Winterizing coop not working out

[aart]

You read into something and interpreted it from your viewpoint. You could have simply asked me what I meant, if you did not know, rather than assuming.

I merely gave an opinion of impression, nothing personal.
Others can read it all.

 

[SilkieSisters]

I like your thinking because bigger is ALWAYS better. I've always read and gone by the standard of 4sqft/bird inside the coop, 10sqft/bird outside in the run, 1sqft of ventilation per bird.
Even with this standard it will hold 29 chickens, so OP is 4 birds too many. Not great but not horrifying. If things can be adjusted to get through the winter there are things can be done come spring to make things really right. I'm so glad we got those dimensions! Thank you
@SilkieSisters !
Ok, in the picture your solid walls on 2 sides look about 4 feet high, yes? The left hand wall looks like it could be an outside wall to your house or a shed perhaps? The unseen wall you have described as solid wire. I'd love to see it. Is it also covered in plastic? Does it have a door?

Assuming my image of your coop walls is correct, or close, here's some ideas.

Cover the lower wire area (circled with green) with plywood or something that will not allow wind through. Remove the plastic only from the upper wire area above it. If you can do the same on the unseen wall all the better.

Considering you have a couple extra birds you want as much floor walkabout space as possible. The tubs catching poop is not a terrible idea, really. But it takes up floor space. A thin flat board hung about 8 inches below the roosts will catch the poop. I saw someone a sheet of cloth to catch poop. Not perfect but hey, we're improvising here! The idea is to clear the floor of "furniture". Floors are for walking on.
What is the item on the left side looks like a bookcase? Is that nest area? Hang milk crates or make a from that wall about 18 inches high for nests. Opening the floor up will reduce stress in the flock.

Lastly but possibly most important after ventilation is moving the food and water outside. I already mentioned why.

Here's one you won't like but trust me and a whole bunch of us northerners (New Jersey here, ice storm central). Remove any heat. It doesn't allow the birds to acclimate as nature intended. It causes condensation, is a fire hazard, and if your power goes out in a storm they aren't acclimated so they freeze to death.

All of this is just suggestions to help you come up with some winter solutions with whatever you have on hand. Use your imagination and fix these issues if only for winter. And keep us updated so we can help with snags along the way.


Good luck!

@aart @NHMountainMan
Okay so here is my plan . . . this weekend I will try to replace those 2 big tubs with hanging poop boards. That red light in the picture is just a red light (no heat). I got rid of my heat lamps because im too scared of a fire starting. The red light just helps them see at night to get to their roost when the main lights go out since natural daylight is limited. I will try to place food out in the run and see how that goes. Also, Ill try out sand instead of bedding.
Does anyone know of a certain brand/type of sand to use? Should I lay down a layer of bedding first then sand on top?

The unseen wall is covered in plastic except a small hole i ripped in the top, it has a door to the run which is kind of awkward . . . ill get pictures soon. Since my coop is on legs above the ground, theres a tiny door for them to go into the run which is an angled board leading to the ground. The run is small but long . . . my access is a bit limited but I can pick it up in pieces (clearing the snow might be a bit difficult once it starts).

I will also try to lower the roosting bar if I can.
Also, does anyone know why chickens do well in such cold temperatures? I know they have feathers but when I have tons of layers on Im still pretty cold so what makes them different. I just get nervous becuase ive had a chicken die outside in the cold in the past

Thank you everyone for the advice!

 

[SilkieSisters]

Also, I splurged into a flat panel heater made for coops to add a little bit of heat.

 

[Peepsi]

@aart

Also, does anyone know why chickens do well in such cold temperatures? I know they have feathers but when I have tons of layers on Im still pretty cold so what makes them different. I just get nervous becuase ive had a chicken die outside in the cold in the past

Thank you everyone for the advice!

Not all chickens are good in cold weather. However, there are many breeds of chickens that are bred to be cold-hardy. Orpington, wyandottes, Australorps, cochins, Rhode island reds, brahmas, buckeyes, Easter eggers, these are a few of the breeds that have the sort of body weight, feathers, combs etc that do better in cold weather than in warm. Breeds that have small pea or rose combs stand a better chance of not getting frostbite. And just like different winter down jackets have different temperature ratings, so do chicken feathers. Some chickens simply do not have enough layers of down to handle the cold, just like some cheap down jackets don't keep you warm in the winter, because the maker was stingy on the down, and did not use the best kind of down. I specifically bought winter hardy breeds because of where I live. (I have two Wyandotte, one australorp, and one Easter egger). If a person had cornish broilers or Egyptian fayomi, or other warm weather breeds, those chickens would not be able to take the cold as well as the cold hardy breeds, as they are not feathered the right way. Do a Google search for "cold hardy chickens," and see the sorts of breeds that do well in the cold.

