Winterize coop questions

[RootedTogetherHomestead]

So, colder days are slowly creeping up, and we are preparing to winterize the coop. We live in NE OH, where winters can get pretty cold. A few questions I have. The entire henhouse is made from medium-thickness plywood, and around the edges of windows/doors has a slight lip to prevent drafts..

How much ventilation does the henhouse need? And, how can we better insulate the henhouse for those really cold nights? Could I use our RentACoop brooder plate for them, like set it up on the side? I am including pictures of the henhouse; the entire roof/wall portion has gaps as seen. The one picture was from over the summer without windows, but the other shows the windows. TIA!

 

[Mrs. K]

Where does your prevailing wind come from? You want to block off the wind from that side, and leave the rest open.

Do not think warm, think dry. Dry birds away from the prevailing wind are warm birds. Ventilation keeps birds and the coop dryer. If you can keep your birds, like that, mine have lived and been fine with - 35 degrees. I worried, but they were fine.

So, I would not add the heater, I would block of the north and west here in SD, as that is where my prevailing wind comes from.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

It looks like you sealed off those window openings so they now get no ventilation through them. Is the only ventilation, up where your corrugated roof panels meet the top of the walls?

Chickens were first domesticated thousands of years ago. Records of exactly where are not known but northern China is considered a likely location. Their climate would be similar to yours. The wild birds that became domesticated chickens slept in trees. Like the wild birds that overwinter in Ohio, chickens can generally handle cold. The big difference is that we house them in buildings and do not give them the freedom to find good places to sleep. In the wild, the birds have a lot of options as to where to sleep.

Chickens keep themselves warm by trapping tiny pockets of air in their down. Those air pockets insulate them. You don't need to keep them warm, you need to allow them to keep themselves warm. A cold breeze strong enough to ruffle their feathers can cause those tiny air pockets to escape so they need to stay out of breezes.

How much ventilation do they need? Enough to keep the moisture in the air from building up. In a tightly enclosed building the moisture from their breath, their poop, and any thawed water dishes can build up. High moisture levels in freezing temperatures can cause frostbite. One rule of thumb used on here is one square feet of ventilation for each chicken. There are a lot of different factors involved but I don't have anything better than the 1 Sq Ft per chicken rule of thumb.

 

[RootedTogetherHomestead]

It looks like you sealed off those window openings so they now get no ventilation through them. Is the only ventilation, up where your corrugated roof panels meet the top of the walls?

Chickens were first domesticated thousands of years ago. Records of exactly where are not known but northern China is considered a likely location. Their climate would be similar to yours. The wild birds that became domesticated chickens slept in trees. Like the wild birds that overwinter in Ohio, chickens can generally handle cold. The big difference is that we house them in buildings and do not give them the freedom to find good places to sleep. In the wild, the birds have a lot of options as to where to sleep.

Chickens keep themselves warm by trapping tiny pockets of air in their down. Those air pockets insulate them. You don't need to keep them warm, you need to allow them to keep themselves warm. A cold breeze strong enough to ruffle their feathers can cause those tiny air pockets to escape so they need to stay out of breezes.

How much ventilation do they need? Enough to keep the moisture in the air from building up. In a tightly enclosed building the moisture from their breath, their poop, and any thawed water dishes can build up. High moisture levels in freezing temperatures can cause frostbite. One rule of thumb used on here is one square feet of ventilation for each chicken. There are a lot of different factors involved but I don't have anything better than the 1 Sq Ft per chicken rule of thumb.

Yes. We are going to add more ventilation (this weekend) along the top of the wall where the walls meet the roof on the far left side. We just did not know how much ventilation to add. The windows are completely closed because they allow a draft to blow directly on the girls when they sleep. I do keep one of the windows cracked open to allow air out, but no direct draft on them. And thanks for the guidance!

 

[katanajo]

So, colder days are slowly creeping up, and we are preparing to winterize the coop. We live in NE OH, where winters can get pretty cold. A few questions I have. The entire henhouse is made from medium-thickness plywood, and around the edges of windows/doors has a slight lip to prevent drafts..

How much ventilation does the henhouse need? And, how can we better insulate the henhouse for those really cold nights? Could I use our RentACoop brooder plate for them, like set it up on the side? I am including pictures of the henhouse; the entire roof/wall portion has gaps as seen. The one picture was from over the summer without windows, but the other shows the windows. TIA!

