SubArcticFowl
Songster
I finally got around to finishing my winter coop last weekend and moved my four chickens. The winter coop is under my deck and has two warm walls (house crawl space and biomass boiler room) and half a warm roof. The other walls are 2x6 construction with fibreglass insulation and vapour barrier (~R20 nominal). There is about 9 square feet of overhead ventilation. It has two PVC feeders, one heated water dish, one nest box, and a 2x4 roost bar. I've got an old toilet in there that I will fill up this weekend with sand and a little ash for dust baths. I've got one xylophone hanging and I plan to put in more toys and clutter over time. There is one light on a timer 13 hours a day and some LED Christmas lights on 24/7. Some natural light works its way through the vent and windows, but not much this time of year.
The first night I moved them it was -28C outside and about -3C inside their new home. It is only going to get colder from here. We typically get about 10 to 14 days a year of colder than -40 C, with windchills as bad as -58C. I don't think I will end needing to put additional heat in here. When I move the birds back outside in the spring I want them to be tough enough to handle the cold nights.
The floor is concrete with some exposed bedrock. I've covered it with about 3-4" of wood pellets. I will add more over time. I go down there about twice a day, scope up the obvious large turds and stir up the rest. After about 3 days it had this weird sweet-like smell when I bent over to scope, but not at head level. That smell had me concerned, but it seems to have disappeared now. I'm thinking it had something to do with the pellets reacting to the poop, but I'm not sure. The smell was only present went I bent over. Outside the door, through the vents, and inside at head level has no smell. The chickens are happy, healthy, and laying regularly.
I welcome any questions or feedback and will post some actual photos soon.
The first night I moved them it was -28C outside and about -3C inside their new home. It is only going to get colder from here. We typically get about 10 to 14 days a year of colder than -40 C, with windchills as bad as -58C. I don't think I will end needing to put additional heat in here. When I move the birds back outside in the spring I want them to be tough enough to handle the cold nights.
The floor is concrete with some exposed bedrock. I've covered it with about 3-4" of wood pellets. I will add more over time. I go down there about twice a day, scope up the obvious large turds and stir up the rest. After about 3 days it had this weird sweet-like smell when I bent over to scope, but not at head level. That smell had me concerned, but it seems to have disappeared now. I'm thinking it had something to do with the pellets reacting to the poop, but I'm not sure. The smell was only present went I bent over. Outside the door, through the vents, and inside at head level has no smell. The chickens are happy, healthy, and laying regularly.
I welcome any questions or feedback and will post some actual photos soon.