Roost in front of window

[ThisoldNHhen]

I am thinking of rearranging the roosts in my coop to one long one with poop board under, but it would have to be in front of window. Right now there are 2 going across the short side and they seem to be having a problem getting down, so wanted to go lower, with a poop board under. Will this a problem in the winter in New Hampshire?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I know New Hampshire gets cold, but many breeds of chickens were developed in those climates before people worried about chickens and cold.
That looks like a glass window. One of my coops has a similar window but it is open (covered with hardware cloth) year round with a big box fan on the sill blowing right at the roost.
A big supply of oxygen is much more important for chicken health than warmth ever will be.

 

[ThisoldNHhen]

I do have opened eaves for ventilation and it is a south facing window, so thought that would be good when sun is out, but wasn't sure if it would be colder at night... still hard for me to believe they won't freeze to death! I was told by previous owner that they do well in the cold, so I shouldn't worry so much.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have 11 windows in my big coop. Yes the roosts are in n front of windows. No I have not had an issue with that.

Remind yourself that chicken are wearing a nice feather coat.

 

[KarynVA]

I have 11 windows in my big coop. Yes the roosts are in n front of windows. No I have not had an issue with that.

Remind yourself that chicken are wearing a nice feather coat.

Do you keep all of the windows open at night in the winter? Or just some of them?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Do you keep all of the windows open at night in the winter? Or just some of them?

It depends on the wind. If it is breezy I close them all. If the air is still and will stay still I leave 2 small ones ajar. I have open soffits for ventilation so no concern about venting with them closed.

Taken during construction. Right now the coop is divided so the south section has 6 windows. The roost runs along the left wall where the small windows are.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I do have opened eaves for ventilation and it is a south facing window, so thought that would be good when sun is out, but wasn't sure if it would be colder at night... still hard for me to believe they won't freeze to death! I was told by previous owner that they do well in the cold, so I shouldn't worry so much.

Do the tiny sparrows, shrikes, wrens and finches freeze to death in New Hampshire?
No they don't
All of my buildings huge windows are wide open year round. It can get down close to 20 below F.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In winter I close my window that is at roost level and depend on ventilation up higher. In summer that window is open. The area of my roost that is in front of that window is the preferred roosting area, winter and summer. The chickens highest in the pecking order want to sleep there.

Your concern seems to be that they will get cold and freeze to death. As long as you don't have a cold wind hitting them that will not happen. If they have an option they will move out of a wind.

Your real risk is frostbite, mainly on the comb and wattles. If you keep the humidity level low with good ventilation that should not happen. Moisture can come from their breathing, their poop, and you probably will have thawed water in there. You live in that climate, you should know to not go outside with wet hands or a wet face or you risk frostbite. Same thing with them, moisture is the risk. If the air in the coop stays pretty dry they can handle really cold weather. If you have bad ventilation and let the moisture build up they can get frostbite at temperatures just below freezing.

One of your neighbors up in Nova Scotia wrote about his chickens sleeping in trees. They'd wake in the morning covered in snow, shake it off, and go about their business. Those trees were in a sheltered place so the wind was not a problem. You can't get better ventilation than sleeping in a tree.

The coldest I've seen chickens sleeping in trees was in East Tennessee, the temperature only got down to about 8 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. You should see colder temperatures. But seeing them convinced me that pure temperature isn't the problem. Wind and ventilation is.

I took this photo when it was +4* Fahrenheit. I left the pop door open and let them decide if they wanted to come out. Since a cold wind was not blowing, they did.