Hi, we are new to chickens too and did a lot of research. Dry is the key. We used poly panels to block the wind from their open run but you could use them or marine grade clear vinyl on the windows to block the cold air. Seal any gaps where they walk, roost or lay eggs. You do not want any drafts hitting them. Is that a gap in what appears to be the chicken door? You might want to tighten that up if it is. Go in at night and anywhere you can see light, caulk it up! I have a ridge vent that runs along the top of my coop and 2 gable vents, so far no humidity, no dampness so hopefully those vents are enough. It's the draft and humidity that will make them cold, wet and sick. Any insulation you add has to be covered up cuz "chickens". I'm going to add some reflectix to the ceiling w/o covering the ridge vent but that's about it. See my attached pic, I bought a TSC Premium brooder/heater. It gets to 167 on the heater setting but it is radiant heat that warms the body so they have to sit in front of it and mine do. I've been testing all this week the 25 degree weather we are having. It is $60 and uses 193 watts on heater mode. The brooder mode is 53 watts and I think it is 103. I have a Mr Heater vent-free propane heater secured on a shelf for emergencies but I wouldn't leave it running w/o one of us there because it gets hot! I'm now looking at a small, electric, oil radiator heater that someone suggested. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do

 

[Bostongrl]

We're about to have our first TRULY cold nights here in Kentucky and dumb me didn't account for "true" ventilation. I do have windows, however one is facing where most of the wind comes from, and the other is directly over the roost bars. The third opens below the roost bars but is "inside" the protected run. Is there a way that I could open the window but prevent a draft? I've heard of people putting towels or air filters over the window. Would that stop a draft and allow ventilation? I have a hygrometer and the humidity level usually read right around or below the humidity outside. I've also noticed that the girls are "nesting" in the bedding. One of my EE's laid her first egg yesterday! So I'm not sure if they're laying in the hemp all night or just in the morning waiting for the door to open. I've not set up my cameras yet.
Any suggestions are welcome!!! TIA!

 

[RootedTogetherHomestead]

We're about to have our first TRULY cold nights here in Kentucky and dumb me didn't account for "true" ventilation. I do have windows, however one is facing where most of the wind comes from, and the other is directly over the roost bars. The third opens below the roost bars but is "inside" the protected run. Is there a way that I could open the window but prevent a draft? I've heard of people putting towels or air filters over the window. Would that stop a draft and allow ventilation? I have a hygrometer and the humidity level usually read right around or below the humidity outside. I've also noticed that the girls are "nesting" in the bedding. One of my EE's laid her first egg yesterday! So I'm not sure if they're laying in the hemp all night or just in the morning waiting for the door to open. I've not set up my cameras yet.
Any suggestions are welcome!!! TIA!

For our ventilation, my husband drilled several 2.5-inch holes along the top part of the walls, just the highest and lowest walls, and covered them with hard-wire cloth. This has seemed to help our humidity a lot, and we clean out their coop every day or every other day, depending on how cold it gets, and I think that also cuts out a lot of humidity. We also installed some reflective insulation on the roof (we have a metal roof), and I noticed our coop stays warmer/dryer. The coop has consistently reads 10 or so degrees above the outside temperature, and humidity varies between 40-60% depending on whether it is snowing. We also have 2 radiant heaters for extremely cold nights, just to prevent frostbite.

Two of my girls always, always, always end up nesting on the bedding floor by the end of the night, and they are our golden lace wyandottes, so I know they are NOT cold in there. I think some chickens just prefer the floor. We tried training them to stay on the roost, and they just always jump down by 3 AM. Nobody bullies them off the roost bar, they just jump down and cuddle in their corners.

I am not sure about the towels to stop a draft, and hopefully someone chimes in with suggestions.

 

[RootedTogetherHomestead]

We're about to have our first TRULY cold nights here in Kentucky and dumb me didn't account for "true" ventilation. I do have windows, however one is facing where most of the wind comes from, and the other is directly over the roost bars. The third opens below the roost bars but is "inside" the protected run. Is there a way that I could open the window but prevent a draft? I've heard of people putting towels or air filters over the window. Would that stop a draft and allow ventilation? I have a hygrometer and the humidity level usually read right around or below the humidity outside. I've also noticed that the girls are "nesting" in the bedding. One of my EE's laid her first egg yesterday! So I'm not sure if they're laying in the hemp all night or just in the morning waiting for the door to open. I've not set up my cameras yet.
Any suggestions are welcome!!! TIA!

Also congrats on the first egg!

 

[Bostongrl]

Also congrats on the first egg!

Thank you, for both the advice and the congrats!! I thought about moving their roosting bars lower so that I could open the window on the back of the coop and it would be above them. It may be easier just to cut some holes on the side of the coop that are already in the secured run. Thank you again!!