Who says tight, warm, no draft coop?? Nonsense!!

[backyarder717]

Who says coops need to be tight, warm, closed in structures??

Read this book!! It is all about open, and I mean OPEN front chicken coops year 'round!(w/ hardware cloth of course) and in the north, new england, and canada!

He says the more fresh air the better. Watch your egg production go up!

Healther and hardier flock!

Hatching through late fall!

Quite the read and with pictures!

A must read!

If you are heating your coop, your nuts!....lol


Written by Prince T. Woods M.D. and fowl researcher

Has anyone else read it???





.

 

[teach1rusl]

"Fresh Air or Bust! To stay healthy, your chickens need plenty of ventilation--probably more than they're getting today. This was discovered over 100 years ago, but has been largely forgotten. Today's small-flock housing tends to be dank, dark, and smelly. Chickens, like miners' canaries, are easily harmed by poor air quality. Wet litter breeds disease. Darkness forces chickens, like parrots, to be artificially inactive. "Dank, dark, and smelly" is a deadly combination!" That was a quote from the book I found from a website.


Considering he wrote that book back in 1924, he was ahead of his time regarding ventilation... As for the rest of it (which I haven't read), I'm going to assume it goes along with how most people dealt with animals back then. Dogs were primarily outdoors, and were lucky if they had a porch to crawl under or a barn they could sleep in. Cats' only jobs were to keep the mice/rats at bay. I doubt vaccinations were given to either??? I also read something about the author having an open air porch he (or family members) would occasionally sleep on in the winter time...sounds a little...extreme to me...lol.

 

[chickeydee]

I would love to read it ,but can not afford it right now . I have built the open air coop and it is great . It is a 5x8 and open in the front and 3 circles in the back and vented in the back and front .and both sides . I took the ideal from one on the BYC and change it up .It is the old style hen house tractor . My hens free range on 10 acres and it is all open . I have plans to build a large one when I get more chicks . I have 25 hens and 2 silkies pair .2 game birds pair . I think even though it was 1924 it was a time of not fancy houses and cars but more of a simple life and farming was taken care of the animals .They did not have fancy dogs and the things we have now .Their dogs were farm dogs . We have come along way ,but sometimes the simple life looks a hell of a lot better . This is only my opinion .

 

[Tala]

I'd be interested to read it, but not enough to buy it. I have an open air coop (it has a roof and one solid wall)

 

[speckledhen]

Who says coops need to be tight, warm, closed in structures??

Not me, but unless you want to lose them all to predators, they need to be secure. I advocate good ventilation year round, but I also have mostly single combed birds who would be frostbitten if left out in an open air coop in winter weather. Now, if I could make it predator proof, maybe in Florida I would do that, but I don't like below the "gnat line" so I will have four sided coops here.​

 

[poultrypatch]

Chickeydee....you are SOOOOO right !!! A more simple life ! That's why I wanted chickens again. I kept thinking back to "long, long ago" when I was young and everything was soooo much more simple and fun. Yes, we have so much now adays and life can be very easy with all the modern conveniences....but I want to be able to be like "back then". I just always remember chickens as being very calming to me. My boys were kids ....now 37 and 41 y.o.young men, and life was simple and to me just so much more relaxing. I feel my chickens have given that back to me. This past summer I sat out doors for hours just watching the RIR girls watching me. LOL Who says you can't go back ??? With chicks you can...or come very close. Sorry I got off track here...but don't think my girls would like to have that much fresh air. They have 16 ft of ventilation under the eves that if it gets too cold we can close up or open if need be.
Liz
Rochester, MA

 

[redhen]

Ventilation is different than drafts. Drafts are NOT good for ANY birds...chickens included. Ventilation, on the other hand IS good for them and a MUST.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:

My coops are 3 sided for the most part- but when it get down into the teens, I add some heat. The chickens I raise are not the same chickens my grandparents raised- nor are the dogs, cats, horses, goats, children, etc. Man and woman must adapt to change, not wallow in and yearn for the past. It's accepting reality and adjusting to it as needed. And predator protection is far different now- I don't just write off a few dozen as "expected losses". I'd rather keep them as productive chickens.

My 3 sided coops are now usable because they and the attached runs are enough to put Fort Knox to shame, and after losing 13 birds in July, I STILL do pistol patrol at night. I have one big dog nearby, and his hearing is acute and accurate. Every hour or two we wander out for a look, and make a bit of noise- keeps the uglies away.

Though 3 sided, all the coops can be closed in in 15 minutes or less- I keep the screw gun charged and the plywood handy, in case of inclement weather.

Backyarder, I am not trying to denigrate your opinion- but one book is not enough to base an opinion on. Have you read more, researched more? What of your own experiences?

 

[WriterofWords]

Someone want to explain this to my tree chickens who are roosting high up in the tree while they get snowed on right now?

 

[Terri]

my grandpa coops had some many gaps in them you could practically see through them, but they didn't smell