Three Sided Coop Questions, Why the four sided coop?

[jeria]

Dome coop, cool. Mine will have 4 walls due to the weather in our area.

 

[MossyOaks]

I understand Oregon weather, was born and raised there. We lived about 45 mins from Springfield or 30 mins North of Roseburg. Unless you get some crazy weather I would think you would be fine.

I have since moved to Nebraska and we have extreme seasons. Very cold winters and very hot summers. We bought a coop Kit.. and added another 6 to 8 feet of a run to it. And the other day I went out and extended the width by another 3 feet or so. I let my lady's out during the day, leaving the door open. They are free to go anywhere and of course they always seem to find me and will bed down nearby. Or they will get into my raised garden. So far they destroyed all my Pepper plants. And have left most of my tomatoe plants alone.

We have an hold chicken coop that needs a lot of work. In order to keep predotors out and the chickens warm this winter we are going to revamp the old chicken barn. Our Blue Heeler is our biggest concern at the moment. And she has found her way into the coop we have now. While she has not hurt any of the hens, I don't want to take that chance.

I'm rambling so I will end this, but basically you want somthing for the hens that can be between 68 to 75 degrees in the winter. I also found a post on this site before I became a member about hanging cabbage inside there roost in the winter to give them something to do. And it's also good for them. But I'm very nervous about winter, since this will be my first with my tiny flock. Good luck and Go Ducks!

 

[SouthernBiddie]

I have similar weather to you and have with a four sided coop and a three sided coop both connected to the same secure run. They have the option to choose which one they roost in. They NEVER choose the four sided one. Lol. Last winter we had a couple of nights of blowing sleet and rain. I think 3 of the hens choose to roost inside the 4 sided coop those nights. The rest didnt.
We have foxes, raccoons, opossums, hawks, owls, snakes, and supposedly coyotes (though I've never seen one). But we also have plenty of other wild prey like rabbits and squirrels that are much easier for them to eat than trying to get into my coops/run.
I'm comfortable with my set up. I know I'll probable lose some birds at some point, have come pretty close a few times free ranging during the day with the foxes and hawks, but having them where they can stay cooler and more comfortable at night in our hot summers is worth it to me.

 

[paintedChix]

I'm rambling so I will end this, but basically you want somthing for the hens that can be between 68 to 75 degrees in the winter. I also found a post on this site before I became a member about hanging cabbage inside there roost in the winter to give them something to do. And it's also good for them. But I'm very nervous about winter, since this will be my first with my tiny flock. Good luck and Go Ducks!

Please be careful keeping it so warm in the coop over winter. Chickens, even the less cold hardy ones, do develop more feathers and fluff to protect themselves from the cold. They do better overall in the cold than in the heat (I have hot, humid weather here during the summer and cold, sometimes into the negatives, during the winter - though only for short duration). Heating a coop to that warmth (68-75) during the winter can be dangerous as well as expensive, though there are definitely ways to do so.

The main thing is to get your ventilation where it will move the air up and out - especially during the colder temps in the winter. It's coops that aren't ventilated, where stagnant air gets too humid (from the birds' breathing and their waste), that you have the most danger of having frostbite on toes, wattles & combs. Their breath condenses directly on their own beaks and combs - causing the frostbite to occur if there isn't enough ventilation. I've dealt with frost bite when it wasn't all that cold (above freezing temps) - but my coop was too enclosed w/o good airflow - birds were miserable and the ones that were the most miserable started not wanting to coop up at night. Then they healed and fared better, even during two ice storms where they huddled against a trees w/ many branches protecting them, while I was still dealing with frostbite in the coop.

And to help to draw the birds out of the coop during the worst weather you can keep bagged materials around - leaves, grass clippings, hay, straw etc - and put that down over wet areas or snow. They will soon venture out to see what's doing on - some even during the windiest snow storms.

You can do the more open coops like the woods coop or some type of wire pen/hoop built into a hoop with quite a bit of ventilation. DLM and Deep litter will both help to keep down drafts and to add heat (via breaking compost down). And what may seem drafty to you, might not be to the chickens. You need to check it during times of bad weather at the same level the birds are...