Winter Space Planning

[Feleena]

Hey gang! My new coop is going in the new barn. I can make a coop up to 96 sq. ft. I've got 12 straight run chickens coming so I have no idea how many will be girls and how many will be boys in the end. My concern is the winter...we live in Canada so winter can be cold. And the main barn door needs to be open for the donkeys to come a go as they please. So I don't want to the chicken coop to big so it can retain as much warmth as possible but not to small they don't like each either. Any thoughts?

 

[MeepBeep]

You don't want to 'hold in heat' you want to vent humidity and ammonia gasses... As long as they are a cold hearty breed, healthy, out of the wind and have plenty of ventilation they will be fine...

 

[Hokum Coco]

My concern is the winter...we live in Canada so winter can be cold.

I am subject to -40º weather l live in Canada also. I have been keeping chickens and birds for decades.

Your best practice I find is to not be too concerned about winterizing or heating your coop to help your birds combat the cold.

Predator proofing "ABSOLUTELY".

Your efforts should be spent in winterizing your birds and letting them acclimatize to their surroundings.
This is done by feeding them whole corn as an added supplement in a separate feeder.

The extra nourishment is more then adequate to bring them through the
"COLDEST" winter.

Do keep an eye open for birds that maybe not be adapting well to the new menu and may be at the lower end of the pecking order they can sometimes run into problems and may need extra TLC.

That being said in a perfect world the flock will flourish and do just fine .

I do not add any extra heat or lighting.
Egg production does slack off but I have more than enough eggs for the table all winter long (24 hens).

Some people may disagree with my method but it has worked well for me and I am not about to change.

I look at it in the same light as winterizing your car.

You really do

"NOT"


have to winterize your car if you can keep it in a controlled environment at all times otherwise you are in for

"MAJOR" problems.

When it comes to lighting if you find you are short on eggs it does apparently help. I personally do not bother in my operation eggs are sold only to neighbours when they are available (if the sign is out I have eggs). Eggs in my operation have a tendency to crack and freeze during the winter months (we do not discard them and are fine but use them in house not for sale) the more eggs you produce during these months the more eggs will fall into this category.

I have roughly 24 Golden Comet hens the longest I ever been out of eggs can be measured in hours <24. You will find that the egg supply in any hen is a finite resource the quicker you milk the eggs out of a hen the faster it will be spent and end up in your stew pot.

On average one hen produces somewhere between 600 to 700 eggs in its life time. Lighting only effect the speed of delivery of the eggs which at the end of the day would amount to less than a year in the hens life is my guess

If you do decide extra lighting is necessary have your light on a timer to lengthen the day "MAKE SURE IT IS SECURED BY 2 MEANS OF SUPPORT" one being a "SAFETY CHAIN" in case one fails especially if it is an incandescent bulb or heat lamp.

I personally raise hens as a hobby; and for their manure to enrich my vegetable garden any thing else the hens provide is merely a bonus.

Here is one BONUS NOW not many people can enjoy seeing in their back yard on a regular basis.



Nest boxes
In my nest boxes I fold a feed bag to fit (nest boxes are 1 ft³). When a bag gets soiled; fold a new one; pop out the soiled; pop in the new. Feed bags are a nylon mesh bag.
Frozen poop just peels off in below freezing temperatures and just flakes off in summer when left out in the sun to bake and dry.

I have 66 trips around the sun it is the best method I have stumbled upon.

Make sure the twine is removed from the open end of the bag it can get tangled around your birds.

 

[Feleena]

Ok thanks! So I'll make it the 96 sq ft...enough room additional ladies down the road.

 

[Feleena]

And thanks for all the great tips!

 

[aart]

Does the barn have power?
Keeping water liquid will be necessary...plenty of ways to keep a heated chicken waterer.

Consider taking part of that 96sqft and sectioning off a separate area with a people door for new chicks, isolation, etc.

You don't want to 'hold in heat' you want to vent humidity and ammonia gasses... As long as they are a cold hearty breed, healthy, out of the wind and have plenty of ventilation they will be fine...

Ditto Dat^^^

 

[Feleena]

Yup! Good for water!