Preparing Your Flock & Coop for WINTER

[JackE]

NTBugtraq you are so right. I went through so many posts before it got cold (as i'm a first time chicken rancher), and was so worried about how my flock would do in the cold. But buying winter hardy breeds from nearby I've realized the best thing i can do is not baby them. I do have a heat lamp in the coop, for -20C to -30C nights but otherwise they have been absolutely fine in the cold.

You (The chickens really) don't need the heatlamp, even at those temps. They do not need it.

 

[motleybeau]

Even better - Thanks JackE! again.. first time-er..I get worried about the extreme cold but i'm learning to be less of a 'softie' with the flock!!

 

[NTBugtraq]

Even better - Thanks JackE! again.. first time-er..I get worried about the extreme cold but i'm learning to be less of a 'softie' with the flock!!

For the flock to be hearty, we have to not be a softie. We obviously have to not be stupid, but many new to chicken people think if they're uncomfortable in the coop/run, so will the birds. So threads like this one are extremely important to many people to help them know what is outright stupid, versus "personal opinion".

 

[bigmrg74]

Lolz, forgive me, but its a corner in a run...I really don't see how a picture will make that concept clearer. I thought about putting something in the corner (like a box), but then that just makes 3 corners for chicks to get stuck in. I am working towards a curved corner using a piece of melamine, but I have to figure out how to close the top opening (I have found 18 week old pullets inside 50lb cone feeders, and 3 week old chick inside a small brooder feeder...they jump up often having no clue where they are going to land...lolz). Meanwhile, they're doing natural selection.

FWIW, I am in cattle country and square bales are hard to come by. I could, more easily, buy a 10'-12' rolled bale, which doesn't help at all.

I am creating my own breed, and as such, it needs to thrive in my environment. Those that can't aren't viable for me. I'm not out to torture them, but those that live are what I am breeding towards.

Just a more on topic thought came to mind. If you live in a harsh environment, winter or summer, finding chickens that can thrive in such environments without a lot of supplemental help should be your goal. You want a bird that is happy where they are, not one that requires you to simulate an environment that is not like where you are. Just a thought...you might like the coloring, plumage, etc...but if the bird can't survive your environment you are trying to keep a fish out of water...

Maybe just go with a shallow feed or water tub right there and just flip it over. Odds are somebody around you probably has a old beat up one that they're ready to junk because its cracked and a bit busted up.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Maybe just go with a shallow feed or water tub right there and just flip it over. Odds are somebody around you probably has a old beat up one that they're ready to junk because its cracked and a bit busted up.

I put a piece of plywood in the corner today after finding another dead chick there this morning. I don't have many ppl around here, I'm pretty much in the bush. But ty for the suggestion!

 

[Beekissed]

Sure isn't the time of year to be worrying about chicks. I learned that lesson last year and I'll never have fall chicks again....wrong time of the year and the whole of nature is set up in such a way that they don't have their young in the fall. We shouldn't be having young on the ground then either.

 

[406Jen]

I hope this is the right place to post my questions - I've done quite a bit of reading on winter readiness, but have some specific questions I would like addressed to put my mind at ease. I appreciate any time you have - this week has been our first cold snap (other than the frost we had in JULY

). I've also been VERY occupied with a sick and needy toddler so not a lot of time to futz about with the girls.

Location: SW Montana. Temps this winter will get down to well below zero, more with wind chill added in. We're at an elevation of 5,400, so one of the colder places in Montana.
Flock: 3 lovelies, Jersey Giant, Black Star, and Buff Orpington
Coop: 3x5, raised 3', built following The Garden Coop plans. Attached, 5x9 covered run. Access door is in the floor of the coop. Roost is a 2x4 with long side up slightly off center from the access door (only place I could figure out to put it that checked all the boxes many have listed for length requirement, and not on top of nesting box access). Pine shavings 6" deep in the coop. Straw in nesting boxes
Shadows: The coop/run is placed where it gets direct sunlight from 9 am-sunset. The light hits earlier when the days are longer, but it's 7:51 am right now and the sun has not popped over the large mountain to our East. Front of coop is facing South.
Activity: If I'm home, the girls get to wander around our yard freely. We have a very large lot (10,000 sq ft) with many bushes and flower beds to cuddle in, plus a big crabapple tree under which they spend a lot of time.


Winterization thus far: The coop is designed to have floating walls placed inside. They're installed, with 2" high quality insulation sheet sandwiched. I pull the water at night after they go to bed, and my husband puts it out in the morning when he leaves for the gym, well before they wake.

