Northern California Coops

[Cetawin]

I am about 40 miles north of the cali border in Oregon...my coop is not insulated and my girls did great this winter. They had a heat lamp for nighttime and days in the teens but they spent most of the time outside during the day when it was 32 degrees or higher.

Just make sure you give them plenty of room inside...minimum 4 sqft per bird. I have a 12 x 12 coop with 29 chickens inside at night.

 

[geareduplyn]

I spent 46 years in the Central valley. All my coops were open fronted(wire) with wire covered vents in the upper rear wall. The Squab Producers cover their fronts with plastic in winter, but I never did and all the birds did well. You will never have temps in Arnold Town that will be cold enough to freeze the birds, but your summer temps can be very detrimental. If they are going to be inside all the time A misting and fan system is a must. If allowed free range they will find ways to cool themselves naturally if shade is available.

 

[Bridgette1221]

Thanks for all the very helpful advise!! It is much appreciated. I was wondering how many of you allow your birds to roam around in your yard during the day, unfenced? My neighbor does and his have never left as far as I can tell. I have a HUGE yard, almost 3 acres and about 1 acre that I use for a backyard that is fenced. I want them to be able to run around as much as they want but I worry they might fly off. I noticed that most of the coops are completely fenced, top and all. Is that what I should do or do some of you let them out during the day and put them up at night? My neighbors chickens put themselves up at night, do they typically do that?

 

[NancyDz]

That's pretty typical for them to go back in, although when they are new I wouldnt let them free range yet until they spend a little time in the coop and run getting used to it. Mine are let out in my yard and always go back in on their own.

As far as the heat, I think with a coop in the shade, they should be fine, one thing nice about Sacramento Valley is normally even if it's over 100 , it always cools down at night. My run and coop are pretty much shaded but during the summer I run one of those small mister's that I hook to a hose in the run to cool it off. My chickens stand under it and cool off. They've survived the last two summers here with no problems, just make sure your coop has lots of ventilation.

Nancy

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

I am SO glad you asked this! I almost did until I found your question. We are just south of Stockton and while we do get heavy-can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face-fog from time to time, I am more worried about the many

HOT summer days when all you can do is

and then take a cold bath. I wish we had a pool... oops tangent, anyway... thanks for the idea about the mister and fan!

 

[espressola]

We live in the Sierra foothills between Jackson and Placerville. It gets quite hot here in the summer afternoons, with a nice breeze though. We are building a new coop that is not in the shade but I am going to put shade cloth above the enclosed run, and a misting system. The chickens free-range for at least a few hours most days, but I want them to be able to get outside when we are not at home during the day and be (reasonably) safe from predators. And Brigette- we live on a ranch and they are unfenced but don't wander away further than a 2-3 acre area. I think you'd be fine. They do head back to the coop by themselves when it gets dark out, or we can get them in easily if we need to earlier by bringing out treats and calling them. They happily scamper back into their coop!

Anyway, the soon-to-be-old coop was in a shady location and was very open (mostly screen but the back area enclosed in plywood) and not insulated at all. The openness/shade made that work fine. I haven't decided what we are going to do re: insulation with the new one. I am putting lots of windows that can be opened for a breeze, I think I'll be OK with that and the shadecloth/roof overhang on the afternoon sun side. I am not concerned about insulating for the winter since I can close the windows up again and they will be more enclosed than they were last year.

 

[calgal98]

I live near Modesto and have had chickens for nearly 30 years. I have never had an insulated coop, but have covered my mostly open coop with plastic to stop the wicked winter winds. I deep litter in 4x12 coop and the chickens have always done great. I'm putting in a new coop on the west side of a barn and it will be a hotter location until I can get some greenery growing. I'll be using shadecloth and possibly a mister this year, but they will have lots of ventilation and access to the outside. When the run gets a bit further along I'll try to post pictures. Your area is a lot like mine, although we do get the delta breeze during the summer evenings. Very nice on hot days!

 

[HenHaven]

My coop is open on all sides with a sheltered area for roosting. It is in shade most of the day, but I use shade cloth on the 2 sides that get morning and early afternoon sun. It makes a HUGE difference!

During the winter, I staple plastic sheeting on the sides to block the wind. Pretty basic, but works great!

 

[denised]

I live in El Dorado Hills, near Sacto. I have never insulated my coops and have had chickens for 25 years. It's the heat you have to bother with in the summer. Make sure your coop gets winter sun and summer shade, with lots of ventilation. I helps to catch the summertime delta breezes in the evening. My girls have free range during the day, so they find their spots and move about quite a bit, taking dust/sun baths and then moving to shade. Give them lots of fresh water. btw, they love melons and fruits and tomato worms. hope that helps, denise

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Yes, summer heat is the problem. I am in the SF Bay Area, but don't really get any of the marine fog. I didn't insulate my coop, but put high windows all the way around that open to ventilate. Also, when I built the roof, I used the OSB board with the attached foil layer to reflect heat. My coop is not in the shade, but has deep eaves to block the sun from the windows in the summer.

Nice to have you here!