Seeking help from Northern Members on cold weather flock management!

[PirateGirl]

I need to make an easy ventilation article, but I will attempt to explain without pictures what I did (ok, husband's idea) to make draft free ventilation. Cut a long skinny rectangular hole in the roof. Mine is about 6 inches wide and runs the length of the roof. Line it with 2x4s on the two short sides and one long side. Put a piece of plywood (or similar) on top. Cover the other long side with hardware cloth (or similar). This can be anywhere on your roof and it will be higher than all your roosts. Even if the wind blows in it will not blow directly on your chickens and will be diffused as it need to turn a corner.

 

[llombardo]

I am worried about the winter. The area where they sleep has a large window which is on the west side and the ventilation window is on the south. So in the winter do I just leave that ventilation window open and close up the other window?

I am planning on putting tarps around the enclosure to stop wind. I also have these heating discs that you put in the microwave for five minutes and they stay warm for 10 hours. I used them for the rabbits last winter on real cold days. I was thinking about putting those along the inside of the coop to take the edge off. Would that be ok? I have a heated waterer with the side nipples that they have not learned how to use yet.

 

[NorthernChick1]

I know ventilation is important , but don’t you think leaving big windows as chicken wire only is crazy ?? You could drop well below 0 with a howling wind and no way to protect them?? I wouldn’t wait til the blizzards hit to plan that out better

I know many people who dont put in real windows and and shove up vapor barrier during winter. They say it works perfectly fine

 

[snow5164]

Of course that works , but they said they’d leave the chicken wire windows as they are ? Didn’t they ? As in wide open ?
Oh blah !! I’m going to bed tired of arguing

 

[AMoritz]

My winter weather can include weeks at a time when temps don't even get up to minus 18*C Temps often down to minus 29*C. I am in growing zone 4B, 45th parallel.

Chicken wire will not keep predators out. You will need hardware cloth for that (1/2").

General rule of thumb is:
minimum of 4 s.f. in coop per bird.
Ventilation = to 10% of floor space or 1 s.f./bird. Multi level vents helpful, but I close floor level vent in the winter.

I have gable, soffit vents, as well as 3 windows and various doors. If everything is opened up in the summer, there is 65 s.f. of ventilation in 120 s.f. coop! In the winter, the pop door is open on all but the nastiest of days, and 1 or 2 windows are cracked open. Weather patterns almost always approach from the west, so no windows on west or north side of my coop. Awning style windows so they can be open even when raining or snowing. (you can see my coop in the interview in my signature.

My coop is not insulated. but the roof area over their roost is.

My flock also benefits from a winter sun-room: 3 sides of one bay of the run wrapped with plastic, and 1/2 of that bay roof covered with green house tarp. Birds use the sun-room almost every day.

Your greatest enemy during the winter is lack of ventilation. A poorly vented coop is a humid coop. High humidity = frost bite. Adequate ventilation is also a must to prevent respiratory issues from ammonia build up. "Short" coops are also harder to manage in the winter b/c there is not adequate space above perches (recommend at least 18") to keep the birds combs away from ceiling and out of the ventilation exit areas.

I do have electricity in the coop. Use heated dog bowl, and provide light to stimulate laying during the winter. It also allows me to brood chicks in the coop with a MHP style brooder.

I too also use a heated dog bowl/animal Bowl that I got off amazon for my chickens and guineas, works wonderfully, keeps the water from freezing and the birds have no problem drinking from it.

 

[lazy gardener]

I put a gallon jug of water in the center of the dog bowl. This created a moat to keep the birds from walking through the water, and hopefully keeps them from dragging their wattles through the water. My biggest fear is that a bird will jump in the water, then her feet will freeze.

 

[Meldup]

When you first start out with chickens and winter, people tend to think about keeping your chickens warm, and that is a mistake. What one needs to think about is keeping your chickens dry and out of the wind. Dry chickens with wind protection will keep themselves warm, at -35 degrees F or about -37 degrees C.

When I first started, I wanted to lock up the coop tight so as to save heat. Since we were children we're told shut the door, you are heating the great outdoors. But with chickens in a coop, what you are shutting up is the moisture, which will condense back down on the birds. Wet chickens are cold chickens. Think about people sitting in a car with out the heater running, almost immediately the windows fog up. The warm wet moisture from breathing, comes into contact with the walls and window, and condenses. This is very unhealthy for chickens.

Good deep bedding on the floor to absorb droppings and moisture. A LOT OF VENTILATION to let out wet, moist air. When your chickens are roosted, there needs to be about 1 foot of space between their heads and the ceiling. The roosts need to be set up so as they are away from the wall. This allows air to circulate around them keeping them drier. Vents above their heads work well, warm air rises and holds more moisture, rising out of the coop...again keeping the birds dry.

When I first started coming to this website, they would say have good ventilation without a draft... which seemed counterproductive. I have since started to think of it like this, wind protection = close side of coop facing prevailing wind, for me from the north and west. Ventilation in on the south side of my coop, and is open all year long.

I hope this helps

Mrs K

Thanks. I was thinking ventilation is important but my neighbour and experienced chicken lady told me to close it up

the ventilation makes sense

 

[jvls1942]

Yup, close it up. then watch the combs freeze because of the moisture.. listen to the chickens coughing ,, and watch them die from pneumonia..
if there is frost on the inside of the windows, you have a ventilation problem.