Pictures of a winterized coop

[Areyoucluckingme]

Anyone have pictures of their winterized coop? My gals coop has the ability to be fully enclosed (no windows, holes, etc) if I close the door but it is only made out of thin OSB wood siding. I put extra bedding in it and in 3 years I've never lost a chicken due to the cold, but they LOOK cold and I always feel bad. Our temps drop to -20F in winter some times plus wind chill. Just trying to be more proactive this year.

 

[HeritageFan]

Temps here don’t get nearly that cold- but I have an insulated coop for my ducks, with a thermostat that I reversed the poles when wiring- so it kicks “on” when it drops below X temp, and kicks an outlet on to power a secure heat lamp
....my turkeys don’t have as nice a set up (yet, but they are dry, off the ground in their coops, and protected from drafts), but they do also get heat lamps if we hit a super cold spell.

Perhaps you could start w posting some pix of what you currently have (inside and out), so we might be able to offer some thoughts on improvements that Wouldn’t require major changes?

Not trying to judge the build or cleanliness for sure, just trying to see what “we” have to work with!

 

[Brooks_]

(no windows, holes, etc)

I understand that you are in a harsh climate, but that is still a bad idea. The ventilation is key, especially in harsh climate areas.

 

[Sally PB]

This is the windblock that I put up on the west (prevailing wind) side of the run. The addition (with the blue tarp) has clear shower curtains wrapped around the west and north sides. (The blue tarp has been replaced with a much sturdier one.)

In November, I'll cover the arched window with furnace filter material. It's a white spun polyester, about 1/8" thick. The windows to the side have been removed and are covered with hardware cloth (so is the arch). I'll cover them with the filter material too.

Even though they're covered, the filter material still lets air through (or it wouldn't work for a furnace). It justs cuts down on the draft.

Until we get down to about 5-10F, I leave the people and pop doors open during the day. The run has a roof, so rain/snow don't blow in the coop doors.

When it gets to single digits, I'll close the people door. If it gets down to zero for a daytime temp, I close the pop door too.

I have a heavy duty, outdoor rated extension cord that runs from the garage to the run. I paid a whopping $5 extra to get one with 3 outlets. I have a heated dog water bowl to keep water in the run liquid. I have a string of white Christmas lights in the run to brighten it up.

When it gets cold enough to close the pop and people doors, I put a pan of snow in the coop for the birds to eat in place of water. I don't want water in the coop; it just adds moisture to the air and gets spilled. Excess moisture in the air leads to frostbite.