Please help end an argument!

[WhiteRockCrazyBird]

Hubby and I are not seeing eye to eye on flock management. New to chickens in the spring of 2016. Last year we had 7 hens, a rooster (all first year birds) and a mild winter. We are in central Illinois. Had one day where 3 birds got mild frostbite. Used a heat lamp on the coldest of days.

This year we have the 7 hens from last year (rehomed rooster) and 4 first year hens added in October. Coop is 5x6 floor with nesting boxes dormered out and about 20' of roosting bars. They are mostly free range. It snowed last weekend, and although I opened coop door, they stayed in for a couple days. I cleared snow away from pen and they came out and even ventured into yard. Wednesday we got some with frostbite again. I know we need more ventilation. Hubby insisted on heat lamp and keeping hens in coop. Then we put an oil radiator heater in instead of lamp and keep it low, works perfect, probably around 30-35 degrees. We have extreme negative temps coming this week. He wants to keep them closed in. I think they need option to go out. He said they're not smart enough to stay out of cold. I don't think opening coop door will adversely affect temp in coop but he says keep it closed. I know everyone has a different opinion, and I know we need a bigger coop for 11 birds, but who's right for right now? Is it wrong to keep them closed in? Will they go out and possibly get too cold? Thanks in advance! I don't have interior pics on phone, will take some and post later. The pop door faces the barn. We have a heated pvc pipe nipple waterer and 2 pvc pipe feeders in the coop.

 

[junebuggena]

They don't need closed inside. And you don't need to oil the combs. Using heat is doing them a disservice. They don't get a chance to develop that extra down needed for cold temps. And it is a big stress on them to go from a warmed coop to no heat outside.
What you do need is some more ventilation, well above roosting level. I can't see the inside of your coop, but it seem the only ventilation you've got on that coop is the windows, and they seem to be placed right at roost level. Which means if those are open, your birds are sitting in a daft zone.
Frostbite occurs when moisture inside the coop, from both their poo and from their breath, condenses on the comb and freezes. The best way to prevent this is good ventilation to circulate air through the coop. You really need to open up that coop all the way around the roof line, as much as possible.

 

[horselover1999]

I would get more ventilation. Frostbite comes from a combination of freezing temperatures and moisture. You can leave the pop door open for them, chickens have excellent insulation. Plus, if they are cooped in they will get bored and may start picking at each other. If you have any large combed breeds or birds that have frostbite I would coat their combs and wattles in Petroleum Jelly or Coconut Oil. My Ancona pullet had symptoms of frostbite and I put some Petroleum Jelly on her and it went away in hours. I don't know how cold your winters get but I only put out heat when it is in the single digits and very low teens. Plus, chickens do create lots of their own heat and moisture.
Also, if you aren't feeding scratch, they love it and it is harder to digest, making the body work a little harder and creating some heat, and it also gives them something to do.
This is what works for me and I have never lost a bird to the cold

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed with above post. You need lots of ventilation. Your coop is overcrowded. General recommendation for back yard flock is 4 s.f./bird in coop. This amount of space is needed to allow adequate room to disperse the copious amounts of moisture the birds produce both from respiration and from their poo. Ventilation needs: recommended 1 s.f./bird. You can see that it's practically impossible to meet these needs when the coop is small or overcrowded.

 

[Welshies]

Your birds need to be given a chance. It is -40° here and my birds are thriving, no frostbite. Giving them a heat lamp (heating objects) or heating the air (which is what your current setup is doing) is doing them a disservice. They won't have feathers required for that weather, and will go out, possibly get sick, etc.
Chickens know best what they need. They'll stay in if too cold, go out if needed.
You need more ventilation at 1 sq ft per bird. Your current ventilation seems very fine, as it is closeable, which is great when winds pick up but you need ventilation open on at least one side. Don't confuse ventilation with drafts.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/keeping-flocks-warm-in-winter.73458/

 

[PirateGirl]

I always like to leave the door open. Your older hens are used to the routine, your younger pullets should follow their lead when it comes to going in and out. You can put some curtains on the pop hole to block drafts and still allow the birds access, you just need to do this first when the weather is good because you don't want your birds to go out and be scared to come back in (some deal with change better than others). Definitely make sure everyone is locked inside overnight though, temps are lowest and food is scarce for predators so our chickens looks like an extra easy tasty meal in winter. Whether or not you heat is up to you. I like to think whether or not the girls are inside or outside is up to them. Obviously there are sometimes special cases, for instance if there is a bird on it's own outside shivering in the corner, you may need to prod her to go in, but I've found (surprisingly, because I'm pretty sure at least one of my girls is a complete dolt) that they are pretty good at instinctively getting out of the bad weather.

Side note, but important. When I had integrated my flock there was for many months a division between the new birds and the old birds. If your flock is divided and you think if one group is inside the other will be outside and vice versa, you might have a problem with chickens getting cold because they don't want to go inside with the other group. Only you can best judge your flock dynamics.

 

[Welshies]

You need lots of ventilation. Your coop is overcrowded. General recommendation for back yard flock is 4 s.f./bird in coop. Ventilation needs: recommended 1 s.f./bird.

Agreed. Overcrowding causes health issues such as respiratory problems, feather picking, bullying etc.

 

[PirateGirl]

one more thing, when I know it's going to be extra cold I clean the coop (not a deep clean, but scoop out the biggest poop piles to get rid of excess moisture and ammonia since the girls will be inside more), and throw down some extra clean bedding for added insulation and too keep it dry

 

[Welshies]

one more thing, when I know it's going to be extra cold I clean the coop (not a deep clean, but scoop out the biggest poop piles to get rid of excess moisture and ammonia since the girls will be inside more), and throw down some extra clean bedding for added insulation and too keep it dry

It would do you good to look into the deep litter method.

 

[bluebird]

They don't need closed inside. And you don't need to oil the combs. Using heat is doing them a disservice. They don't get a chance to develop that extra down needed for cold temps. And it is a big stress on them to go from a warmed coop to no heat outside.
What you do need is some more ventilation, well above roosting level. I can't see the inside of your coop, but it seem the only ventilation you've got on that coop is the windows, and they seem to be placed right at roost level. Which means if those are open, your birds are sitting in a daft zone.
Frostbite occurs when moisture inside the coop, from both their poo and from their breath, condenses on the comb and freezes. The best way to prevent this is good ventilation to circulate air through the coop. You really need to open up that coop all the way around the roof line, as much as possible.

x2