To heat the coop or not to heat the coop? That is the question.

[bobbi-j]

Again, we live in different parts of the country. Your coop is large enough for your chickens to sleep in. Not large enough for them to spend any amount of waking time, though, except maybe laying eggs. My coops serve my chickens' needs. You are right that my large coop blocks the wind. That's really all they need - a dry place out of the wind. I do not provide supplemental heat for my chickens and have had no problems with frostbite in my flock, despite over a week of weather when the highs were still well below zero, and lows in the -20's.

 

[chixmix]

The main thing is to keep it dry inside, if that is done good, all is well.

 

[bruceha2000]

Yeah, what they said

I buy feed and scratch in 50# bags which pour quite nicely in 10 gallon galvanized trash cans with handles that "lock" the lid on. I got them at Aubuchon. The shavings come in plastic "bales" and I've not had a problem with rodents in them even after they are opened. Of course, the mice have plenty of other places to nest. Just don't forget to put the lid back on the feed cans. I did that twice and found cute mice, very scared once they saw me, in the cans. What I AM feeding is a lot of wild sparrows. They come in the barn, go in the auto chicken door and feast. Then they can't seem to figure out where that door is when I go in because they are going nuts instead of thinking. I use the deep litter method, rake it daily and change it once a year. Since it is below freezing most of the winter, odor isn't a problem. The OP can't do DL, not with the low roosts.

Re, the OP's coop:
First, the slots on the gable ends of the coop will only ventilate when the wind blows through them. Thus, if the wind is blowing perpendicular to those ends, no ventilation. That is why the current thinking on residential house design is soffit vents combined with ridge vents, not gable end vents. As the air heats, it rises and escapes out the top, pulling colder, dryer air in through the soffit vents. It uses convection, not blow through. Sadly the "you can fit xx chickens" (divide by 4) backyard coops are made more to be cute or attractive than bird healthy. You could probably build one twice the size with proper ventilation and roosts several feet up with 4x8 sheets of plywood for less.

Convert the shed into a coop and store the feed and shavings in the current coop

Unless the picture is from when they were chicks, they don't need the short, steep, "ladder", it is most likely in their way, certainly too steep to be comfortable for a grown chicken.

1) Chickens like to roost HIGH. There is a reason birds are said to be HIGH in the pecking order. If there isn't enough space on the top roost for everyone, the alpha chickens get to roost high forcing the others low.
2) Ventilation but no draft is key, heat is NOT. Look at JackE's coop. OPEN to the weather in the front (wire covered of course), good ventilation but no draft.
3) The birds will roost close together in the winter but they will spread out in the hot summer so the 1' of roost per bird isn't really enough. Think about sitting shoulder to shoulder with all your family members all night mid-July.
4) The roosts look like they are 2x on edge, thus 1 1/2". The birds would be more comfortable on 2x4s on the flat. Chickens aren't song birds. They CAN grip with their feet but they will stay warmer and be more comfortable if they can sit ON their feet.


I do not heat my coop - it is a 9x12 7.5' high stall with 3.5' plywood walls on 3 sides, "solid" wood on the back full height, inside a drafty OLD barn. Anything that isn't wood is totally encased, including the ceiling and floor, in 1/2" hardware cloth (saw an ermine up by the house fall of 2012). I have super clear plastic (in the winter) on the sides above the plywood and the wood and wire door but the front and top (underside of the floor above) are open. Their "run" is the rest of the lower barn and outside if they want to go there. They don't usually go out unless it is above about 20F and or sunny. They were all out on the ice last week when it got to 32F. My Anconas had a little graying on their combs last winter and it was -20F several times. But they, especially Yue, have RIDICULOUSLY large combs. Your cock, by comparison, is a wuss

. They moulted this fall, their combs shrank to nothing and have come back big as ever, no damage. So, just get the moisture out of the coop and your birds will be fine. If you want them to go out in the winter, you might want to check the threads on wind break tarps. Feathers don't insulate as well when they are blown back. I had 12 "tom turkeys displaying" one day last year when a heavy wind was at the chickens' backs when they headed for the barn. They all looked pretty funny.

The birds do NOT want heat. How do I know? Two of the saddle nipples in their "in coop" water pipe (built into and insulated by the nest box) decided to drain through the day before Thanksgiving. Not having time to take it apart and replace the nipples, I made a 2 nipple, heated circulated water pipe outside the coop. They don't freeze until about 20F or a little lower. I've been using the regular plastic waterer and 250W red heat lamp (from their brooder days) almost sitting on it in the next stall over from the coop stall if it is colder. It is a triangle "sort of" enclosed on the top and sides by the stall walls and door and a piece of plywood over the top. It keeps the water in the container and about 1/3rd of the "ring" from freezing. It is -9F today and how many chickens are hanging around that area?

ZEE ROW. Not one. They fluff, stand on one leg or "nest" in the shavings on the alley floor. They go in the coop to eat or lay. If they wanted heat, they would be hanging around the waterer and heat lamp.

Bruce