The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[vpatt]

My breeding pens have Pine pelleted horse bedding in them. They are never wet. But I'm a freak about fresh air and sunshine with all my livestock and never closing them up. Even in the coolest winter with deep snow my ewes lamb outside. They have barn access on the worst nights but it's totally open. Buildings (coops, sheds, run ins, barns), especially closed up buildings, harbor bacteria and increase humidity and decrease air circulation. They also create more work for the human. I have no desire to clean up manure. I have cattle, sheep, poultry and rabbits. My animals aren't even allowed on the part of the property where the barn is except for those 2-3 months of winter. And the main reason they are all close to the barn is not to provide shelter, it's for convenience for me for watering and more importantly to get all livestock off of the forage when foot damage will do more harm than good.

I remember way back when I had horses that even tho they had access to shelter they usually only went inside when I fed them inside. I haven't been thru cold weather yet with the chickens but now that it is cooler they don't show any signs of being bothered by it. But I think the plastic will be great for the really cold months. I am not sure if my vents are in the best place to not put the birds in drafts. I will probably try changing the location of some of the roosts so they can be further from the vents. The window is half the size of the front of the coop so it will need to be covered at times.

 

[sunflower4you]

My coop vents are at the top. There is a 3-6" perimeter between the roof and the walls of the coop that is open (covered with hardware cloth). This should prevent drafts since the roost is a good 2-3 feet below the vents, but hopefully all of the heat doesn't just escape out of the vents.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I could use more vents. I'd trade my left pinkie finger for a sawsall.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I really like the fresh air principle of chicken houses. In short, all the open areas are ON ONE SIDE of the coop for the winter. Most of them have a whole open front on the south side but the idea is that the only open area is on a single side of the house with the roosts at the far end away from the open side. Everything else is closed for the winter except the single side.

This alleviates wind blowing through (drafts) and provides a "cushion" of fresh air at the open side. (During the summer everything else can open up.)

So whenever I consider venting, I try to emulate that system as best as I can.

This little book is worth reading before deciding how to vent for winter:

http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Air-Poultry-Houses-Open-Front-Healthier/dp/097217706X

@JackE made a fresh air, monitor style. You can read about it here. Nicely done. But not all are monitor style and you can adapt it to some housing you may already have by using the 'PRINCIPLES".

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter

 

[Lacy Blues]

I could use more vents. I'd trade my left pinkie finger for a sawsall.

You can make plunge cuts with a skill saw if you have one on hand. The hardest part about it is keeping the saw in a straight line. Then, if you don't have a sawsall, you would have to cut the corners out by hand, unless you overcut which works out ok if you put hardware cloth over the opening and then frame it with 1x2s or whatever you choose to use.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I don't have one of those open sided coops but I was thinking about changing my pop door covers to an option that has hardware cloth over the pop doors for the night, maybe just on one side of the coop.

I am rebuilding my barn roof and adding a ridge vent along the entire ridge. I will be closing off the eave areas as I understand it keeps the air from flowing over the floor to go up and out the vent... so I need vents closer to the floor. I think the east side of the coop would be best for this as we rarely get wind from the east, though it does happen.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Sadly, I don't think my coop would lend itself to an open-side design. Mine is more of a wind-tunnel style. There's a big window on the opposite wall from the pop door. I've been thinking the window should probably stay closed for winter, but if I do that, I'll def. need more vents up in the attic.

The coop has an "attic" space that's divided from the main space, like a ceiling. There's a ladder hole to get up into it. All of my vents are in the attic, on opposite sides of the coop from each other, so the wind can blow through. I could cut a lot more vents, and the draft would stay over everyone's head, in the separated space. Does that make any sense? I feel like I need to draw a picture.

 

[Lacy Blues]

That seems pretty easy to understand. I'd like to hear the responses to that as well.

 

[hennible]

Makes sense but pictures are always helpful...

 

[Leahs Mom]

Sadly, I don't think my coop would lend itself to an open-side design. Mine is more of a wind-tunnel style. There's a big window on the opposite wall from the pop door. I've been thinking the window should probably stay closed for winter, but if I do that, I'll def. need more vents up in the attic.

The coop has an "attic" space that's divided from the main space, like a ceiling. There's a ladder hole to get up into it. All of my vents are in the attic, on opposite sides of the coop from each other, so the wind can blow through. I could cut a lot more vents, and the draft would stay over everyone's head, in the separated space. Does that make any sense? I feel like I need to draw a picture.

If it were me, and I had the option, I'd still try to put the vent openings on one side of the coop...the side that has their door.

You could always have more for the summer and devise a way to block them off for winter so there isn't the "wind blowing through" thing going on. In the summer that breeze is very much appreciated! In the winter, being sure there is enough to keep humidity from building up is the big thing. If you did that, you could experiment for winter by just leaving one side open and seeing if it does the job. If not, you could open up more of them and nothing is lost!