Proper Coop Ventilation for Montana

[CityslickerHomestead]

I’m a first-time chicken owner and am in the process of building a coop. I’m hoping someone has been in a similar situation and can help. My question is, what, where, how much, and how do I adapt my coop ventilation for my 4’x8’ coop in a state that has wildly varying weather?

Summers in Montana can reach over 100F, winters can get to -40F with windchill, spring brings massive amounts of rain and hail, and fall is probably the only “good” time for weather. Where I live on a hill surrounded by hay fields, the wind is usually a constant 15mph and can have gusts over 60mph. Oh, and last winter we got over 100 inches of snow!

With all these variables, how do I ventilate my coop, and how do I need to change this for the weather? I don’t want my babies to suffer!

Attached is a photo of the coop as it currently stands. The ventilation in the front is about 3sqft, and the roof overhang will have another 3sqft of soffit ventilation. The other side of the coop has a 1’x2’ window that currently can’t be opened but I’m contemplating adding a hinge.

Also, the floor and walls have been insulated with an exterior wall grade insulation from Lowe’s, and have plywood over them. I had tons of leftovers from when I built my house.

Thanks for your insight!

 

[wamtazlady]

Welcome to BackYardChickens. I live in Kalispell MT and have had chickens about 6 years now. Your 4 by 8 coop should house 8 chickens at the most if your nesting boxes are hanging on the outside. For 8 chickens you will need close to 8 square feet of ventilation that is never closed. I suggest that most of that should be tucked under the eaves where snow and rain will not get into the coop and covered in hardware cloth. You will need some lower ventilation, perhaps a vent that is away from the wind or in another protected area. A dry chicken is a warm chicken. Chickens make a lot of moisture by breathing and pooping. You want to get that warm moist air out of the coop to keep your chickens comfortable. A humid coop causes frostbite. By the way, wind chill factor only counts if there is wind. There never should be wind blowing through your coop.

Are you also building a run? If you are then that helps a lot. I cover 3 sides of my run in clear vinyl shower curtains every fall. My run also got a permanent roof on it this past fall so I don't need to put a tarp over it any longer. That provides a draft free place for the girls to hang out in during the winter. It also allows for a lower vent that will not let a breeze into the coop. My water and feed is kept in the run year round.

Will you have electricity near your coop? If you do then keeping your water thawed during winter will be easy. I use a plastic 11 gallon tote with lid I got at Walmart, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer that is rated for use in plastic. Those who have the best luck at keeping water thawed use similar systems. I use a tote, some use a 5 gallon bucket, others use a big jug, and even others have adapted other large containers. My water has stayed thawed down to -22 F which is the coldest it has gotten while I live here.

I do not use light in the coop during winter. I prefer to let the girls take a break from laying if they want one. Being 68 I can not get out to the coop daily to collect eggs as I am afraid of falling on the ice. Not having them lay is actually good for me. I have never used heat in the coop and my birds do fine. When it was -22 they were out in their run all day long doing chicken type things.

I use 2 b y 4s for the roosts, wide side up. Read a long time ago that this allowed for the chickens to sit on their feet during the winter and keep them warm. Not sure if that is true but the girls like their roost.

Love to talk chicken so if you have more questions just ask. What breeds of chickens did you get?

 

[Alaskan]

Hummmmm

How many chickens?

The problem with nasty weather is that they don't want to go outside.

Which means that the coop ends up being their only living space....which means it often ends up being too small, so they start to eat each other.

Ideally, I would recommend you start over a build a Woods coop. In that style coop since all ventilation is on one end, NO wind blows through so the perching area has still air. It is also designed to be almost a coop plus the run so there is enough space in the winder time. The Woods design also features high windows that are opened in hot summers and gets a nice cooling draft going.

I didn't build one of those.

But I connected my coop to a shed, and the shed to my greenhouse. The poultry get the greenhouse all winter and that is VERY nice!

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

Welcome to BackYardChickens. I live in Kalispell MT and have had chickens about 6 years now. Your 4 by 8 coop should house 8 chickens at the most if your nesting boxes are hanging on the outside. For 8 chickens you will need close to 8 square feet of ventilation that is never closed. I suggest that most of that should be tucked under the eaves where snow and rain will not get into the coop and covered in hardware cloth. You will need some lower ventilation, perhaps a vent that is away from the wind or in another protected area. A dry chicken is a warm chicken. Chickens make a lot of moisture by breathing and pooping. You want to get that warm moist air out of the coop to keep your chickens comfortable. A humid coop causes frostbite. By the way, wind chill factor only counts if there is wind. There never should be wind blowing through your coop.

Are you also building a run? If you are then that helps a lot. I cover 3 sides of my run in clear vinyl shower curtains every fall. My run also got a permanent roof on it this past fall so I don't need to put a tarp over it any longer. That provides a draft free place for the girls to hang out in during the winter. It also allows for a lower vent that will not let a breeze into the coop. My water and feed is kept in the run year round.

Will you have electricity near your coop? If you do then keeping your water thawed during winter will be easy. I use a plastic 11 gallon tote with lid I got at Walmart, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer that is rated for use in plastic. Those who have the best luck at keeping water thawed use similar systems. I use a tote, some use a 5 gallon bucket, others use a big jug, and even others have adapted other large containers. My water has stayed thawed down to -22 F which is the coldest it has gotten while I live here.

I do not use light in the coop during winter. I prefer to let the girls take a break from laying if they want one. Being 68 I can not get out to the coop daily to collect eggs as I am afraid of falling on the ice. Not having them lay is actually good for me. I have never used heat in the coop and my birds do fine. When it was -22 they were out in their run all day long doing chicken type things.

I use 2 b y 4s for the roosts, wide side up. Read a long time ago that this allowed for the chickens to sit on their feet during the winter and keep them warm. Not sure if that is true but the girls like their roost.

Love to talk chicken so if you have more questions just ask. What breeds of chickens did you get?

Thank you so much for the insight! I truly appreciate it.

I got my girls from Shipton’s Big R, where they were sourced from Hoover Hatchery. Since I’m such a novice we had an employee help us out. We have seven (was eight but we lost a sickly one) mixed females consisting of: three SL polish, two Welsummers, one “Ameraucana”, and one “black Australorp”. I think the Ameraucana is actually a Welsummer mutt, and the Australorp is a GL Wyandotte. Also, the polish are growing at a much slower rate with size and feathers, and I’m wondering if they are bantams. I heard bantams are not as cold-hardy and need extra protection.

I want to include lower ventilation but I don’t know where to place it as I don’t want to cause a draft. I do not have the interior set up yet as to where the roosting bars will go, but I know they cannot be in front of the ventilation. My chicks are 3 weeks old so I’m working against the clock to finish the coop.
Right now they live in my half-bath as I didn’t want to put them in the garage.

The coop (and enclosed run) will be on the side of my house that has an exterior outlet. Their run will be about 100sqft. I did not plan on heating the coop or using light, as I’ve researched it’s better to let them rest and it will extend their laying years. I did plan on putting up solar motion-detector lights outside the coop for me to see better and to hopefully alert me to nighttime predators. If I used decorative solar lights inside the coop (like a rope light) would that mess up their cycle? I don’t want to force them to lay in the winter.

I was planning on using heat tape for the waterer, or something like it, to ensure it doesn’t freeze. I bought a temperature controlled outlet that turns on when the temperature reaches 32F and turns off at 40F.

 

[wamtazlady]

If you have a run and you cover 3 sides with clear vinyl, then you can cut a small lower vent from the coop into the run. I actually use my pop door as a vent. It's never closed. I have never had a predator try to get into the run so figure it is safe until that happens. In past years I have had the coop surrounded by electric poultry netting for added protection. A buck got his antlers caught in it and ruined the electric netting just as the snow fell. Took 5 wildlife people to get the buck out of the netting and they had to saw off his antlers. This year I am in the middle of putting up a 5' wire fence to add extra protection to the coop. May add a hot wire to the top and bottom of that fencing.

You'll have to explain your waterer to me. I am curious as to what type of waterer you have. My stock tank deicer works similar to your temperature controlled outlet. It comes on when it gets below 35 and turns off when it gets above 40.

To keep an eye on your chickens you might want to look into the Wyze cameras. I learned about them here on the forum. They are security cameras and only cost $25. I have been using them for 2 months now and love them. The are not technically outdoor cameras but if you put them in a protected area or add some protection around them they have been used outdoors by others. By June they hope to offer an outdoor camera.

 

[aart]

I think the Ameraucana is actually a Welsummer mutt,

Probably an Easter Egger.
But post pics of chicks in a new thread here and you'll find out what they really are:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/create-thread

I was planning on using heat tape for the waterer, or something like it, to ensure it doesn’t freeze. I bought a temperature controlled outlet that turns on when the temperature reaches 32F and turns off at 40F.

