Washingtonians

[JennS]

I start hatching eggs in sept/oct and finish hatching in march (Easter)
I do this specifically to have laying birds at the start of spring the rest hatched after Jan are for the people who buy chicks in the spring.....
Depending on the breed, sept-nov hatch dates start laying at start of spring.
If they are kept in a wind proof coop with a warm/heated spot they can go out as soon as 3/4 weeks. The have to be feathered under the wing to go out without heat. If fully feathered but not feathered under the wings I turn on a light at night that they can get warm by.
I do not have a insulated coop nor do I use lights. I do have enough eggs laid in the winter for my family but not enough to sell. Plus I tend to hatch almost all my good eggs in the fall winter spring so I have chicks to sell.

Thank you! One more question - by "wind proof", does that mean all the ventilation is covered? Or do you still have vents at the top? Should I install vent holes under the eaves, or only ventilation that can be closed on freezing nights? Sorry if I'm being dense on this one. I want to get it right.

Jennifer

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
Good ventilations mean a lot of air flow that doesn't blow a draft across your roosts. You want the air to be able to escape the coop at a high exchange rate, but you also don't want the birds sitting in a draft. Vents under eaves is a great idea, as are seasonal vents that can be opened and closed with the weather. If it's super hot you could easily leave all the coop vents open all the time, but once the weather begins to change you can close the ones closest to the birds and work your way to closing them all if needed; I imagine closing up a coop entirely (except eave vents) only needs done in extreme climates, which we don't have.

 

[RainyDayChicken]

Thank you! One more question - by "wind proof", does that mean all the ventilation is covered? Or do you still have vents at the top? Should I install vent holes under the eaves, or only ventilation that can be closed on freezing nights? Sorry if I'm being dense on this one. I want to get it right.

Jennifer

Your girls will love you for all the attention to their home.

 

[JennS]

Good ventilations mean a lot of air flow that doesn't blow a draft across your roosts. You want the air to be able to escape the coop at a high exchange rate, but you also don't want the birds sitting in a draft. Vents under eaves is a great idea, as are seasonal vents that can be opened and closed with the weather. If it's super hot you could easily leave all the coop vents open all the time, but once the weather begins to change you can close the ones closest to the birds and work your way to closing them all if needed; I imagine closing up a coop entirely (except eave vents) only needs done in extreme climates, which we don't have.

Yeah, this is what I've been thinking. Put in screened windows that can be closed in the winter, seasonal vents higher up the wall with sliding doors, and then screened holes under the eaves. Thanks for the clarification!

Your girls will love you for all the attention to their home.

Thank you for the wonderful complement! I want to get this right the first time, and looking at all the coop builds on this site gets confusing, since everybody has a different climate.

Jennifer

 

[FirewifeJess]

I'm just dying to get outside tomorrow and check who is laying; both my Easter Eggers were checking out the nest boxes today!!

 

[mikeyb]

7 for 7 for my RIRs, now just waiting on the 2 Eng. Orps
Hot today and not much better tomorrow.

 

[Imp]

Wow, a bunch of pages.

Just a few comments

Insulation- My coop is a Rubbermaid shed, not insulated, but it corrugated, so it is slightly insulated. Here in western Washington it is not really necessary, but could be very helpful depending on your individual situation. Mine is in a very sheltered area with the option of heat in the winter if I wish. I just tripled the size of the run, so there is more outside area in the summer heat. I am considering increasing ventilation. The loss of so many trees in my neighborhood and the return of summer (after 3 years) has me feeling that the coop is a little too warm for my liking.

FWJ- You probably don't need additional light this winter. Often pullets will lay through their first winter. It does depend on breed and individual set up. So it can decrease or stop.
That being said I've always had supplemental light without any problems.

Edited to add
Oh, and the water thing. My chickens do not drink much water either. But they seem to really like fresh cold water in the summer. If I refill the bucket in the run, they immediately head there for a fill up.


Russ

 

[FirewifeJess]

7 for 7 for my RIRs, now just waiting on the 2 Eng. Orps
Hot today and not much better tomorrow.

 

[Rainwolf]

I start hatching eggs in sept/oct and finish hatching in march (Easter)
I do this specifically to have laying birds at the start of spring the rest hatched after Jan are for the people who buy chicks in the spring.....
Depending on the breed, sept-nov hatch dates start laying at start of spring.
If they are kept in a wind proof coop with a warm/heated spot they can go out as soon as 3/4 weeks. The have to be feathered under the wing to go out without heat. If fully feathered but not feathered under the wings I turn on a light at night that they can get warm by.
I do not have a insulated coop nor do I use lights. I do have enough eggs laid in the winter for my family but not enough to sell. Plus I tend to hatch almost all my good eggs in the fall winter spring so I have chicks to sell.

Thank you! One more question - by "wind proof", does that mean all the ventilation is covered? Or do you still have vents at the top? Should I install vent holes under the eaves, or only ventilation that can be closed on freezing nights? Sorry if I'm being dense on this one. I want to get it right.
Jennifer

Good ventilations mean a lot of air flow that doesn't blow a draft across your roosts. You want the air to be able to escape the coop at a high exchange rate, but you also don't want the birds sitting in a draft. Vents under eaves is a great idea, as are seasonal vents that can be opened and closed with the weather. If it's super hot you could easily leave all the coop vents open all the time, but once the weather begins to change you can close the ones closest to the birds and work your way to closing them all if needed; I imagine closing up a coop entirely (except eave vents) only needs done in extreme climates, which we don't have.

What I mean is no direct flow of air on the birds... no drafts, no moving air.
You just have to have a place for them to sleep that has no moving air and allows them to stay warm. Now my adult birds can sleep outside in the rain/snow/wind with out much of a issue. They tend to find the spot that has less rain/snow/wind then bed down.... (I have some stupids that sleep in the apple tree rather then the coop)

Ventilation is needed or you can have issues with mold/mildew/moisture/etc
But like Jess said, make vents that can be opened or closed and when down to the last vents there should never be a draft in the coop. Eve vents work great just make sure the roost are not at eve height... either higher or lower then the cross air at the eve......

You can also do floor vents with a adjustable vent in the eve or roof. that will allow air flow at the bottom if you have high roost. but you will need air to "flow" to clear the coop air and moisture.

 

[Chubby Chicken]

Who here on the wet side uses supplemental lighting in the fall/winter? I'm STILL on the fence about what I want to do and need to make a decision in the next couple weeks before we lose enough daylight that my POL birds skip laying until spring! ugh...decisions decisions.

I figure they work hard for me for three seasons, and they deserve a break. I am going to listen to an archived Chicken Whisperer show about circadian rhythm, I'll let you know what I find out, and if I put a light in my coops! I always think about equatorial chickens, that lay all year. Maybe we could test out old wives tales, like cayenne pepper.

Edited because I forgot to add that I am adding winter layers to my flock. I heard Faverolles lay some in the winter, so I got 5, because I couldn't get a hold of Chanteclers.