NO Heat!

[Hokum Coco]

I have been around the sun 63 times.

It is not my first "Rodeo!"

Nobody "I know" heats a chicken coop.

Healthy "cold hearty" chickens die from heat not cold.

I live in Canada last year was subject to -40º (C or F take your pick) no light or heat in coop NO PROBLEMS.

Chickens have been raised on this continent for over a hundred years without heat.

If you feel you must supply heat to your chickens I suggest keeping your chickens in the house that way you can huddle with your birds when the hydro goes out.

Chickens will die from cold if not given the chance to acclimatize. Hydro is more apt to go out in an ice storm or blizzard when subject to below 0º temperatures in my opinion.

How would you supply heat then to your un-acclimatized birds ???








Check out my Link:

Chickens Arctic Conditions

Prolonged Periods


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/738994/chickens-arctic-conditions-prolonged-period

 

[chynasparks]

I agree. I'm new to raising chickens myself, but had an aunt raise them in snowy weather. They lived in a rickety barn. No insulation then. Her chickens didn't die in the cold. All the beautiful coops I've seen on this forum are great! They look like houses, chandelier curtains, wall paper, pictures are really cool but they don't make a chicken live. I even did a little bit of decorating myself. Love the ooo's and aaww's from the neighbors. All that stuff is for me, chicken momma. My birds have been pretty hot this summer so I've used ice in the water and put a box fan on at the run for them. I run a drop cord from the outlet on the house. We didn't want electricity for fear of fire. Come winter we'll make sure the nest house is as draft free as possible and that's it.

 

[JackE]

!00yr old design, Open air coops like these were used in the northern states of America and up into Canada. My winter ventilation is at ChickenLevel, not up over their heads. NO heat, No insulation, No problem.

 

[Hokum Coco]

@ JackE:
After seeing your coop. I put an inside screened door with ¼ hardware cloth on the left side of my salvaged metal coop. I plan to leave it open most days this winter. I will take a picture of the finished result.

 

[Alaskan]

!00yr old design, Open air coops like these were used in the northern states of America and up into Canada. My winter ventilation is at ChickenLevel, not up over their heads. NO heat, No insulation, No problem.

I really like your design!

I can't use anything like that though, since the wind would blow all the snow in, and I REFUSE to shovel snow out of my chicken coop

 

[JackE]

I really like your design!

I can't use anything like that though, since the wind would blow all the snow in, and I REFUSE to shovel snow out of my chicken coop

No, it will not fill with snow. If the wind has a path through the coop, then it would possibly fill with snow. If that was the case, the design would have proved a failure, and they would not have used this coop in the northern climes. As this coop is sealed, except for the open front, there is no way for the wind to blow through and carry snow into the coop. I don't get any real measurable amount in there. And I've had snow storms with the wind blasting right at the open front. I get what I would call a dusting of snow in there, never any real measurable amounts. THAT's the beauty of this design, great air exchange/ventilation, and no drafts. or wind blowing across the birds. With the wind blasting right at the open front, you don't even feel any air movement in the coop. And, funny thing, even with the open front, the temp is usually 10 degrees higher inside the coop, than the outside, with the chickens generating their 10Ws of power.

 

[Alaskan]

Wow, thanks for explaining that.

I would so very much like to stand inside the coop and experience it.

I don't own a single 'tight' building, so it is hard to imagine the wind not being able to find a way to whistle past my ear. How did you make it tight?

I wonder how that design would work with a giant snow load, since one snow berm would be in front of the open front.

 

[Weasleymum]

!00yr old design, Open air coops like these were used in the northern states of America and up into Canada. My winter ventilation is at ChickenLevel, not up over their heads. NO heat, No insulation, No problem.

I love this! A few questions-- what does the inside look like, is it totally open, or are there partitions between that open front part and the closed back part? Also, does the open side need to be facing south, in any climate or just cold places? My husband and I are about to build a combined coop/ covered run (the "wichita" style, in which a single shed roof stretches over an elevated coop and adjacent run) and I am trying to design the side of the coop that faces *into* the roofed run, which will be the western wall of the coop. I'm starting to like the idea of just a large, wirecloth-covered opening like yours. We don't get much snow, maybe 6" a few times every winter, but plenty of rain. There will be operable, awning-style windows to the north and south.

 

[JackE]

I love this! A few questions-- what does the inside look like, is it totally open, or are there partitions between that open front part and the closed back part? Also, does the open side need to be facing south, in any climate or just cold places? My husband and I are about to build a combined coop/ covered run (the "wichita" style, in which a single shed roof stretches over an elevated coop and adjacent run) and I am trying to design the side of the coop that faces *into* the roofed run, which will be the western wall of the coop. I'm starting to like the idea of just a large, wirecloth-covered opening like yours. We don't get much snow, maybe 6" a few times every winter, but plenty of rain. There will be operable, awning-style windows to the north and south.

The inside is wide open, front to back. Yes, this coop is designed and made to face south, to take advantage of all the sunlight it can get. It is a very well lit up coop in the daytime. You can either go look at my profile, and see a bunch of pics of the coop. Or you can check out the link below, it's an old post I put up, on pg4 you can see interior pics.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter

 

[JackE]

Wow, thanks for explaining that.

I would so very much like to stand inside the coop and experience it.

I don't own a single 'tight' building, so it is hard to imagine the wind not being able to find a way to whistle past my ear. How did you make it tight?

I wonder how that design would work with a giant snow load, since one snow berm would be in front of the open front.

I'm not a professional builder, but I can build a tight shed or small building, It is not rocket science. Everything is measured, cut, and fitted with no gaps in the corners or between boards.
Check out the link below, and see a couple of pics of the Wood's coop buried in snow, back in the day.

http://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood#page/30/mode/2up