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

 

[aart]

If you couldn't live in your chicken coop set through winter, you can expect your chickens can't either.

Oh, that's not true.
They don't need an environment as warm as humans do.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Oh, that's not true.
They don't need an environment as warm as humans do.

x2. What's funny here is that I am the insulation advocate. Being from Alaska it just makes sense to me. But there is no chance I'd put a heater in my coop, even in Alaska. I was worried that my horse was cold and I installed a big heater. The moment I opened the barn door he took off for the -30 outside. Animals with coats on, whether fur or feather don't want extra heat like we do.

 

[WI chickens]

I live in Northern NY. Farms keeping chickens year 'round here have their chicken coops built on to the farm house and share the indoor temps, like a mud room or an attached wood shed. If we get in a bitter cold spell, they can leave the door between the house and the chicken open to supplement heat.
You're right to be nervous. If you couldn't live in your chicken coop set through winter, you can expect your chickens can't either. Some colder climates still south of me get away with pilling the floor bedding extra thick to prevent frost bitten feet. But chickens live in the same temperature range as we do. If you want them comfortable, keep them about same temp as you have in your house, 65F to 70F. If you have long enough heating daylight and your winter days aren't mostly cloudy, you might be able to get away with chicken house that is heated with sun exposure. But if your nights are too long, like mine, it will get very cold at night.
A small window can let in sunlight for their circadian rhythms.
You could always install a small wood stove heater and fence it so they can't touch it for when your winters get worse than your hen house can protect them from. Be careful about heat sources. Chickens are very sensitive to toxic fumes and some can kill them quickly. Don't smoke a Teflon pan around them, for example.

This is not any kind of personal attack, but in my experience, nearly everything in this post is incorrect. My climate is far colder than that one and my birds have done just fine at -40F two nights in a row, with lots of nights between -20 and -30F. Using any type of heat or insulation in a coop is a very good way to produce those toxic fumes mentioned, namely, ammonia. A small wood stove will very easily catch the chicken dust and dander on fire.

I use a Woods open air coop here. Winter is still finishing up and I couldn't be happier with the coop. I will truly never use another style. I absolutely love it. No frost bite issues, the air stayed great all winter, and more importantly, is still great now with temperatures above freezing during the day. Generally, this time of year is most dangerous for air quality in our climate. I let the bedding build up all winter and if you don't have really great ventilation, the first really good thaw days, the frozen chicken droppings warm up and release a lot of moisture and ammonia. With this coop, no issues at all. It's a really fantastic design.

 

[jthornton]

So I have a question about that... what kind of bedding do you use?

My coop is literally 100 years old, it's solid masonry with windows & a door on the south side (winds come from the northwest up here), dirt floor on one side, concrete on the other that I covered with construction sand. It's an awesome coop with plenty of room and ventilation, but it gets so dusty with all that dirt and sand!! I would love to hear about other methods that might keep the dust down.

Chickens are dusty for sure, I don't think it matters what kind of bedding you use. In my Coop Deux I have pine shavings on the floor and Sweet PDZ in the poop tray. The hens spend all day in the run but the coop get covered with dust on the inside.

Photos of the inside of the coop, and the walls are insulated to stop heat from leaving through the walls.




JT

 

[aart]

You all are so super helpful! I do have a question regarding the woods coop. ( I'm making my way through the book right now) My understanding is that the lower openings are left open year round, but the upper opening is closed in very cold weather. I'm wondering why? Why not leave both open? Or why not close the lower one and leave the upper open? Wouldn't moisture start to accumulate along the ceiling if the upper window is closed?

Because closing all the other openings creates an air cushion, fresh air can come in the front but can't move thru, keeping the back of the coop/roosts free of feather ruffling drafts. This is the main function of a Woods, and why the dimensions(proportions) and operation(window closure) are very important.

 

[Krugerrand]

It's really hard to 'hold in heat' and let ammonia (which rises) escape at the same time.

One thing if you have freezing temps is be sure to have a plan for keeping water unfrozen. If you go with something heated you'll need electricity. Otherwise, plan on making several trips with fresh water throughout the day when it's really cold.

 

[Ted Brown]

...
It seems like leaving the bedding all winter would accumulate a lot of crud, but then I've never tried it.

IMHO avoiding "crud" is a combination of factors:

• Year round access to a run, my flock spends 90%+ of their time here during the day. I use deep litter and have never (4 years) cleaned it; I do add fallen leaves each fall.
• Drop boards. I try to remove droppings daily to a compost box; a walk in coop that allows one to stand up greatly facilitates clean up.
• Deep bedding (mostly pine shavings, some straw) in the coop. Almost no droppings end up here, those that do dry quickly and turn to dust that mixes in.
• Coop+run space appropriate to the number of birds.

The key is drop boards. Unless one removes the "crud" frequently it will accumulate, will smell and I would guess will increase health issues.