I really like the stacked-coop design for really small flocks like yours (& mine
). The protected outside space is a great idea and can serve as an area for food and water or those thing may go under the ramp. A stairway closet, if you will.
It does look a little exposed for a high desert climate but it sounds like you are on the way to keeping the wind off the birds and providing them with drinkable water.
The coop forum may be the best place for questions about winterizing coops but here's my own experience regarding temperatures and chickens:
They do indeed have down coats and they benefit from sitting close together on the roost. They will even gather together in a pile of straw during the daytime for a snooze.
Wind is tough of them. If they are in a fairly enclosed space, their bodies will keep the area fairly warm.
Subzero temperatures are taxing. If you see them becoming
lethargic, better do something.
I had a Hamburg rooster with a rose comb - not the most vulnerable to frostbite. Nevertheless, the frost burned his comb off smooth. It was obviously painful to him but the cold can be more damaging than just a case of frostbite.
My birds have an insulted room in the coop - insulation on top, bottom, and walls. Their pop door is closed when temperatures are much below freezing. I'd say that it is fairly important when outdoor temps drop into the teens and below. Water will freeze in there, so it is cold on some nights/days. It's important that they ALWAYS have water to drink.
One easy way I can deal with that is to bring the water in the house during the nights when it would otherwise freeze and return it first thing they get down off the roost in the morning. The water has to sit directly in front of the door and plywood for a popdoor probably isn't the best.
Also, their feed consumption jumps during cold weather. I figure that they eat about one-third more feed than at warmer temperatures. It's very important that they have that extra food, tho'.
Steve
