What part of Virginia? (The link in your profile goes to Alabama).
How cold do your winters get and do you get measurable snow?
I live in southern VA, near the border with NC. Apparently the "Midgard" confuses computers, it sent me to Columbus, OH.
I've only been here for one winter, but in my experience(and according to the internet), we almost never get below the late teens. Last winter I think the lowest temps were like 17 degrees Fahrenheit. We did have one snow in February that had about 2-3 inches of accumulation, and a couple little snows where there wasn't any accumulation.
My coop is not really good for anything, because non-chicken-owning relatives gave it to my family as a gift. The predator-proof-ness is probably bad, but the main thing I don't like about it for winter is the ventilation. Here are pics of some of the issues:
^so this is one of the worst parts. This door has about 1/4 inch cracks around it, and a window in the middle which is right at head level with the hens. Not ideal. I don't really know what I'm going to do with the crack around it, but I'm definitely going to have to cover that window.
^this is the sliding door from the coop into the run. Dirt gets in the track that it slides on and makes it so there is a small crack where it can't close all the way. This shouldn't be too hard to fix. Ignore the mess that
someone made by backing up and pooping directly onto the wall. Ughhh.
I know this is hard to see, but these are the small cracks where the nest box lid hinges from. Mildly irritating, but not unfixable.
And this is the whole coop and run. Not the best, I know.
Oh, and I also have to get some better perches in there.
Any ideas for closing cracks?
Also, when I cover the window, I will get a hole drilling thing and add a bunch of ventilation holes up near the roof of the coop.
