when to close up the coop

[stifflej]

I have a couple screened windows in my coop that I keep open to keep fresh air in. At what point (night time temp) should I start closing the windows to keep the heat in for them. The last few nights it has been getting down into the 50's, is that to cold for them?

Thanks.

 

[lurky]

I have similar night temps, but i keep the windows open. I guess it depends on the coop. Ours is insulated and i think it is quite toasty in there. I think they like the cold this time of year. We have a thermometer in the coop to keep an eye on the temps in winter, but i think you will be fine for a few months. Also depends on the age of the chickens.

 

[Heather J]

If your chickens are adults, i wouldn't close the window until it gets nearly to freezing at night. We didn't have a real window on our coop last year, just chicken wire over the hole and i put a plastic bag over that during the winter to cut down on heat loss and my birds were fine all winter. It never got below 10 degrees, and I'm definitely going to do something different this year, but they'll happily tolerate much colder temps than you and I would.

 

[Jenski]

My heavy-breed girls sleep best when the weather is mid-40s to mid-60s. (I can tell by the lack of droppings how deep they are sleeping; if they are fidgety at night, things will be mussed, and there are a lot of droppings). I imagine that if you are wearing a lovely feather coat, it's much nicer to have it a bit cool outside.

My screen door will be on the front of the coop until we get below 50. Then we'll go back to solid door, with ceiling vent remaining fully open until we get near freezing.


Jen in TN
~:<>

 

[Daycare Mom]

(I can tell by the lack of droppings how deep they are sleeping; if they are fidgety at night, things will be mussed, and there are a lot of droppings).

I never knew that, but it makes sense, the last few nights have been cooler and less droppings in the morning. Thanks for the info.​

 

[patandchickens]

Partly it depends where the window is. If it's somewhere that'll pour a cold breeze right at the chickens when they're roosting, I'd close it down sooner than if it's, say, at the opposite end of the coop. (Remember you need open ventilation pretty much ALL THE TIME, even in winter, just not necessarily as much as summer -- if you have no vents other than the windows, don't close them all the way except in brief circumstances)

Try getting a cheap max-min thermometer to put in the coop near the roost (like, at roost height). It may well not get NEARLY as cool in there as it does outdoors. As long as the coop air is dry rather than damp (which is largely a matter of having sufficient ventilation), they are completely fine down to freezing, at LEAST (generally colder too).

Good luck and have fun,

Pat