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Jandsloch said:
Awesome info and pics thank you. Would the thick side of a 2x4 be better than the thin side? That’s what I was planning. And good idea about putting them together. Looking into PDZ currently :) I’m in southern Crawford we don’t get all the lake flakes you get but just the same temp wise.
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Yes I would use the wider side of a 2x4 for them to roost on. This coop is new this year so I'm still figuring out how to make it work for winter. I would say some hay bales for insulation should work nicely. Ventilation is key in winter. Just no direct drafts blowing on the birds.
 
Wet sand does freeze, but it should not be an issue if the poo doesn’t pile up.
The birds will be in heaven if you give them an indoor dust bath (recipes and containers vary), so if you have dry sand to put in there, do it.
Recipes are as simple as sand or dirt (no poisonous potting soils). Add food grade DE, and/or wood ash if you wish.
Containers are an under bed container (because it’s big and low) or baby pool.
 
Also, I love straw best for bedding. In the winter, it actually seems to insulate the water bowls best.

Are you familiar with the black rubber bowls? We all seem to use them since you can stomp out the ice without breaking them.
 
Jandsloch said:
Ok pa peeps.....first year with chickens. I’m in northwestern...anyone here up my way? I’m looking for winter advice. We are converting an 8x12 shed into a coop as currently they are separated into 2 coops. Chicken math got the best of us of course. Was planning on roosts that run the length of a long wall and a short wall. We currently have 20 chickens... 4 1 week old and 2 5 week olds the rest are older. Anywho....we are making poop boards for under the roosts. I was going to use sand so I can scoop poop but hubs thinks it will be too cold to use sand....so what do y’all use? Also thinking of a think layer of straw on the floor as we are covering the wood with either a tarp or vynal flooring for easy cleaning. I also read where u can make a “wall” with the straw for them to huddle in if necessary. And add more straw at times as well. So any advice...opinions etc. are welcome for a first winter for my girls and boys. O the breeds we have are Barnevelders, Barred Plymouth Rock, buff Orpington (roo) accidental black sexlink, Rhode Island Reds, and the rest are Light Brahmas, o and 1 Australorp almost forgot her lol
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Here's my coop. This was during the building process but it shows the roosts and poop boards.
http://onemountainacres.weebly.com/adventures-with-chickens/building-the-coop
We don't put any kind of bedding on our poop boards, we just put linoleum down and use a scraper to scrape it off. It actually work very well in the winter with frozen poo. For bedding in the coop, we use the deep litter method with pine shavings.

What is your plan for a run? Will it be covered? Our run is roofed but we also wrap the sides in clear plastic for the winter. It provides a good wind block and a slight greenhouse effect. We keep a few bales of loose straw in the run all winter for extra warmer and bedding and then clean it all out in the spring.

For insulating inside the coop, @AnneInTheBurbs uses old feed bags stuffed with straw and attaches them to the walls of her coop. Apparently that works very well, though I remember some of her girls making new nests in the straw lol
 
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FluffyButt789 said:
Yes I would use the wider side of a 2x4 for them to roost on. This coop is new this year so I'm still figuring out how to make it work for winter. I would say some hay bales for insulation should work nicely. Ventilation is key in winter. Just no direct drafts blowing on the birds.
Click to expand...
Ventilation is key because it can reduce humidity. High humidity can cause condensation on their combs, which are warm and the liquid water will evaporate from the surface of their combs, dropping the temp faster than their blood flow can warm it up ==> frostbite.
Drier is always better. Keeping the water bowl in the run instead of the coop is great. Changing bedding if it gets wet with water or manure, is another good idea. Dry and very cold is fine for the birds, damp and even 10 degrees, is a recipe for frostbite.
As for winter water, heated dog water bowls are fabulous. I use a heated bowl or bucket in the run for the ducks. The chickens mostly don't have winter runs, so the water is inside in heated water bowls. I do get some frostbite on roos with very large combs (Cream Legbars). Never frostbite here on any hens or any of the Ameraucanas (pea combs) or Bredas (no combs at all). It very rarely gets below zero here though, so additional precautions are warranted in colder places.
 
OneMountainAcres said:
Here's my coop. This was during the building process but it shows the roosts and poop boards.
http://onemountainacres.weebly.com/adventures-with-chickens/building-the-coop
We don't put any kind of bedding on our poop boards, we just put linoleum down and use a scraper to scrape it off. It actually work very well in the winter with frozen poo. For bedding in the coop, we use the deep litter method with pine shavings.

What is your plan for a run? Will it be covered? Our run is roofed but we also wrap the sides in clear plastic for the winter. It provides a good wine block and a slight greenhouse effect. We keep a few bales of loose straw in the run all winter for extra warmer and bedding and then clean it all out in the spring.

For insulating inside the coop, @AnneInTheBurbs uses old feed bags stuffed with straw and attaches them to the walls of her coop. Apparently that works very well, though I remember some of her girls making new nests in the straw lol
Click to expand...
Awesome! Great ideas as well....as for run I don’t have a run I have a fenced in 1/4 acre the dogs and chickens share....I have 1 particular gal that flys over lays an egg in my lemon balm and flies back over. Regardless of clipped wing lol I have 1 of the tsc coops I plan to keep with a fenced small run for chicks. My dogs have done great thus far pinning coons and warding off other predators. One is coonhound mix lol
 
dheltzel said:
Ventilation is key because it can reduce humidity. High humidity can cause condensation on their combs, which are warm and the liquid water will evaporate from the surface of their combs, dropping the temp faster than their blood flow can warm it up ==> frostbite.
Drier is always better. Keeping the water bowl in the run instead of the coop is great. Changing bedding if it gets wet with water or manure, is another good idea. Dry and very cold is fine for the birds, damp and even 10 degrees, is a recipe for frostbite.
As for winter water, heated dog water bowls are fabulous. I use a heated bowl or bucket in the run for the ducks. The chickens mostly don't have winter runs, so the water is inside in heated water bowls. I do get some frostbite on roos with very large combs (Cream Legbars). Never frostbite here on any hens or any of the Ameraucanas (pea combs) or Bredas (no combs at all). It very rarely gets below zero here though, so additional precautions are warranted in colder places.
Click to expand...
Thank u! So my shed has 2 vents...1 on either end up top. I plan on a window before winter. Are the 2 vents enough during winter or should I open the window a bit. It does get below freezing here. Last year we had -25 wind chills
 
Hey everyone, I have been busy here. So I am down to 25 birds. The dang foxs got about half my flock. I have them blocked in their coop now for a week they are not happy. I have a busy day tomorrow unloading about 500 small square balls of hay. I am also dealing with 2 sick goats. I may loose 1 of them.
 

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