Winterizing Coop - Draft Free… but still has ventilation? Confused!

[Aunt Angus]

Posting a picture of our two coops. You can see the octagon gable vent on the blue coop. Here’s a video tour of both our coops. We also extended the chicken run which you can find a video of that on my channel as well. I LOVE your coop!

Those are lovely!!!

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

Those are lovely!!!

Thanks aunt Angus!!

 

[Chicken mob]

What drafts mean in a coop in the winter are breezes blowing on the birds that are strong enough to open feathers.
Openings overhead are great.
If you think their feathers are blowing around you can install baffles to deflect the drafts upwards.
Can you post pictures of the interior?

It looks to me like there is too much of an opening on this coop for winter use. My coop has about 2 inches of openings at the top of 3 walls. It has worked well so far. I'm 5 years in at this point.You can close off so.e of the openings with plywood.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I am in CT, and last year, I wrapped the entire run (leaving it open along the top) with a clear tarp. Not clear where u can see through it, but not that blue color either. I paid a lot for it, but its very thick and worked perfectly. I will be preparing to take it out again soon Inside the henhouse, (it was our first winter), i was securing things as the season continued. I cut feed bags to fit over the windows and kinda just made adjustments based on the long new england winters. Boy was it nice to unwrap the coop eventually! Last year we had a couple nasty, windy, snowy days but the girls feathers never got ruffled . I have really good ventilation in the roof and I've learned thats the most important. Good luck!

 

[BobbieB7]

I tested for air movement by tying a flag to a stick. The flag was a thin strip of a plastic grocery bag but anything a usable weight and flexibility would work. I think you can wedge the stick inside the coop, shut the door, and look through the window to see how much the "flag" moves.

In my case, I was trying to confirm there was enough airflow but it should work for your purposes also. You could watch how the flag moves in wind you can feel to see if the strip you are using is heavy enough to give useful information. And light enough to give useful informatio. And to compare to the air movement in the coop.

Another thing about feathers is most of the fluff is protected by stiffer, more weather proof feathers. It takes quite a lot of air movement to move those feathers.

I use their molted feathers
Glue gun used to place several feathers on a light string.
You can see exact airflow.
I leave up permanently

 

[Aunt Angus]

I use their molted feathers
Glue gun used to place several feathers on a light string.
You can see exact airflow.
I leave up permanently

What a creative way to figure that out!

 

[Devorah]

I am in CT, and last year, I wrapped the entire run (leaving it open along the top) with a clear tarp. Not clear where u can see through it, but not that blue color either. I paid a lot for it, but its very thick and worked perfectly. I will be preparing to take it out again soon Inside the henhouse, (it was our first winter), i was securing things as the season continued. I cut feed bags to fit over the windows and kinda just made adjustments based on the long new england winters. Boy was it nice to unwrap the coop eventually! Last year we had a couple nasty, windy, snowy days but the girls feathers never got ruffled . I have really good ventilation in the roof and I've learned thats the most important. Good luck!

Hi! Where did you buy the translucent tarp? Thanks.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Hi! Where did you buy the translucent tarp? Thanks.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Amazon.

 

[Chicnbones]

I‘m sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m a newbie at this and I’m confused. How do I make the coop draft free but still have ventilation for the winter (I’m located in PA)? Won‘t the ventilation openings be a place where drafts come in? And how can you even check for drafts to begin with if you can’t fit in the coop and close the doors behind you to check?!

Our coop has ventilation on 3 out of 4 sides at the top. The top is completely open with a raised roof - we had planned to put foam board in between the hardwire cloth of the roof and the roof to help cut down on some of the air in the winter. The chickens roost on their bar right below the top opening, so the opening on the sides and front are ABOVE their heads, but not by too much - few inches maybe, definitely less than a foot I would guess.

it’s hard to tell which way the wind blows most where our coop is. I have felt it in all directions in this location, so I’m not entirely sure which direction it *usually* comes from. Do you put up plastic around your run also? Would love any advice on these things.

Your coop looks great! Ventilation at the top is exactly where you want it. Drafts come below and that’s what they don’t want.