Planning for the winter.........

[gabby3535]

I know this is a 'future' question.......but, being as I am, I like to have the correct 'solution' in mind ahead of time.

I have a 6' x 8', raised coop for my 7 pullets and 1 roo.
As 3 of them are Light Sussex........and quite HUGE........I had to have a 'bigger' pop-door installed......
(bigger than the original pop-door that was already on the coop.)
The 'original' pop-door was too small, and is now permanently closed.

Coop has a 'human door' for entering the coop, and at the bottom of this human door is now a new 14 x 24 inch
pop-door. I made it out of a "large-breed" doggy door, and I sliced the plastic panel (which the dogs would need to
push thru, if it were in use as a doggy door) with 5 vertical slits (to help keeping any flies, wet weather out, etc)
I currently have the 6 resulting 'flaps' tied back with rubber bands.......to allow for scaredy-cat chickens to enter and exit the coop,
without pushing thru these flaps. (Oh my gosh, you want me to actually get out of here by passing thru FLAPS"!!!!)

My question is this............
When the bad weather of winter arrives, what should I do about this pop-door, to prevent too much heat loss?

I work 3 days a week, 12-hour days, and with commuting and all, I am actually away for about 14 hours on work days.
I am getting concerned about leaving this 14" x 24" opening actually 'open', should some terrible weather blow in when I
am at work.
But I want to leave the pop door open, to allow for the chickies to decide for themselves whether to stay in the
coop, or venture out into the bad weather.......into the 18 x 28 run, that is.

At night, they are, of course, "closed in" by means of a guillotine-type dropping door.......but if they 'are' cold, and choose to
stay 'in' the coop........won't this big, open pop-door bring too much cold air into the coop? Or am I concerned over nothing?
(My guess is it's the 2nd reason!)

Anyone else have these concerns, or am I over thinking things?

 

[big greg barker]

I think if I were in your shoes, I would replace the plastic flaps with a piece of burlap, or make the pop door as small as you can for the fat chickens. As long as there isn't a draft blowing through the coop, they will be just fine to come and go as they please. You didn't say where you're located. ( Northeast, Southeast, Central, etc.)

 

[ranchhand]

Not overthinking, just spoiling!

Nice that you are thinking ahead, instead of screaming at the last minute!

I see from your profile that you are in New Jersey, which can get pretty cold in winter. I would say try to set up a divider of some sort inside the coop. That way, the cold air will get in, but won't be creating a direct draft.

Or perhaps a shelf of sorts, with the roost above it. Something that would also work as a droppings board, easy to dump and clean?

And try to train them to go through the door, but I have never had much luck with that. Food helps, but you know that!

 

[CityChook]

I am in MN and it gets cold here too. I considered putting plastic up on the pop door, and still might do it this winter. I didn't know how cold that plastic could get before getting brittle - I guess we'll have to wait and see. There are others here in the Tundra who use plastic, fabric or something to reduce draft from their pop door. Once their chickens are used to it, they will pass through it without hesitation.

I, too, leave my door open in the winter. I only keep them locked into the coop if it's below 0F. Usually during the day it will get above 0. My run is covered but even still, my chickens don't really like going out into the cold/snow.

What direction is your pop door facing? Does it get direct weather (like from the West?). If not, and you're worried about general cold, maybe consider building a "winter door surround" that can be attached in winter but removed for the rest of the year. Sort of like a tunnel (2 sides and a top) that would reduce wind from whipping straight into the coop.

I saw someone else who built a "winter foyer" for their pop door. It was at a right angle from the door, pointing away from the weather. It included the ramp and then made a left turn into the coop. Ingenious and would be very easy to build while keeping weather out.

PS - You actually want a little bit of cold, fresh air coming in from outside (as long as it's not BLOWING in). Air travels in at the pop door level, picks up moisture (and heat) from the coop and travels out through the ventilation that needs to be up high. While some heat loss is inevitable, it makes for a much healthier environment for the chickens.

Hope this helps. Don't worry - asking questions NOW is much smarter than waiting for the first hard freeze to start worrying about this stuff.

 

[patandchickens]

It's not going to get cold enough in NJ (I grew up outside Philly and lived in NJ for a while) to worry about the popdoor as long as you don't have wind blowing straight in through it. If the popdoor is on the usually-upwind side of the coop this will be more work than if it's on the usually-downwind side but it can be done either way. You will want something in the way of a windbreak, 'foyer', stack of haybales, L-shaped barrier, type thing... figure out what will work best for your particular situation, there are many options. Just don't give the wind a straight shot in the door, while letting light and chickens pass easily through

If you want to put hanging curtains or plastic strips or whatever, and train the chickens to go thru them, that is fine but really not essential.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat