Question for the cold weather people

[Mrs MIA]

I just put this in another thread... you don't want drafts, but you do want vents to allow fresh air in. Just like the vents you have in an attic, exactly. We have an 8x8' coop, with an 8' ceiling sloped back to a 5' ceiling above the nest boxes. At the top of the 8' side we have round aluminum louvered vents at opposite sides to allow airflow away from the birds. They can't get up that high, and the louvers baffle any wind that might be blowing from outside. Without those vents, moisture and ammonia will build up in there so quick, it will make your head spin!

 

[amyklebust]

Thanks, everyone for your responses. I was able to rearrange my electrical connections to get the water heater on full-time and eliminate the ice! I also closed down the opening of the chicken door a little. I'll have to see if I can think up a way to add the "porch" which was described. My shivering rooster seems to be feeling better (his plumage is huge and lovely - he looks the most plush of all my birds, so the shivering seemed odd).

I have the lights coming on from about 6am until 11am, and I'm getting 3-4 eggs per day from my 12 hens (they are about 7 months old). More eggs than we need, really. We've got about 7" of snow in the forecast for tonight - maybe I should let everyone out this afternoon for some exercise before the weather comes in.

 

[Mrs MIA]

If you drape a heavy canvas over the pop-door, you can block most of the drafts but still allow the chickens to go outside at all times. It's been between 25 and 30°F here, and I leave the full door open. It's windy today, so I left it closed, but the window is propped open, and the pop-door is covered with canvas, so there's still ventilation. They will continue to go out and scratch at temps well below 0 °F.

 

[ams3651]

This is a picture of my "porch" it was a last minute solution one day that was very windy and rainy. It is a piece of treated pressed board that I just happened to have. I plan to make a sort of frame for it in the spring with legs but still sloped to keep the rain and snow from the roof off of it.

At night I slide the board behind 2 3' fence posts to close the door. I wasnt able to make a door, in the spring i plan to make a slide up door with a cable to outside the pen so I can open and close without going in the pen.

And these are my roof vents on one side, I put up a board to cover part of it because they are too wide for the winter.