 

[aart]

Also, does anyone know why chickens do well in such cold temperatures? I know they have feathers but when I have tons of layers on Im still pretty cold so what makes them different.

Their feathers are perfectly arranged to hold in their 106°F body temp...
...unlike your layers, even if you have the best down coat.

@bobbi-j has the perfect analogy explaining why heat is not needed...
something like this:
put on all your winter gear, then sit next to the wood stove.

 

[NHMountainMan]

@aart @NHMountainMan
Okay so here is my plan . . . this weekend I will try to replace those 2 big tubs with hanging poop boards. That red light in the picture is just a red light (no heat). I got rid of my heat lamps because im too scared of a fire starting. The red light just helps them see at night to get to their roost when the main lights go out since natural daylight is limited. I will try to place food out in the run and see how that goes. Also, Ill try out sand instead of bedding.
Does anyone know of a certain brand/type of sand to use? Should I lay down a layer of bedding first then sand on top?

The unseen wall is covered in plastic except a small hole i ripped in the top, it has a door to the run which is kind of awkward . . . ill get pictures soon. Since my coop is on legs above the ground, theres a tiny door for them to go into the run which is an angled board leading to the ground. The run is small but long . . . my access is a bit limited but I can pick it up in pieces (clearing the snow might be a bit difficult once it starts).

I will also try to lower the roosting bar if I can.
Also, does anyone know why chickens do well in such cold temperatures? I know they have feathers but when I have tons of layers on Im still pretty cold so what makes them different. I just get nervous becuase ive had a chicken die outside in the cold in the past

Thank you everyone for the advice!

Good advice by @Peepsi on types of chickens that are more cold hearty. I took a glance at the birds in your coop picture and I saw many that appeared cold hearty.

For sand - simple, cheap construction sand from any home center - I paid about $2 for ea 50lb bag.

I just noticed in the picture that the ladder style roosting bars - it look like the bottom bars have been hit by poop from above. If you change the angle of that ladder, you could get the 12" gap between roosting bars so birds on the lower roosts don't get hit with poop from above, and the lower angle will also get them lower than drafts from above.

Like I said - I'm no expert. But there are a lot of really helpful people here that I learned to listen too - many of whom are offering advice in this thread. This is my first winter with chickens, but we've already gotten several blasts of winter, and so far my flock seems to have no issue with the snow and cold. They were confused on the first storm. I wish I had filmed it - for a few minutes they were running around catching snowflakes thinking they were bugs. then they bolted for the coop once the ground started getting covered.

 

[Cryss]

It may be sheer coincidence your birds died in the cold in the past. It might be other conditions contributed, like having no ventilation or something else. In a correctly maintained living arrangement cold on its own is rarely a reason for death. Chickens body temperature is higher than a human. As long as they have been allowed to acclimate they grow feathers and, more importantly, down. People but down jackets for a reason. They are extremely efficient insulators. When chickens roost they sit on their feet with down feathers covering them keeping themselves warm. They are birds just like the tiny chickadees and cardinals that live in your trees all winter.

 

[Shezadandy]

I would add some compressed pine pellets to the coop floor, around 2-3". You can still use shavings if you want, but the pine pellets are really good at absorbing moisture, shavings are NOT. The pine pellets are made to absorb much bigger messes - like a horse in a stall peeing multiple times a day. If they're going to be in for most of the winter, the chickens will stir the pellets all around as they scratch and peck around. As they break down they turn into a great dust bath substrate, and once they can take no more (when they're finally damp and have enough poop mixed in) -- shovel them out and start again. PDZ in your poop tubs can help. Edited to add: They come in multiple brand names- Nature's Bedding Pellets is one of the brands, if you want to look that up- they come in 40lb bags. Much smaller ones are also sold for cat litter at a much higher price.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

I would add some compressed pine pellets to the coop floor, around 2-3". You can still use shavings if you want, but the pine pellets are really good at absorbing moisture, shavings are NOT. The pine pellets are made to absorb much bigger messes - like a horse in a stall peeing multiple times a day. If they're going to be in for most of the winter, the chickens will stir the pellets all around as they scratch and peck around. As they break down they turn into a great dust bath substrate, and once they can take no more (when they're finally damp and have enough poop mixed in) -- shovel them out and start again. PDZ in your poop tubs can help. Edited to add: They come in multiple brand names- Nature's Bedding Pellets is one of the brands, if you want to look that up- they come in 40lb bags. Much smaller ones are also sold for cat litter at a much higher price.

I’m intrigued. Would there be a concern the chickens eat the wood pellets thinking they are pelleted food?

 

[Shezadandy]

I’m intrigued. Would there be a concern the chickens eat the wood pellets thinking they are pelleted food?

I've never had that problem. Actually I start all my chicks on it because the pellets are really big and too big to swallow, unlike fine shavings, for example.

My birds throw a huge dust bath party every night in the winter when there's no actual dirt.