My points of concern:

1) I know that moisture is the enemy. I'm careful to remove droppings from under the roost every couple of days. The top of the coop is open air between the actual coop and the tin roof. There is 1/2" wire fabric around the top for security, but it's open to the air. I built the coop according to the design and the scores of others who have done the same, so no windows. the coop gets pretty good light because of that. I am concerned though that it's too open. This picture is from last spring and you can see the space above the coop area (this is me standing in the run looking into the coop through the big door). Do I need to add boards and insulation that high, or would that be too airtight? Just how many inches of moisture escape is necessary to balance warmth and dryness?


2) I have a temp monitor inside the coop. Last night was our coldest thus far, 12 degrees inside the coop. My gut is telling me this is as low as I should let things get. Please talk to me about this. I know my breeds are ok in cold climates (even though they really, really don't like to walk on the snow). I just need to be hand-held a bit with this. First winter with chickens.

3) I plan to wrap the run with plastic before winds begin. I'm also considering getting some old windows and putting them on the south side to create a bit of a greenhouse effect. Thoughts on this?

4) WATER. Such a pain in the bum, and our system isn't going to work if we go anywhere overnight. I've seen the little wall-hanging waterers but at the temps I've mentioned, they're going to freeze. Is an electrically warmed water bath my only option?

5) Access door - This stays open all the time, because of the closed run. If the run is wrapped, this won't be a source of drafts, but I am still concerned about it as a cold source. Do any of you have thoughts about this?



Thanks so much for your help. Again, my biggest concern is the 1st question about the space at the top of the coop. I don't want to close it in too closely so moisture can't escape, but I don't want all the warmth generated from the girls to float off into the air.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I think with a wrapped run and the opening being into the run you should be ok.

Is the opening up high to the back of the coop still open or is it closed off?
Personally with three birds I would close it off to prevent an accidental draft/wind tunnel effect. You could make it a drop down triangle shape hinged at the bottom so you could still open it if you get some nice days.
I would do something similar with the side above the clean out door as well but in 2 sections for a more adjustable option. That way if you get some serious wind you can close off half of it.
I am of course assuming that the areas just under the metal roofing ridges are open. In the extreme weather you may find that it makes for a wind tunnel if you leave the large section open fully on even one side.

Your chickens should do fine without added heat. I know as humans we feel the cold much more than most critters so are inclined to think they are just as cold. So long as they are in good health and have good feathering they should handle the temps just fine.
(remember we make coats for US with feathers and theirs are built in

)

I would not try to hard to get a greenhouse effect going since this can raise the temp higher than they are acclimated for. To hot inside then going outside is a temperature shock. In some cases it can cause them to drop feathers that they really need for the winter. I would not do it. My south windows are actually pieces of the siding in frames so I can open them in the summer or on nice days in the winter.

As to frozen water there is little one can do without electric heated water dishes. I have electric in the coop but keep the water in the run. I do not heat the water since the expensive heated dishes I had failed miserably.
I got dog water dishes from the farm store that are just plastic, nothing special and cost like 5 dollars each. I simply keep one set empty and change it out in the mornings. The empty get filled and the frozen get removed. If I need to get frozen water out of them due to extreme temps I slowly pour hot water from a milk jug over the upside down dish. The ice drops out easily enough that they are available for use withing a couple minutes. I wont bring chicken dishes into the house/kitchen so they are outside all winter. If it is sunny they thaw enough sitting in the sun to drop the ice out. (I turn them upside down in the garden on top of a paver to let the sun work on melting the ice out.) Last winter we had lows of -20 and this method worked for us.

I would also not worry to much about the access door being left open causing a cold source. Heat rises so that should be ok. Now then the only real concern leaving it open would be a predator finding a way into the run and no barrier to the chickens in its way. My run is chain link and the pop doors are locked from the inside every night. We have coons and fox in the area so I went with the "lock it or lose it" mindset.

I think you are doing well going into winter thinking about all the possible issues keeping chickens in your climate.

 

[Beekissed]

I hope this is the right place to post my questions - I've done quite a bit of reading on winter readiness, but have some specific questions I would like addressed to put my mind at ease. I appreciate any time you have - this week has been our first cold snap (other than the frost we had in JULY

). I've also been VERY occupied with a sick and needy toddler so not a lot of time to futz about with the girls.

Location: SW Montana. Temps this winter will get down to well below zero, more with wind chill added in. We're at an elevation of 5,400, so one of the colder places in Montana.
Flock: 3 lovelies, Jersey Giant, Black Star, and Buff Orpington
Coop: 3x5, raised 3', built following The Garden Coop plans. Attached, 5x9 covered run. Access door is in the floor of the coop. Roost is a 2x4 with long side up slightly off center from the access door (only place I could figure out to put it that checked all the boxes many have listed for length requirement, and not on top of nesting box access). Pine shavings 6" deep in the coop. Straw in nesting boxes
Shadows: The coop/run is placed where it gets direct sunlight from 9 am-sunset. The light hits earlier when the days are longer, but it's 7:51 am right now and the sun has not popped over the large mountain to our East. Front of coop is facing South.
Activity: If I'm home, the girls get to wander around our yard freely. We have a very large lot (10,000 sq ft) with many bushes and flower beds to cuddle in, plus a big crabapple tree under which they spend a lot of time.


