of ventilation and heating.

I understand that ventilation is extremely important. And in the summer, we are going to want to be able to have the coop open so that it doesn't get too hot. (Yes, it actually hits 100+ several times a summer up here!) I plan to have screened windows (that will be reinforced with metal fabric) and a screen on the door that can open to provide air-flow. I will also have a fan going. Hopefully that will be adequate. We don't have any mature trees yet, but will be planting a couple trees this summer near the coop and run for some natural shade.

But how do I provide ventilation in the winter without chilling the chickens or having drafts? If I leave the soffits open (I think that's what they're called - the spaces between the trusses in the roof?), or have an open (screened) vent in the roof, wouldn't all the heat just rise out, and leave the coop cold? I'd love some insight into how to adequately vent without turning the coop into a huge energy gobbler in the winter and/or freezing my chickens!

Thanks to everyone here for all the coop postings and information about chicken breeds!

Jenny

 

[Nicole01]

I live in MN and I actually spoil my chickens in the winter. We use a radiator heater under their roost. We cover the run in plastic and the ground does not freeze. Our coop is inside our garage since I did can not walk through snow to clean and get eggs everyday since I have a permanent neck injury. We keep our heater on low and it never went below 50 on the coldest days, the heater is not necessary, but insulation is. We have our coop well insulated! We insulate some of the inside ventilation during the winter. Our coop is 12x4x9 and our run is 22x5x5 and we free range daily. Our coop has 12 square feet ventilation at the top of the coop inside our garage. We cover most of them up in the winter to keep the heat in. The heater comes out during the summer.

Here is our set up

We use welded wire and hardware cloth, so we can keep the door open at night. We have a box fan blowing on them at night keeping them cool.

Our free range access door

Our eggs

This set up and upgrades cost well above what we were expecting. Our 2 hen total have now turned into 11. I started with 2, then 3, then 5, 6, and finally stopped at 8. This spring we added 3 more. We have a broody sitting on eggs and I'm letting her raise one and we are culling one today due to not laying ever(plus, she's a nasty mean hen).

Good luck! Raising chickens has been a life changing experience for me. We have 9 different breeds.

Newest 3 as babies

 

[sumi]

Hello and

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. Your birds are beautiful.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern

You will have no need for heat in your coop. Chickens are very cold tolerant, and have a harder time with summer heat. Good draft-free ventilation can be provided with openings high on one side of the coop, away from the roosts, preferably on the primarily downwind side. I leave the top side of a window on the south side of my coop open all year round. It often gets below 0 here in the winter, and I have never had a single case of frostbite.

 

[Kevin565]

 

[MyLittleRedCoop]

Thanks and appreciation to everyone for all of the helpful suggestions and kind welcome! Nicole1, you have gorgeous birds! Hope mine are as happy as yours look, when we finally get them! Can't wait!