Please help me! Cold climate.

[Koiandchicks]

I'm brand new to this. I'm sure there's discussion about this but I am having trouble finding the right answer. First I live in Ohio. This past winter we dipped down to - 20 degrees below zero. We're building a coop from scratch. I found a picture of one I like with 3 sides wood and the fourth side is all framed hardware cloth. I'm guessing it's an 8 foot by 8 foot cube with a slanted roof. We have 10 chicks now ( currently in our house) do I need to cover the 4 the side or partially cover it next winter when the hen's are outside for the winter. I'm nervous about the cold and love my little chicks so much. I need suggestions and assurance, especially from people who understand keeping chickens in the Midwest cold.

 

[Isadora]

I live in the midwest (IN) and I have a woods open air coop and the front wall is mostly hardware cloth. But the woods coops are designed so that the back remains draft free.
With your coop being that size and a cube shape, I would plastic off the lower portion to keep out snow and drafts. You could always adjust the amount needed based in how the winter is shaking out.
It would be best to build with the hardware cloth facing away from the direction the wind comes from.

 

[Isadora]

I live in the midwest (IN) and I have a woods open air coop and the front wall is mostly hardware cloth. But the woods coops are designed so that the back remains draft free.
With your coop being that size and a cube shape, I would plastic off the lower portion to keep out snow and drafts. You could always adjust the amount needed based in how the winter is shaking out.
It would be best to build with the hardware cloth facing away from the direction the wind comes from.

Here's a pic of my coop for reference

 

[Koiandchicks]

I live in the midwest (IN) and I have a woods open air coop and the front wall is mostly hardware cloth. But the woods coops are designed so that the back remains draft free.
With your coop being that size and a cube shape, I would plastic off the lower portion to keep out snow and drafts. You could always adjust the amount needed based in how the winter is shaking out.
It would be best to build with the hardware cloth facing away from the direction the wind comes from.

Could you stear me in the right direction for more info on this open air coop for cooler climates? A lot of the info I found was from warmer climates, so I'm not sure how to do this thing right for my climate. Thanks so much.

 

[Isadora]

Could you stear me in the right direction for more info on this open air coop for cooler climates? A lot of the info I found was from warmer climates, so I'm not sure how to do this thing right for my climate. Thanks so much.

Sure, we got our plans online. They have been used in colder climates as well as more mild ones.

 

[Koiandchicks]

Here's a pic of my coop for reference View attachment 3438616

Oh, I love your coop! So do you keep the lower portion open in the winter?

 

[Isadora]

Oh, I love your coop! So do you keep the lower portion open in the winter?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...kQFnoECBoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw11TpCEbGP2vdSyGmhR4ovy

If you do an Internet search for woods open air coop, this is the PDF of the book that Mr. Woods wrote about building the open air coops.


And yes, the 2 front windows are open all Winter. We have windows up top and windows on the side that we can close if it gets bitter. The back of the coop where the chickens roost remains dry and draft free.

 

[Saveria]

So what you want is to have them protected from wind while they are sleeping, as was said. This was super confusing for me at first, but 3KillerBs has some great diagrams that I wish I had seen before I built my coop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suggestions-in-re-these-ventilation-cartoons.1527692/

We only see -30 for a small stint each winter these days, but here is what we have done.

- Built a large attached run covered with hardware cloth and greenhouse plastic that a kind animal made us two "vents" in.

- Door from coop to run stays open all the time in the winter, and adds to ventilation.

- The two big south-facing, hardware cloth windows get greenhouse plastic in winter. We keep meaning to get around to plexiglass, we will someday. The doors that the windows are on have some cloth weather stripping in the cracks, which brings down drafts but still lets air through.

- There is a vent down below and up in the ceiling. I have heard of folks putting filters of sorts on these in the winter so air gets through, but not wind.

- We use supplemental heat if it goes below -10.

- We use deep litter, but it is a double edge sword. It adds heat and insulation, but it means there will be more moisture in there when it is cold. Moisture is the real problem.

The best thing I have found is to select breeds carefully, but it is hard to do that without experience. I can't tell you for sure what will work for you, but smaller combs have proved to be better for me. Some of the advice on "cold hardy breeds" I have found to be wrong, too.

 

[Koiandchicks]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...kQFnoECBoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw11TpCEbGP2vdSyGmhR4ovy

If you do an Internet search for woods open air coop, this is the PDF of the book that Mr. Woods wrote about building the open air coops.


And yes, the 2 front windows are open all Winter. We have windows up top and windows on the side that we can close if it gets bitter. The back of the coop where the chickens roost remains dry and draft free.

Thanks so much. Wow. Honestly it seems counterintuitive to me, and will take some bravery on my part I think. No heater? Thanks for your help!

 

[Koiandchicks]

So what you want is to have them protected from wind while they are sleeping, as was said. This was super confusing for me at first, but 3KillerBs has some great diagrams that I wish I had seen before I built my coop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suggestions-in-re-these-ventilation-cartoons.1527692/

We only see -30 for a small stint each winter these days, but here is what we have done.

- Built a large attached run covered with hardware cloth and greenhouse plastic that a kind animal made us two "vents" in.

- Door from coop to run stays open all the time in the winter, and adds to ventilation.

- The two big south-facing, hardware cloth windows get greenhouse plastic in winter. We keep meaning to get around to plexiglass, we will someday. The doors that the windows are on have some cloth weather stripping in the cracks, which brings down drafts but still lets air through.

- There is a vent down below and up in the ceiling. I have heard of folks putting filters of sorts on these in the winter so air gets through, but not wind.

- We use supplemental heat if it goes below -10.

- We use deep litter, but it is a double edge sword. It adds heat and insulation, but it means there will be more moisture in there when it is cold. Moisture is the real problem.

The best thing I have found is to select breeds carefully, but it is hard to do that without experience. I can't tell you for sure what will work for you, but smaller combs have proved to be better for me. Some of the advice on "cold hardy breeds" I have found to be wrong, too.

Thanks for your help