Winterization thus far: The coop is designed to have floating walls placed inside. They're installed, with 2" high quality insulation sheet sandwiched. I pull the water at night after they go to bed, and my husband puts it out in the morning when he leaves for the gym, well before they wake.

My points of concern:

1) I know that moisture is the enemy. I'm careful to remove droppings from under the roost every couple of days. The top of the coop is open air between the actual coop and the tin roof. There is 1/2" wire fabric around the top for security, but it's open to the air. I built the coop according to the design and the scores of others who have done the same, so no windows. the coop gets pretty good light because of that. I am concerned though that it's too open. This picture is from last spring and you can see the space above the coop area (this is me standing in the run looking into the coop through the big door). Do I need to add boards and insulation that high, or would that be too airtight? Just how many inches of moisture escape is necessary to balance warmth and dryness?


That's fine....and necessary. Without any other ventilation, that venting up above is pretty important. It's not too open, so no worries. When summer hits, you might even want to open a nice cross breeze on that coop to help keep the chickens more comfortable at night. Keep in mind that you can never have too much ventilation, only too little. If you can modify it to where the chickens get more air and light inside the coop while that door is closed, their coop life will be much more comfortable....when snow or severe temps makes them want to stay indoors, they'll be in the dimly lit coop while they do so. Not the best kind of life.

2) I have a temp monitor inside the coop. Last night was our coldest thus far, 12 degrees inside the coop. My gut is telling me this is as low as I should let things get. Please talk to me about this. I know my breeds are ok in cold climates (even though they really, really don't like to walk on the snow). I just need to be hand-held a bit with this. First winter with chickens.

It's fine. 12 degrees is nothing, really, and your chickens will be fine in those temps as long as the humidity from their breathing and sitting close doesn't settle on their combs/wattles and feathering. Humidity is the enemy, not the cold. Here it gets down to 20 below zero, but my coop will keep it 10 degrees warmer than that...and the chickens act like 10 below is nothing. No signs of cold at all as they walk around and scratch around in the coop.

3) I plan to wrap the run with plastic before winds begin. I'm also considering getting some old windows and putting them on the south side to create a bit of a greenhouse effect. Thoughts on this?

You won't want a greenhouse effect...greenhouses are often very humid. You can block the winds well without closing it down tightly and still have a sunny, warm spot for them to be. I'd leave one end entirely open if you close off the others. If the only end you have to leave open is in the direction the winds normally blow, maybe you could just plastic that end half way up.

4) WATER. Such a pain in the bum, and our system isn't going to work if we go anywhere overnight. I've seen the little wall-hanging waterers but at the temps I've mentioned, they're going to freeze. Is an electrically warmed water bath my only option?

For going anywhere overnight, yes. If not doing so, a rubber feed pan like horses use is a good option as they are easy to dump and refill if they have frozen solid, whereas most other containers are not. Don't try to give them warm water thinking it will take longer to freeze, it will actually freeze faster than cold water.

5) Access door - This stays open all the time, because of the closed run. If the run is wrapped, this won't be a source of drafts, but I am still concerned about it as a cold source. Do any of you have thoughts about this?

I leave mine open 24/7/365, even in the coldest of weather. This helps move stale air and humidity upwards and out of the coop. As long as the wind isn't blowing actively into that opening, it's a good idea to leave it open.


Thanks so much for your help. Again, my biggest concern is the 1st question about the space at the top of the coop. I don't want to close it in too closely so moisture can't escape, but I don't want all the warmth generated from the girls to float off into the air.

No worries about the chickens, they are dressed to withstand the weather.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

As to frozen water there is little one can do without electric heated water dishes. I have electric in the coop but keep the water in the run. I do not heat the water since the expensive heated dishes I had failed miserably.
I got dog water dishes from the farm store that are just plastic, nothing special and cost like 5 dollars each. I simply keep one set empty and change it out in the mornings. The empty get filled and the frozen get removed. If I need to get frozen water out of them due to extreme temps I slowly pour hot water from a milk jug over the upside down dish. The ice drops out easily enough that they are available for use withing a couple minutes. I wont bring chicken dishes into the house/kitchen so they are outside all winter. If it is sunny they thaw enough sitting in the sun to drop the ice out. (I turn them upside down in the garden on top of a paver to let the sun work on melting the ice out.) Last winter we had lows of -20 and this method worked for us.

Same here, except I use the black river "tubs" sold for livestock. They are more durable than hard plastic and you can"pop" ice or by flexing them or just dropping them on the ground since they don't break.