I would remove all the plastic wrap. Chickens need fresh air, not warmth.In winter it reaches (-10). The coop is small and only the upper part one side of the coop is open (about 10 cm). Do I have to unwrap one side of the coop?
I assume that is -10 C. It is going to be that temperature here this week and has gotten down to -30C yet my coop windows are big and wide open year round. It can get to 45C in the summer - that is where the problem is. I've lost chickens to heat but never to cold - and I have no condensation inside.
I don't know where the recommendation heard so often about ventilation without a draft originated but I assume it is from people that don't like it cold.
I take the complete opposite position than almost everyone else on this site. I don't believe a draft in a building is a problem. On the contrary, I believe it should be preferred. Every time I build a building, my windows and other ventilation get bigger. Originally I made the windows as big as possible on the east wall to take advantage of morning light. My last two buildings have huge openings about 1/4-1/3 of the entire wall on both east and west sides. The cold winter wind has been blowing right through at roost height for about 6 years. I've never had an ill bird in winter.
My building with the smallest window (and a ridge vent) has a box fan on the sill blowing right at the roost year round.
I've occasionally had chickens living in trees (till taken by a predator) through the winter even through rain and snow. I don't know how one is supposed to keep a draft out of a deciduous tree in winter.
In the early 1900s (the infancy of large scale poultry production), it was common to lose half or more of the winter chicken population. Someone decided it was time to try something new in housing. Rather than have an entirely closed up coop for warmth, they took out one entire wall of each building. By some mornings, drifts of snow had blown into the buildings - but ventilation was excellent. They didn't lose a bird the rest of the winter. That was the start of open sided poultry housing.
Last edited: