Wanting help on how to winterise my coop

[Goober1201]

Hi, I live in PA, so the winters are normally COLD at the least and kinda hit and miss. I was wondering what I can to that is cheap to keep my girls safe till the warmer months. I do not have allot of money, but I'm not wanting my girls to die. Please let me know thanks.. all thoughts are welcome and pics would be great too. I do not have electric out there, I did have a heat lamp in therein the early spring when it was still chilly, buuut it burnt a hole right threw the wood to the ground, then we fixed it and then it was burning the wood chips. Please help me. I'm trying to be a good momma. I just don't know if I'm doing a very good job.

 

[featherz]

I'm in upstate NY. Except for a heated water bowl (which is not NEEDED), I do nothing. nada, zip. I have uninsulated coops and even at -26F have never lost a bird to cold. You do NOT need a heat lamp. I had leghorns and bantams and they all did fine, as did the big fatty chickens.

 

[1muttsfan]

I have insulation on my coop walls and ceiling, but more for summer heat - it gets into the 80's here in the summer. No heat except a heated waterer (not absolutely nescessary but much better for the birds and easier on you) and I leave a window cracked open all winter to ensure good ventilation, and it gets as low as -20 here at times. Never had either frostbite or sick birds.

 

[Goober1201]

wow, thanks! I was so scared. I was being told they were gonna for sure die of the cold in the winder if I don't insulate there coop.

 

[Goober1201]

Also, my girls are free range from the time I wake up till right before I go to bed. But I do have a pen that they go in and that's where there feed and water is. Its open when they are out. I was wondering if I can put down rock maybe? Its so muddy its a mud fest and it smells sooo bad and if its rock I can just spray it off. Let me know what yall think. Thanks

 

[ChickNhood]

My only recommendation would to be sure all your joinys are sealed to prevent drats...drafts are a chickens worst rnemy in the cold... I plan on wrappong ,ine with plastic(like used to cover windoes) caise my coop is built from 1x4 frim the bargain bin...i can clearly see daylight shine through so I imagine it would be drafty come winter

 

[featherz]

My only recommendation would to be sure all your joinys are sealed to prevent drats...drafts are a chickens worst rnemy in the cold... I plan on wrappong ,ine with plastic(like used to cover windoes) caise my coop is built from 1x4 frim the bargain bin...i can clearly see daylight shine through so I imagine it would be drafty come winter

Plastic holds in moisture and moisture will = frostbite and other problems. Make sure if you do that that you leave a LOT of vent areas. One of my coops is completely open to air at the very top all winter - not one case of frostbite.

 

[jillscoop]

The ratio of chickens per square foot comes into play here. 100 chickens in a 10x10x8 coop will be toasty from thier own fluffy body heat. Frizzles put of 2xs the body heat of regular chickens, that's why all the hens want to cuddle the Frizzle in cold weather. i digress, If you have a small coop 4x4x4 and 12 chickens, you're probably good to go too. As someone else said.. caulk all holes so there are no drafts on the chickens and put the venting in so that the chickens don't have a breeze on them (our winter venting is in the eaves). Also hay on the floor will generate heat.

 

[Kaitie09]

I wrap 3/4 of my run in plastic during the winter. The roof is covered, but I cover 2 of the most windy sides with plastic to prevent snow drifts and to keep out the wind. I do leave one whole 24ft wall open for air, but that side does not get air or snow shooting into it. The girls like the fact that they can go out there all winter, when before there would be 1ft of snow piled up in the run, and then it would just be mud.

 

[Daisy8s]

Think about the fact that the chickens wear a down coat all year long. They are far more susceptible to heat than they are to cold. There are coops, called Open Air coops, that have one entire side made only of hardware cloth and the chickens do fine even with snow blowing in.

It is hard for people to imagine it, because we have to put on/take off layers of clothing, but animals really do adapt to their conditions quite well. The only problem would be if you provided heat some of the time and then stopped--then their system would be confused.

Frostbite occurs when moisture is in the air so be sure you have plenty of ventilation above their heads to take out the warm, moisture-laden air. As the warm air rises it takes the moisture with it so be sure the ventilation occurs at the top of the coop. I have a 3-4 inch gap at the top of my walls all the way around my coop that is never closed, even in winter (I have far more ventilation in summer but I do close that up).

I did find that my chickens were scared to walk in snow...so, you might consider a covered run or area that will keep the snow off to encourage them to get out of the coop mid-winter.