Omlet Eglu Coop - How to Keep it Warm in Winter??

[Skacha23]

It's been very useful reading this thread! I'm new to keeping chickens in the winter, and I have the Omlet Cube. I live in Norway, where we can get temperatures down to -4 F for shorter periods. I will follow the advice given by several people in this thread with regard to winterizing the coop and run. But I have a question (which may seem stupid to you experienced hen people ): Will the chickens be warm enough during cold days when the coop door is open? As the Omlet Cube is mainly a night house in terms of the size (too small to put food/water inside it), I figure the door has to stay open so they can venture out to eat and drink. But I also figure they may need to seek shelter from the cold inside the coop, but won't the coop be terriby cold?

Just did the conversion and -4° C is around 25°F. Pretty normal daytime high for us in WY in the winter. As long as they have a place to get out of the wind and there is a patch free of snow or with the snow tamped down, they'll be out doing chicken things. I have a thermometer in my coop and it's not actually warmer in there. It just keeps the chickens protected from the elements while they are sleeping. I really recommend buying the specially fitted omlet clear tarps for around the run part that is under the coop. They fit very nicely and it creates a nice daytime hangout for them. I also have the big clear omlet tarp over the main part of the run and have been really pleased with it. We get weeks where it doesn't get above 0°F (-17°C) and with the tarps my chickens are out and about. They aren't as active in the winter as in the summer... but they come out of the coop and spend the whole day out, only going back in if they lay an egg (which is way reduced).

 

[Mother of Chaos]

It's been very useful reading this thread! I'm new to keeping chickens in the winter, and I have the Omlet Cube. I live in Norway, where we can get temperatures down to -4 F for shorter periods. I will follow the advice given by several people in this thread with regard to winterizing the coop and run. But I have a question (which may seem stupid to you experienced hen people ): Will the chickens be warm enough during cold days when the coop door is open? As the Omlet Cube is mainly a night house in terms of the size (too small to put food/water inside it), I figure the door has to stay open so they can venture out to eat and drink. But I also figure they may need to seek shelter from the cold inside the coop, but won't the coop be terriby cold?

-4°F (-20°C) is fine for chickens as long as they’re (1) dry and (2) not in a draft.

They are wearing full-body down suits, after all!

But wind and wet reduces the insulating effect of their down, so that’s what you want to protect against.

 

[Hentrovert]

I live in NJ but the omlet eglu cube has been just fine for my girls over 4 winters so far. Summers are way more difficult. Shade is absolutely essential, and sometimes i wrap up an ice pack in a towel and tuck it over their sleeping area at night; my especially heat-susceptible birds seem to appreciate the "AC."

 

[Skacha23]

I live in NJ but the omlet eglu cube has been just fine for my girls over 4 winters so far. Summers are way more difficult. Shade is absolutely essential, and sometimes i wrap up an ice pack in a towel and tuck it over their sleeping area at night; my especially heat-susceptible birds seem to appreciate the "AC."

I ordered a custom size shade tarp/cover for the run. Don't remember where from, but an internet search should pull some options. It does seem to help. When we were in grizzly bear country and I had electric poultry netting around the omlet, I would let them sleep out in the run if they wanted. I have a branch tied about halfway up that spans the width of the run that they like to perch on in all seasons.

 

[Bawkbok]

Will the chickens be warm enough during cold days when the coop door is open? As the Omlet Cube is mainly a night house in terms of the size (too small to put food/water inside it), I figure the door has to stay open so they can venture out to eat and drink. But I also figure they may need to seek shelter from the cold inside the coop, but won't the coop be terriby cold?

It's not so much the cold (depending on breed) as it is the temperature coupled with high humidity. For us this time of year, the humidity climbs to near 100% over night without rain and by 5 am fog is dense, the air is soaking wet and it's down right chilly at 45 degrees. Crazy, I know. Everything is covered with soaking dew which dries after sun up. It's the wet air that makes for miserable conditions.

We have a walk in run attached to the coop run (got seriously tired of bending over, scraping my back and hitting my head) and the 9x12 extension was well worth the cost allowing them more than sufficient space. From the "ceiling" of the walk in run, we hang a heater which is only used during cold events (temps below freezing) or during periods of cold wet mornings such as now. We observe the chickens for comfort level and if they appear cold the heater goes on a low level to knock off the chill. Our location is super deep shade and they get very little sun, especially in winter due to the movement of the sun being so low and placement of the coop and run.

To mitigate wind, we have a 'roof' tarp permanently placed on the walk in run and use other tarps to hang on the sides for blustery days when the wind is gusting. They do not like high winds and need to have a place to get away or feel protected from the elements. They typically don't retreat to the coop during waking hours unless it's to lay so it's good you have ordered a tarp to help with the wind.

We don't like them sleeping on cold plastic rungs, so we have covered the roosting bars with nesting pads. Essentially, it looks like wall to wall carpeting of pads in the coop. We also leave the nest boxes open as we have a night layer. All this nesting material adds some element of warmth to the interior and there is less huddling together.

We use the auto door which is closed all night during cold weather but remains open during hot weather, so most of the year for us it is open all night for additional air flow and ventilation. It is much more complicated to manage their health in the blazing summers than in winter.

Just wanted to share what works for us and hopefully some of this information will help alleviate your cold weather concerns.