Winterizing the coop.

[Chickie daddy]

I have 67 trips around the sun and have been raising birds for decades. I live in Canada and am subject to -40º weather. If your chickens are a cold hearty breed I find insulation is not a priority in a wooden coop in a metal coop it definitely is needed. Predator proofing should be a major concern hardware cloth is a necessity.
To combat cold I supply my birds with an extra feeder of whole corn to get them through the arctic conditions. Attention still has to be given to birds that may not be adjusting well to their new diet or those birds at the lower end of the pecking order. That being said your birds should flourish and do just fine.

Thanks that settles my worries.

 

[Then I Will]

You might already know about flat board roosts to prevent frozen toes.

I'm new to PA so winterizing the coop will be a new thing to me also, but in general, Chickens are cold hardy birds. I think there are a lot of cold hardy breeds out there.
They say that moisture is the coop's worst enemy in the winter. Imagine yourself being wet in the cold vs dry in the cold. So the chickens will want fresh air moving through the coop without it being a wet draft.

Here in PA, all of the dairy barns are built with the open side facing one direction and the closed side facing the opposite so that rain never blows in. However that works in Colorado will be beneficial to you as well-- on which sides of the coop you place a vent or window.

As far as water heaters- if you have electricity in the coop, you may be able to use an aquarium heater to keep your water 5-10 degrees above the inside of coop temp. Or if you are having a lot of birds- maybe even a livestock water heater will do. This will depend on your inside of coop temp vs. the outside temp with windchill.

Somewhere online, I have even seen a cinder-block heating method that incorporated a light bulb lit inside of a cinder-block to heat the water.

 

[barn206]

I am currently building my coop and it's coming along wonderfully! My question is living in Colorado winters can get cold and I want to make sure my girls do ok. Best to do it now while construction is still going. Can anyone tell me things I need to do to make my coop ready for cold weather?

Good thinking.. I just got done with my framework and I have to put on the asphalt roof urge. I faced my door south and my vent is going to be on the south side as well. The rest of the coop should be air tight with the exception of windows you install. ( south or east if you can help it. No drafts /dry coop is key
You can always add hay or pine shavings during the winter
Just my experience with having pigeons.. but I'm new to chickens. So this will be my first coming winter. I'm going to install 2 pieces of heavy glass 16 " between my wall beams. I'm going to frame and calk them. Also they are going to be high, difficult for predators.They are just going to be for light. It's cool here at night in the mountains. They will have plenty of ventilation during the night and in the morning the door gets opened to the screen coop.
Just want to add one thing I did.. instead of chicken wire, I used wire lathe sheets( for tiling) for my ceiling on the inside of the coop. I screwed them into the roof joists. It's weasel proof. If that can't stop them , I don't know what else can. The have to tear through the roof and then they will hit the wire... good luck with that.
Just sharing
Good luck

 

[barn206]

You might already know about flat board roosts to prevent frozen toes.

I'm new to PA so winterizing the coop will be a new thing to me also, but in general, Chickens are cold hardy birds. I think there are a lot of cold hardy breeds out there.
They say that moisture is the coop's worst enemy in the winter. Imagine yourself being wet in the cold vs dry in the cold. So the chickens will want fresh air moving through the coop without it being a wet draft.

Here in PA, all of the dairy barns are built with the open side facing one direction and the closed side facing the opposite so that rain never blows in. However that works in Colorado will be beneficial to you as well-- on which sides of the coop you place a vent or window.

As far as water heaters- if you have electricity in the coop, you may be able to use an aquarium heater to keep your water 5-10 degrees above the inside of coop temp. Or if you are having a lot of birds- maybe even a livestock water heater will do. This will depend on your inside of coop temp vs. the outside temp with windchill.

Somewhere online, I have even seen a cinder-block heating method that incorporated a light bulb lit inside of a cinder-block to heat the water.

Very good post
Good luck in pa!!!

 

[Lynn Meyer-Barlass]

I am currently building my coop and it's coming along wonderfully! My question is living in Colorado winters can get cold and I want to make sure my girls do ok. Best to do it now while construction is still going. Can anyone tell me things I need to do to make my coop ready for cold weather?

I wrap my housing with plastic( home Depot) just the housing. Put small holes for ventalation. Leave door uncovered of course. I use fescue hay for bedding. If able you can run a heating pad( where they can't peck it) on low, under the nesting box, make sure heating pad is not exposed! Good luck!