I have one of these, Thermocube, works great for my heated waterer.
Lots of way sot heat water, this is what I cooked up:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples.67256/

 

[Alaskan]

We have seven

The coop (and enclosed run) will be on the side of my house that has an exterior outlet. Their run will be about 100sqft.

By enclosed run do you mean that the run will be roofed and protected from wind and snow? If so, then it all sounds good space wise. And I agree that if you have a nice sized vent ro the sheltered run that will give you good ventilation without adding wind or snow to the coop.

I do really like poop shelves ny the way. They keep the coop cleaner so there is more play space for the chickens. In cold weather I have liked using feed bags as poop shelf liners. Pick up the feed bag, pop off the ice poops, replace feed bags. Because in cold weather poop turns into concrete.

I did not plan on heating the coop or using light, as I’ve researched it’s better to let them rest and it will extend their laying years

I can't remember now how much sun Montana gets in the winter....

But my poultry do better with lights if it gets super cold, because poultry do not eat in the dark.

10 hours of light is enough time for them to eat enough to stay warm... but not enough light that they are forced into lay.

Remember that the colder it gets the more they will eat. -10F and colder and they wolf down crazy amounts of feed. At that point they also do better with higher protein feed (20%) and suet blocks or equivalent.

If I used decorative solar lights inside the coop (like a rope light) would that mess up their cycle? I don’t want to force them to lay in the winter.

The little decorative lights are usually dim enough that they are just good night lights. Depends on what you get though.

My stock tank deicer works similar to your temperature controlled outlet. It comes on when it gets below 35 and turns off when it gets above 40.

I also use a stock tank deicer and think it is an excellent choice since it does not keep the water warm...just thawed so less electricity is used.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

If you have a run and you cover 3 sides with clear vinyl, then you can cut a small lower vent from the coop into the run. I actually use my pop door as a vent. It's never closed. I have never had a predator try to get into the run so figure it is safe until that happens. In past years I have had the coop surrounded by electric poultry netting for added protection. A buck got his antlers caught in it and ruined the electric netting just as the snow fell. Took 5 wildlife people to get the buck out of the netting and they had to saw off his antlers. This year I am in the middle of putting up a 5' wire fence to add extra protection to the coop. May add a hot wire to the top and bottom of that fencing.

You'll have to explain your waterer to me. I am curious as to what type of waterer you have. My stock tank deicer works similar to your temperature controlled outlet. It comes on when it gets below 35 and turns off when it gets above 40.

To keep an eye on your chickens you might want to look into the Wyze cameras. I learned about them here on the forum. They are security cameras and only cost $25. I have been using them for 2 months now and love them. The are not technically outdoor cameras but if you put them in a protected area or add some protection around them they have been used outdoors by others. By June they hope to offer an outdoor camera.

I don’t have their adult waterer yet, but planned on a 5+ gallon bucket with either vertical or horizontal nipples, and wrapped in Heat tape.
In my line of work I deal with soil vapor extraction systems, that have tanks constantly filling with ground water. I wrap the tanks with heat tape that is purchased from Ace Hardware. It’s fairly effective at preventing them from freezing.

 

[wamtazlady]

I don’t have their adult waterer yet, but planned on a 5+ gallon bucket with either vertical or horizontal nipples, and wrapped in Heat tape.
In my line of work I deal with soil vapor extraction systems, that have tanks constantly filling with ground water. I wrap the tanks with heat tape that is purchased from Ace Hardware. It’s fairly effective at preventing them from freezing.

If you want your water system to work, go with the horizontal nipples. Vertical nipples have a tiny bit of water that stays in the nipple. The nipple hangs below the bucket in the cold air. That tiny bit of water will freeze the nipple. If the nipple is frozen then no water will come out even if the water in the bucket is thawed. Also vertical nipples sometimes leak. The last thing you want is a bunch of water turning to ice on the ground where your chickens have to walk to get a drink. Horizontal nipples have a tiny o ring that keeps water out of the nipple and helps prevent leaking.

I don't know of anyone who has used heat tape around a bucket to keep their water from freezing. Some people have tried heat tape around PVC pipe with nipples. The heat tape might work for your chicken waterer. It's worth trying. You'll have to tell us how it works next winter. However, a lot of us do use stock tank deicers and we know for sure that the deicer works very well. As I said earlier, at -22 my birds had water and the water is kept outside in the run. Not sure how much colder it could have been without freezing. Hope it never gets colder than that. What I really like about the 11 gallon tote is that it only needed filled once a week for a dozen chickens. I am very fortunate to have access to a hose and faucet that reaches the chicken coop and is usable year round so I don't even have to carry water outside.