Unheated Coops

[dreamer5577]

When it starts to get really cold here, I drape and mount tarps around/on our coop. They really don't have any problems. And I'm sure they'd be fine without my tarps, but I worry of course.

 

[HEChicken]

Well hi there - I've seen you on the Consolidate Ks thread, since that's where I am too. I don't heat my coop and boy, this winter so far I certainly haven't needed to. Last year I think we had a day that it got down to -9 at night and (or somewhere around there) and the birds did just fine. When its that cold, at night I bring their water bowl into the house so it stays at 60 (we don't heat the house that warm either!) and then take it back out to them in the morning. That keeps it unfrozen until around 10am. For the rest of the day, I take a warm mash and fresh water out to them about every 2-3 hours, between 10am and 5pm. By then they are getting ready to roost again for the night. I haven't had any issues with frost bite and while they don't necessarily look happy on those cold, cold days, I haven't lost one to the cold yet either. As long as I make sure they get hydration and nourishment, they seem to do okay.

 

[HEChicken]

I am guessing that you might need to close up the coop if it gets well below freezing. That probably doesn't happen too often in Kansas, right?

LOL. We actually get our fair share of sub-freezing temps in normal winters. (This isn't one of them - its been downright balmy throughout January). Scary warm, in fact. But usually in January/February it is rare to have a night that stays above freezing, and during those months it is not at all unusual to have a week or more of days that never get above freezing either. So, yes, getting "well below freezing" is quite common in Kansas!

 

[mammat]

I agree with the other ...Chickens dont need heat. If it is going to be really cold I feed mine Layer pellet with warm water on it and a little cracked corn on top just prior to dark. It fills their crop with warm goodness to digest all night! They love it

 

[mom22alcorns]

I am in KCK and my hens just have an old uninsulated wooden playhouse with no door and one sliding window. I have ventilation holes at the top of the roof peak and pine shaving about 8 inches deep on the floor. They grew themselves a really nice and fluffy down feather coat and look like they are huge now...

But they are happy as clams and during the one brief COLD spell we had, no frostbite or anything. In fact they were out playing in the inch of snow that we managed to get...

I have plexiglass along one side of the run, bags of leaves along another side, and hay bales along yet another with a shed wall on the last. They have great wind blocking in place and plenty of water and feed. So far so good.

I think your girls will be just fine. Good luck!!

 

[shotah]

Glad to hear from you! The coop is about 50 yards from the house, but the problem with extension cords is that I'd have to run them over the driveway. So far, I've just been toting lots of water! The coop has windows on the south and openable panels on the north side. I covered some of the south side with plastic sheeting to break the wind, but left the upper windows open for ventilation. I was really worried when the first cold day hit, but even now, nobody has frostbite and most are still laying. I use a battery powered LED light for supplemental lighting.

 

[shotah]

I also forgot to mention that I have 3 waterers that I rotate when it's below freezing. When I take a new one out to the coop, I bring in the frozen one and let it thaw It can be a pain, but hey, if it's that cold I need to be out checking for eggs more often anyway, right?

 

[so lucky]

I have an open sided coop, too. The south side is hardware cloth. The roost is on the north side, up high. The wind doesn't blow back there, and they have been fine so far. No heater, no electricity. I empty their water bowl every evening, so it doesn't freeze.
I think they suffered more in the summer heat, even tho they could get under the house and be shaded, with cool dirt to lounge in.