Roost canopy.

[Jodiwan]

Has anyone ever thought about putting an awning or something over a roosting
Bar in the winter time to help keep the chickens body heat from escaping?
In example. Think of a half barrel (cut sideways) mounted just above the roost bar.
Giving enough room for them to not be hindered by it of course?
Thanks yall.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How cold is it where you are that you're concerned about escaping body heat? Ventilation in most climates is a bigger concern, the feathers are designed to hold heat against their bodies.

I think you'd most likely find chickens sitting on top of the half barrel or awning...

 

[Jodiwan]

I'm in upper wisconsin it gets down to about 30 below zero with windchill here.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm in upper wisconsin it gets down to about 30 below zero with windchill here.

What is it without windchill? Wind shouldn't be a factor inside a coop with 4 walls.

 

[Jodiwan]

Sometimes -15

 

[NatJ]

I have seen ideas for a "roosting closet" in chicken books from about a hundred years ago.

I think it was more to keep drafts off the roosting chickens, than to actually contain body heat. Basically, some walls and maybe a roof inside a larger building, to shelter the roosting area.

I haven't seen it mentioned in more recent books, so I presume someone decided it wasn't worth the bother.

Examples from Project Gutenberg of old poultry works that mention roosting closets:
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65618/pg65618-images.html
PRACTICAL FARM BUILDINGS
PLANS AND SUGGESTIONS
BY A. F. HUNTER
Published 1905

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/72042/pg72042-images.html
THE CORNING
EGG FARM BOOK
BY CORNING HIMSELF
Published 1912

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you have electricity out there maybe install a radiant heater for nights where it drops below -10F, otherwise the birds should be able to keep themselves warm enough just with feathers alone.