When to close up coop for cold weather

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Hey everyone this will be our first fall/winter with chickens.

The youngest are 15 weeks old and the oldest are roughly 21 weeks.

We have a very ventilated coop due to the extreme heat here in central Arkansas.

It’s been in the 50s for the lows this week but the highs are still around 75-85.

At what temp should I start closing up some of the ventilation?
I still plan to leave the low ventilation and the top ventilation open but the in between will need to be boarded up at some point I imagine.

What temp is too cold to have all the ventilation we have?? You can see my coop on my page via the “my coop” tab.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Hey everyone this will be our first fall/winter with chickens.

The youngest are 15 weeks old and the oldest are roughly 21 weeks.

We have a very ventilated coop due to the extreme heat here in central Arkansas.

It’s been in the 50s for the lows this week but the highs are still around 75-85.

At what temp should I start closing up some of the ventilation?
I still plan to leave the low ventilation and the top ventilation open but the in between will need to be boarded up at some point I imagine.

What temp is too cold to have all the ventilation we have?? You can see my coop on my page via the “my coop” tab.

This can depend, what breed of chickens do you have? Some are much better with colder weathers then others. They seem pretty young, so i would do it soon. Also, are you fahrenheit or celsius? If fahrenheit I personally think 50 isnt to bad, but i would start closing it up pretty soon, i cant tell you exactly, because it depends on a lot of reasons.

 

[kerbotx]

If you don't have one already, I'd suggest getting a hygrometer/thermometer to place inside the coop, preferably near the roosts, so you know the real temperature & humidity that your birds are living in. I love this one from Walmart: AcuRite Indoor Digital Thermometer Some coops run hot, some run cool. I'm in northeast Texas, and I start putting up pieces of wall board when the low night temps are consistently in the 50s, as long as the day highs are below 80.

 

[Chicken poppy]

If you don't have one already, I'd suggest getting a hygrometer/thermometer to place inside the coop, preferably near the roosts, so you know the real temperature & humidity that your birds are living in. I love this one from Walmart: AcuRite Indoor Digital Thermometer Some coops run hot, some run cool. I'm in northeast Texas, and I start putting up pieces of wall board when the low night temps are consistently in the 50s, as long as the day highs are below 80.

Oh yes, i have some insulation and a thermometer in our coop, and they seem to sleep well

 

[rosemarythyme]

Depends on where your roosts are in relation to ventilation, and how drafty the ventilation is (in relation to a typical winter storm in your area). At a glance it looks like you've got a number of openings right around the roost, so those may be good candidates for closing up in colder temperatures IF draft at the location is an issue.

As long as there's no drafts you'd be fine leaving everything open down to freezing. I have 2 windows right next to my roosts and only closed them last year because snow was blowing sideways into the coop and dusting the litter in powder.

 

[KyCoop]

For me, I will be closing off the north facing door and vent this week. I leave the other 3 side top vents open all winter.

 

[bobbi-j]

I put the windows back in the coop when it gets into the 30s if the wind isn’t blowing in on them. I still keep them opened at the top. The pop door gets closed when it gets below zero. I don’t know how cold your winters get, but chickens can tolerate cold much better than heat, if you let them acclimate naturally to the weather.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

This can depend, what breed of chickens do you have? Some are much better with colder weathers then others. They seem pretty young, so i would do it soon. Also, are you fahrenheit or celsius? If fahrenheit I personally think 50 isnt to bad, but i would start closing it up pretty soon, i cant tell you exactly, because it depends on a lot of reasons.

My older birds are California Tan, Golden Laced Wyandotte and Sapphire Gem.
My younger birds are Sapphire Gem, Starlight Green Eggers and EEs.
I’m in Fahrenheit. (Central Arkansas)
I’m unsure of the direction our wind blows I see a lot of people who know and I’m unsure how anyone really know

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

If you don't have one already, I'd suggest getting a hygrometer/thermometer to place inside the coop, preferably near the roosts, so you know the real temperature & humidity that your birds are living in. I love this one from Walmart: AcuRite Indoor Digital Thermometer Some coops run hot, some run cool. I'm in northeast Texas, and I start putting up pieces of wall board when the low night temps are consistently in the 50s, as long as the day highs are below 80.

I had one near the nest boxes when we first built it but now I think it’s under layers of bedding because it went missing a few weeks after they were in the coop and I never found it I definitely need to get a new one.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Depends on where your roosts are in relation to ventilation, and how drafty the ventilation is (in relation to a typical winter storm in your area). At a glance it looks like you've got a number of openings right around the roost, so those may be good candidates for closing up in colder temperatures IF draft at the location is an issue.

As long as there's no drafts you'd be fine leaving everything open down to freezing. I have 2 windows right next to my roosts and only closed them last year because snow was blowing sideways into the coop and dusting the litter in powder.

Really the ventilation is all around the roosts because they use the whole coop to roost.
I originally had a roost set up for them that I planned on closing that wall but now they decided to roost up in the rafters and on all 4 sides of the walls.
I planned to keep the arches open since they are the highest point in the whole coop I don’t want humidity building up there if I close them off but I am worried it might be drafty. It faces N-S -ish.