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

[rirluvr]

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OMG, that is a sexy coop. I'll have what you're having. Wish my girls were that lucky.

 

[DawnSuiter]

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I would wrap the whole thing in 4mil or 6 mil plastic & attach w/staples (always use a small piece of duct tape where your going to put in a staple on the plastic) if it were me, assuming the eves/roof is vented. If there isn't ventilation in the eves or roof, then I would stop the plastic a foot or so from the roofline so air will still blow through up there over their heads.

 

[DaKid]

This ventilation topic always confuses me...

hello ya'll

I too live in Mass. and my coop only has one large 4 ft. window facing south-east side that I can (open /or close) up as needed , the main double doors which face to the west both have a cut out windows w/ wire screen on the top half of the doors which I can also open up. My out side chicken doors which leads to there run 12" X 12" sq. are open all year long the only thing I have is some canvas cloth strips hanging in there door opening to help with the draft in the winter .

I do leave the 4' window close during the cold winter months but I do leave one main door window open a crack all year long so I get a cross ventilations of air which flows out the chicken run door during the night cuz the chickens are roosting up high off the floor which is where the heat is close to the roof of the ceiling of the chicken coop, my coop and chickens have been in there for 3 years now and two very cold winters here in New England and have not lost any chickens in this time due to cold or drafts .

Now as for heating I use a set of 10 ct. work string lights which I have 40 watt bulbs in each light and during the cold ,cold days (like 25 *F ) or colder , I run or leave on all 10 lights during the day ( which comes on at 6 am and shut off at 9 pm ) this heats up the coop just enough but these crazy chickens are outside in there run where it is snowing or /and freezing out .


Now as for my Turkeys , well they have been outside all year long ,for 2 years now and not 1 has use a shed or coop at night during the winter time . They all sleep out side with only a piece of plywood over there roosting perch so there can get out from the heavy rains or snow ,

These Birds are NUTS .


Alan​

 

[Beekissed]

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.

Besides the warm houses for the dogs, this describes my house!

And my coop was built back in the 50s, so it's got some pretty large cracks in the walls and floors. No heat, big windows, open pop door at all times.....no bad smells, chickens do just fine.....and so do the dogs and cats, I might add! No vet bills here....

 

[Misty Oak Ranch]

Our coop is made in two parts. One is about 2' off the ground, made from an old prch. It has solid sides all the way around, with a A roof. The front opens into the walkin part, with the top open at the moment. The sides are made from barn boards, and on the inside we are putting up some paneling that was given to us. The paneling on the inside helps with the draft. They roost in the smaller part, and their nest boxes are in the new part. Don't know if they will lay over winter or not, I've got a light hooked up but I don't know if my constant construction is disrupting them. They haven't laid in a couple months I hope to get them back on schedule as soon as I finihs this new part.

 

[bills]

I have a large outer run that is open for them to spend the day, as well as a a smaller roofed open run for the inclement weather. At night, I always felt better if they had some warmth, and security as well, so other than soffit vents, and a opening window its closed in. They have survived two winters happily so far.

As you can see, even the smaller open outer run, can become closed in. That is the slant roof area in this picture.

They do brave the snow for short periods, but are not big fans of it.

 

[M To The Maxx]

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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.

I agree with Speckledhen. Also you should move to Florida Speckledhen!

 

[LynneP]

bills- your birds look like mine! Very similar conditions and set-up, too. Without a roofed run the snow would build up and the girls would not be out daily. PLus I wouldn't have any because of the predation here...

 

[darkmatter]

For over 15 years now, my coop has been working just fine with vents under the eaves and windows opened in the spring. (see my BYC page). I'm old-school and built my coop after reading up all I could find at the time in B. C. ( Before Computers ). The Organic Gardening books by Rodale were the best inspiration having visited other chicken coops that were closed up, concrete floor, smelly pits of sickly chickens.

 

[nursemeh]

Reading this discussion reminds me of the saying, "there is more than one way to skin a cat."

walkerkm, your coop is pretty! and darkmatter, thanks for sharing about your years of experience. Your BYC page detailing how your chicken set up is set up so well to use resources, gardening right beside, wonderful shady well planted run, water collection etc. And thanks to whomeber started this discussion- its interesting for someone like me who plans to invest more into chickens in the coming years.

This kind of thread is why I love BYC!!

All the wonderful experiences and expertise that you all share!!

It inspires a newbie like me, with my wee flock of 4!

thanks!
Mary