NY chicken lover!!!!

[NNYchick]

I have one of those it works great I have raised on a large weighted flower pot
View attachment 1125078
Where are nesting boxes going to be ..? they need to be enclosed good or you will have frozen eggs
MY 2 CENTS..hope I was not too rough on you .

Thank you so much for your "2 cents" that is exactly why I posted. I was not sure how much ventilation I would need, I keep reading how important it is but no clear guidance on how much is too much or too little. We will definitely enclose more now that I know. The reason I went with this is that I am only able to let them out to forage a couple hours in the evening and on the weekends because no one is home. I wanted them to have a large covered area that I could cover in the winter and open in the Spring, Summer and Fall. I am hoping the plastic will be like a greenhouse, I will be prepared if this is not the case and I need to add something more solid as the temps dip and the chicken are behaving like it is too cold.
My plan for nesting boxes are to use plastic cat/small dog carriers with straw inside. I am going to leave the Igloo as is. I am using that in there for an insulated place for them to huddle at night and times when it gets very cold.

 

[AmberKnits]

Thank you so much for your "2 cents" that is exactly why I posted. I was not sure how much ventilation I would need, I keep reading how important it is but no clear guidance on how much is too much or too little. We will definitely enclose more now that I know. The reason I went with this is that I am only able to let them out to forage a couple hours in the evening and on the weekends because no one is home. I wanted them to have a large covered area that I could cover in the winter and open in the Spring, Summer and Fall. I am hoping the plastic will be like a greenhouse, I will be prepared if this is not the case and I need to add something more solid as the temps dip and the chicken are behaving like it is too cold.
My plan for nesting boxes are to use plastic cat/small dog carriers with straw inside. I am going to leave the Igloo as is. I am using that in there for an insulated place for them to huddle at night and times when it gets very cold.

Our dog is aggressive to our chickens, so we have a run that is very much like your coop - a fenced in outdoor space. Ours is quite large though, around 3,000 sq ft. You may want to consider a more solid structure for the winter - but I'm not an expert. I know others have used hoop coops with great success.

 

[boskelli1571]

Thank you so much for your "2 cents" that is exactly why I posted. I was not sure how much ventilation I would need, I keep reading how important it is but no clear guidance on how much is too much or too little. We will definitely enclose more now that I know. The reason I went with this is that I am only able to let them out to forage a couple hours in the evening and on the weekends because no one is home. I wanted them to have a large covered area that I could cover in the winter and open in the Spring, Summer and Fall. I am hoping the plastic will be like a greenhouse, I will be prepared if this is not the case and I need to add something more solid as the temps dip and the chicken are behaving like it is too cold.
My plan for nesting boxes are to use plastic cat/small dog carriers with straw inside. I am going to leave the Igloo as is. I am using that in there for an insulated place for them to huddle at night and times when it gets very cold.

As long as they are dry and out of drafts they should do fine (as long as we don't hit the minus degrees), even then they are pretty hardy.
Small pet carriers are a good idea for nesting boxes - I would make sure they have plenty of bedding inside and pile up the straw on the outside - otherwise I fear your eggs will freeze.

 

[Gramma Chick]

The reason I went with this is that I am only able to let them out to forage a couple hours in the evening and on the weekends because no one is home.

I wanted them to have a large covered area that I could cover in the winter and open in the Spring, Summer and Fall.
My plan for nesting boxes are to use plastic cat/small dog carriers with straw inside. I am going to leave the Igloo as is. I am using that in there for an insulated place for them to huddle at night and times when it gets very cold.
if you plan on putting them / egg box on the ground you should put some kind of buffer between the container and the ground as the ground will freeze ( you did say dirt floor right ? ) it could be as simple as left over 2 x 4s screwed together ..or a small platform on 2 x 4s
My concern with all that plastic is ..yes it will retain some heat during the day ....But I am afraid it will lose too much heat at night .
Windows / Plastic could let in light and heat ..but also retain it better .
if that is going to be where they are all day you do need more light ..than if it is just a coop.
Also plastic doesnt always stay on well . you can staple it to the frame ..but the wind sometimes takes it off .
Looks nice Right ? I came out the next day most of it was off . I had to re-staple it and add thin long boards nailed on top of it ..then it stayed on through the whole winter .
this is what my open run looked like with out plastic on the sides . We later added the wood fencing and made the whole thing our coop

This is what I would do with your design .
I would leave the front open like it is to cover with plastic as needed or windows. That would provide light and air as needed in good weather . I would add wood , boards ?( I cant tell what you have on the sides ) All the way up to the roof on the back , and up to the triange shape on the sides ( allowing enough venting if you need to you can cover them in plastic later). that would help it retain what heat does build up in there and should provide enough light during the day . ( is the coop front facing the sun ?)

 

[Beer can]

We are almost finished with the coop and wanted opinions from people that have experience with our NY weather to ensure I have not forgot anything. I am in Northern NY on the edge of the Tugg Hill snow belt. I am housing about 10 silkies in it this winter.
We went with a more open design, it is 8'wide and 16'long. Long back wall (faces east) is closed except top foot and South wall is the same. For Winter we plan to put 6mm plastic up on the West and North open areas except the top 2 feet.
Inside the coop I will have straw and dried maple leaves on the floor for 3/4 of it and putting sand where the food, water and a dust bath area are. I have an XL igloo dog house I will put straw for sleeping in as my silkies prefer not to roost but pile. We did make everything predator proof using hardware cloth on all open areas and an apron around the bottom to prevent digging.
As for water I was going to get the heated dog bowl and put on cinder block, any opinions on this would be great. No one is home during the day to check water to ensure it hasn't frozen over so I will have to have something heated.

Sickies do like to just pile...
IMHO, no better way to deal with the worst, humidity and frostbite, open coop, open her up! Air flow is good!
I had naked necks in a open hoop style coop last winter and they had zero frostbite.

 

[Beer can]

A little NY history
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...sg=AFQjCNE19nz1h7PEdOP_LL2G0FlCxZc4WQ&ampcf=1

 

[Beer can]

Down to 36 here this morn, hope the frost stays away for awhile longer.

 

[NNYchick]

Sickies do like to just pile...
IMHO, no better way to deal with the worst, humidity and frostbite, open coop, open her up! Air flow is good!
I had naked necks in a open hoop style coop last winter and they had zero frostbite.

This is kind of why I went with this style as I had been reading some on the Dr. Woods fresh air coops / open front coops are healthier for the birds. This philosophy was it is better for the chickens to have fresh, dry air and they tolerated cold temps, as long as kept dry. They were healthier than when kept in coops that were closed up referring them as dank, dark, and smelly. As this is my first year with chickens I am going to cover enough to be sure to keep snow out and wind chill down and watch the chickens very closely to be sure they are tolerating the temps. My design is not exactly like his because I want to be able to cover and uncover as much as possible depending on the need (season) as my chickens do not get to forage very much.

 

[NNYchick]

Down to 36 here this morn, hope the frost stays away for awhile longer.

Ya 42 at my house this morning, we have a frost warning for tonight.

 

[rancher hicks]

I turned the heat on to take the chill off the house this morning. The cat made a bee line for the heater.