Warm weather vs. Cold weather coop

[NoseyChickens]

We live in the high desert in Ca. Roasting hot in the summer, but can get pretty cold in the winter, it sometimes even snows. We also get horrible winds here, sometimes with gusts over 60mph. Our chickens are living in an old shed right now, but we will be building them a new home soon.

I need some advice. Do we go with a warm weather coop, or something that we can completely close up during the winter months?

 

[TXmom]

You could build a "convertible" coop...maybe in the summer time you can replace 1 wall with hardware cloth so it has more ventilation. In the winter, put the wall back on and close windows. Just remember, you still need ventilation and fresh air in the winter.

 

[digitS']

Insulation insulates against cold and heat. I think it is best to have walls, ceiling and floor insulated.

I have a large window in the coop which is now covered with a screen. During the winter, it has a fully insulated shutter. The window is in the north wall. The remainder of the building shields the interior from the hot sunlight.

Steve

 

[patandchickens]

If your "pretty cold" is just "sometimes even snows" then I am guessing you don't get below 20 F or maybe occasionally the teens? (above zero, not minus)?

If so, I would not particularly worry about winter as long as you have part of the coop that you can close up in a well ventilated but draft-free kind of way. A coupla pieces of plywood that bolt into place around the roost area would do it, with adjustable vents in them.

Heat is really a lot more of a threat to chickens than modest amounts of cold, so focusing on free air movement everywhere and as large an area of shade as you can possibly manage is probably your best bet. You can use pallets, whole or reassembled, to make a permeable windbreak on the upwind side (make sure that at least 40-50% of it is holes for the wind to go through, and also make sure it is very well braced and anchored so that it does not 'leave')

Good luck, have fun,

Pat