Questions on window placement/how many and exterior color

[chimom5]

Hello Everyone,

We are adding to an old coop that was on our property because the original is too small for all the gals. When completed it will be 18' x 10' and we will be putting in a metal exterior door on the 18' side.

We live in Central NY and the winters can be quite harsh and long. They will have a winter run that will have a roof and be enclosed with framed panels of plastic so it should be relatively warm and dry. This is just so they can get out of the coop for a few hours everyday. Here are my questions.

1. Should we paint the outside a light or dark color? I was thinking darker due to the long winters but I didn't know if it would be too much for the summer. The coop does have some shade provided by a couple of large trees on the backside of the building, which of course, will be bare in the winter.

2. We were going to put windows on the east and west sides of the building and the ventilation will be on the north and south as the winds come from the west the majority of the time. I have read that you should put in plenty of windows but I see many coops on here that do not have any windows or just one. We originally planned on six windows...is that too many??

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good idea on the covered run. Just make sure the cover is supported enough to handle a snow load.
Properly selected breeds for one's climate need no winter protection. The killer of chickens is heat and bad air.
Do whatever you can to prepare for the heat of summer. Winter is winter, whether day or night - acclimated chickens can handle it.
IMHO you can't have too many openings. If you look on here there are also lots of questions about respiratory illness - especially in winter when people "coop" their birds up.
I especially like East windows because of the morning sun to stimulate egg production.
All the coops I build now have big openings east and west to bring the air through. One side (usually the west) gets covered if a big storm is coming through to keep the water out.

 

[SunnySkyFarm]

Good idea on the covered run. Just make sure the cover is supported enough to handle a snow load.
Properly selected breeds for one's climate need no winter protection. The killer of chickens is heat and bad air.
Do whatever you can to prepare for the heat of summer. Winter is winter, whether day or night - acclimated chickens can handle it.
IMHO you can't have too many openings. If you look on here there are also lots of questions about respiratory illness - especially in winter when people "coop" their birds up.
I especially like East windows because of the morning sun to stimulate egg production.
All the coops I build now have big openings east and west to bring the air through. One side (usually the west) gets covered if a big storm is coming through to keep the water out.

x2.

 

[chimom5]

I believe they are all pretty winter hardy, cochins, leghorns, barred rocks, partridge rocks and wyandottes. The coop run will have a pretty good slope to it (6.5' down to 3.5 or 4') to help with the snow and we will be using 2 x 6 for the roof joists.

Do you think the building color matters? We actually have some extra windows we could use for the extra ventilation....thank you craigs list I was thinking darker because in the winter it would help attract the heat. We will have electricity in there so I could put in window fans if necessary in the summer.

I appreciate the input. This is all new to us and we want to do it right the first time. This site has been such a tremendous help!

 

[chimom5]

We thought the Wyandotte's wouldn't want their feet in the snow...maybe it wouldn't matter. I thought that with them being able to get out during the day into the fresh air and out of the coop that would help with the respiratory issues.

We will have ventilation holes on the north and south walls, mainly because it is just too windy in the winter and the wind comes from the west. In the summer it will be great for them because it is actually still windy here in the summer. As a rule it isn't terribly hot here most of the time...probably one month out of summer and the rest is pretty comfortable. There is at least a breeze 95% of the time.

 

[Chickens R Us]

My first coop My DH and I built has windows on the east and west sides, I wish we had put a window on the south side for more light in the winter. My coop is a hunter green because of our harsh winters I figured it would help absorb some heat from the sun.

 

[chimom5]

I had the same thoughts on the darker colors as far as absorbing the heat. Does it seem to bother them in the summer? This last two weeks here has been unseasonably warm and humid but as a rule it is quite comfortable at night, in the 50's.

 

[Chickens R Us]

In the summer I keep the windows wide open and also the vents. My chickens stay outside most of the time during the day, other then laying eggs. They usually don't start going into the coop until around 7:30pm , here in Upper Michigan the nights are usually cooler.

 

[chimom5]

Ours stay out most all day too, they usually go in around 8:30 at night and we lock them up. Thank you for the input, it really helps.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I had the same thoughts on the darker colors as far as absorbing the heat. Does it seem to bother them in the summer? This last two weeks here has been unseasonably warm and humid but as a rule it is quite comfortable at night, in the 50's.

At 3 AM on a January morning, it won't matter what color it is or whether it's exposed to the sun - it will still be cold in the coop - the same as the outside temp.
At 3 PM on an August afternoon, a dark color exposed to the sun will cause temps to skyrocket above ambient temps.\

A south window will also increase the temp during summer. A south window doesn't help egg laying because by the time the sun comes from the south the birds are already outside. East helps the most.