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

[TinaRew]

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.

Oh great idea with the flag! I’m reading more that the chickens molt before or during winter, doesn’t that affect how warm they stay? This is our first winter with our girls.

 

[TinaRew]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

Here's my article on coop ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Your upper-level vents ought to be EXACTLY what's wanted to provide the generous fresh air chickens require for good health without drafts.

Whether you should wrap your run with plastic or not -- and how much wrapping you should do -- is one of those "climate matters" things we can answer better when we know what sort of winters you're dealing with.

I’ll read the article shortly here, thank you! I’m in PA so some nights get down into the teens when it’s really cold, but probably around 15-30 degrees F on average during the cold months.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’m in PA so some nights get down into the teens when it’s really cold, but probably around 15-30 degrees F on average during the cold months.

That's not very cold at all for chickens. As long as they can stay dry they'll do fine, even if some are molting. I have a bird that consistently blows off the majority of her feathers in December.

 

[TinaRew]

Ah, I missed that. Need more coffee.

In that case, wrapping 3 sides and leaving the leeward side open should be good. Unless you're up in the mountains on a ridge, in which case wrapping all 4 sides with the top foot or so open would be better.

Be careful about snow load on your roof. Some people have had those metal runs collapse if they didn't clear the roof.

Ok now I have to look up leeward side, lol! How do you secure the wrap to the run when it’s hard wire cloth? Any tips gle that? We’ll keep an eye on the roof for snow, that’s good to know!

 

[aart]

I’m in PA

Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[TinaRew]

I used to use clear plastic shower curtain liners to block rain when I lived at a lower elevation here in CA. It was great! I could pull the curtains back between bouts of rain. Their run was more exposed then, and we had more wind.

Someone on another thread suggested covering windows with air filters if it gets very windy if a coop is too drafty in windy weather. I thought that was an interesting idea.

Here in the Foothills, we get snow, but not really any wind (I live on the side of a hill in rather dense woods). We have a large covered run (about 215 sq ft), and we do, indeed, have to sweep it off in heavy snows if it starts to sag. It's very sturdy - made of a modified dog kennel.

That looks like a pretty nice coop! I prefer walk-ins, but those access doors look to be very convenient!

That’s smart with the curtain liners! I think we have some plastic we’ve used in the garden that might work.

And thanks! My husband built it! The giant doors were a big request I had! Lol

 

[NatJ]

I’m reading more that the chickens molt before or during winter, doesn’t that affect how warm they stay? This is our first winter with our girls.

For chicks hatched in the spring, they molt quite a few times as they grow, but they usually skip the big fall molt.

For adult chickens, that have already been through one winter, they do tend to molt sometime in the fall, so they have nice new feathers before really cold weather arrives. Sometimes they do a gradual molt, just a few feathers at a time, so they are always fine. Other times they lose almost all their feathers at once, so they look really awful and miserable, but they grow all the feathers back pretty quickly, so they are typically done in a much shorter time than the ones that molt gradually.

Ideally, that "fall" molt would happen before cold weather. In practice, sometimes a hen will do it in the heat of summer, or wait until the cold of December or January. So they sometimes get the timing a bit off, but usually seem to do OK anyway.

Ok now I have to look up leeward side, lol!

Windward side is where the wind is coming from.
Leeward side is the opposite side, so it is the most sheltered one.

 

[TinaRew]

Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3272826

Thank you, just did it!

 

[TinaRew]

For chicks hatched in the spring, they molt quite a few times as they grow, but they usually skip the big fall molt.

For adult chickens, that have already been through one winter, they do tend to molt sometime in the fall, so they have nice new feathers before really cold weather arrives. Sometimes they do a gradual molt, just a few feathers at a time, so they are always fine. Other times they lose almost all their feathers at once, so they look really awful and miserable, but they grow all the feathers back pretty quickly, so they are typically done in a much shorter time than the ones that molt gradually.

Ideally, that "fall" molt would happen before cold weather. In practice, sometimes a hen will do it in the heat of summer, or wait until the cold of December or January. So they sometimes get the timing a bit off, but usually seem to do OK anyway.


Windward side is where the wind is coming from.
Leeward side is the opposite side, so it is the most sheltered one.

Thank you!!
And they are only about 4 months so maybe they won’t get that ugly molt afterall! Lol

 

[3KillerBs]

Oh great idea with the flag! I’m reading more that the chickens molt before or during winter, doesn’t that affect how warm they stay? This is our first winter with our girls.

I trust the chickens instincts. They molt in the fall so as to grow fresh, unworn feathers before winter comes.

I’ll read the article shortly here, thank you! I’m in PA so some nights get down into the teens when it’s really cold, but probably around 15-30 degrees F on average during the cold months.

Well-acclimated chickens that are dry and out of the wind can readily tolerate temperatures down to 0F and below.

Ok now I have to look up leeward side, lol! How do you secure the wrap to the run when it’s hard wire cloth? Any tips gle that? We’ll keep an eye on the roof for snow, that’s good to know!

Windward and leeward are where the wind blows from and where the wind blows too.

When I lived in Pittsburgh growing up all our weather came from the west so west was the windward side and east was the leeward side.

My North Carolina version of winterizing my big, open air coop is to ziptie a tarp to the open wall just in case we get a freak storm (unlike in western PA, central NC can get storm winds from any direction (not counting hurricanes which blow all directions in the same day ).