Too cold?

[AChickenNamedBlue]

Baled pine shavings from a farm store?
Those are usually kiln dried.


Probably. Pics of your coop, inside and out, would help here.

Also....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 4033546

I’ll also take some pictures in the morning. It’s pretty similar to this- it’s I think 5feet by 6 feet and maybe 7 feet tall, I can walk in no problem.

 

[aart]

The shaved pine is in a big old clear bag.

Where did you get them?

I’ll also take some pictures in the morning. It’s pretty similar to this- it’s I think 5feet by 6 feet and maybe 7 feet tall, I can walk in no problem.

Yeah, not nearly enough ventilation.

 

[AChickenNamedBlue]

Where did you get them?

Yeah, not nearly enough ventilation.

I believe a local feed place. It’s a brand, it wasn’t bagged there. I think we already tossed the bags.

Should they be ok tonight though? How would we add ventilation? Are there vents we can purchase? This is all new. Our other coop has ventilation on two sides as well, but it’s a much smaller coop.

 

[AChickenNamedBlue]

I believe a local feed place. It’s a brand, it wasn’t bagged there. I think we already tossed the bags.

Should they be ok tonight though? How would we add ventilation? Are there vents we can purchase? This is all new. Our other coop has ventilation on two sides as well, but it’s a much smaller coop.

There’s another vent on the backside too at the top.

 

[FrostRanger]

You want a bare minimum of 1sqft of ventilation per bird, 2-3 in especially hot climates, it's more important for a coop to be well ventilated than insulated as that condensation is what causes frostbite

 

[Montymoo]

There’s another vent on the backside too at the top.

Hello-

We have a few new additions to our flock- some Partridge Rock and Bard Rocks. Some are young-a couple months old. They are in our old, smaller coop until our original girls have acclimated to them. They are still in the same run, but different coops and separate for the time being.. anyways- our original girls are in our old shed, it’s thick plastic, no drafts or anything like that. 3 bags of pine shavings on the ground so it’s cushy in there. The old run is smaller, wood and currently covered with a tarp during the night because it’s cold here. There are some tiny gaps because of the frame(metal), which is why the tarp is involved, but the door shuts all the way : it’s supposed to get to possibly -8F tonight. No wind. My question is- should we put all the girls together in the larger coop to stay warm, or still keep them separate as they will still huddle together, or should we bring them inside? They did just fine last night, it said it was about -8 this morning at one point. They all were fine when I let them out of their coops this morning and were doing their thing today!

Thanks!

We have a shed similar to yours. We put 4 round vents in the walls and added a solar exhaust fan that has a battery backup so it runs all the time. My girls roost over a poop tray and I hang a flat radiant heater behind them. Right now it’s 15 outside and 26 in the coop. The humidity is 54 outside and 42 in the coop. We don’t get frost inside.

 

[AChickenNamedBlue]

You want a bare minimum of 1sqft of ventilation per bird, 2-3 in especially hot climates, it's more important for a coop to be well ventilated than insulated as that condensation is what causes frostbite

Thank you so much!! This is our first winter with our girls so it’s new to us and there’s a lot of different information out there. I will look into some other vents we can add

We have a shed similar to yours. We put 4 round vents in the walls and added a solar exhaust fan that has a battery backup so it runs all the time. My girls roost over a poop tray and I hang a flat radiant heater behind them. Right now it’s 15 outside and 26 in the coop. The humidity is 54 outside and 42 in the coop. We don’t get frost inside.

thank you!!! This is super helpful!

 

[AChickenNamedBlue]

Thank you so much!! This is our first winter with our girls so it’s new to us and there’s a lot of different information out there. I will look into some other vents we can add

thank you!!! This is super helpful!

Thank you so much!! This is our first winter with our girls so it’s new to us and there’s a lot of different information out there. I will look into some other vents we can add

thank you!!! This is super helpful

You want a bare minimum of 1sqft of ventilation per bird, 2-3 in especially hot climates, it's more important for a coop to be well ventilated than insulated as that condensation is what causes frostbite

Do you think they should be ok tonight?

 

[AChickenNamedBlue]

We have a shed similar to yours. We put 4 round vents in the walls and added a solar exhaust fan that has a battery backup so it runs all the time. My girls roost over a poop tray and I hang a flat radiant heater behind them. Right now it’s 15 outside and 26 in the coop. The humidity is 54 outside and 42 in the coop. We don’t get frost inside.

The girls in the shed had some

We have a shed similar to yours. We put 4 round vents in the walls and added a solar exhaust fan that has a battery backup so it runs all the time. My girls roost over a poop tray and I hang a flat radiant heater behind them. Right now it’s 15 outside and 26 in the coop. The humidity is 54 outside and 42 in the coop. We don’t get frost inside.

So we had frost again in the coop and the girls had some On their feathers. And two girls I think have a touch of frostbite and I feel awful. We are getting vents at Home Depot today to add to the coop. We were so concerned about insulation, we weren’t even really thinking about ventilation and air flow until you helpful chicken lovers that I appreciate so much!! Should we put the vents all up top or any down below in a corner for upflow? I am going to look into an exhaust fan too. We are out of the negative tmps
And it’s getting warmer every day into next week here in MA. Should we bring them in tonight? Should I keep on of the doors cracked for more air? We anre anlso getting an auto door. Anything for the frostbite? I read coconut oil or Vaseline to keep their combs protected? Their feet all look fine. The little girls in the old coop were fine this morning, dry and a tiny bit of frost. It was -8 at the coldest between last night and early this morning. We just want happy healthy girls!

 

[aart]

Should we put the vents all up top or any down below in a corner for upflow?

I'd put them up top...and not expect any serious difference.

Should we bring them in tonight?

I would not.
Re-acclimating them would be a PITB.

Anything for the frostbite? I read coconut oil or Vaseline to keep their combs protected?

NO!
Leave them alone. That's pretty mild FB shown.