Winter temps

[DeutschHühner]

Greetings from the Continent! As fall quickly morphs into winter here, the question of how cold is too cold comes back around... particularly in reference to the largest opening in my coop... which also happens to sit closest and almost level to the roosts. This past spring I sawed some more "windows" to allow more ventilation and I tried putting those as high as possible. The big window has both shutters and the glass pane that can be swung closed.
I know the girls can take some low temps but I worry that it can get too drafty next to the roost. So... how windy & cold (or just cold) does it need to be before I close the shutters and/or glass?

All the other openings stay open all year except for the pop door which we close every night. We made it through last years awful winter fine but I can't remember when I started closing the big window. I hope you can get an idea of my set up from the photos provided and, as always, thank you all for your input!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd test for drafts - wait until there's a breezy (or better, a windy) day and go into the coop and hold something lightweight like a ribbon at roost level, and see what it does. Some small movement of the ribbon is fine, but if the ribbon is fluttering around then that's enough draft to ruffle feathers.

If there's no draft you should be ok leaving the window open. If there is a draft, try closing just the shutters and test again. My guess is unless there's strong wind coming in directly through the window that shutters would be enough to buffer it.

 

[aart]

How cold is 'cold' there?
What are the lowest temps you get?

If this is accurate, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[chickens really]

As long as wind isn't hitting the birds at night roosting they should be great..