Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[judge]

Hi Shorty!!!

glad you found us! pull up a roost and join the flock

Where are you in wisconsin???? I am way up north. I have a VERY insulated coop but control the humidity by vents in the wall up near the roof that I can open and close as needed (like when it gets too cold at night). In the daytime I open the pophole which is near the floor of course, open the vent(s) near the ceiling and voila', no humidity build up. In the summer I have two large windows near the roof as well (one facing south of course for radient winter heating and to give the girls some light on those "lock down" days) that keep the coop from overheating, which, by the way is more of a problem for chickens than cold.

Hope that helps and again, welcome!!

hey vicki- how far up are you? My parents have a "vacation" house in Glidden and we travel up there several times a year. Are you anywhere near there?

 

[delisha]

My coops have big cracks in them. I have no insulation. Air flow is more important. I have the upper windows cracked open in the winter and large air vents covered in hard wire. As long as the floor is draft free, and they have a draft free roosting area you will be fine. One of the best built and designed coops in Wisconsin is a south open upper faced coop. I can't find the link. Sorry. I did find a Canadian one. The design is similar.

http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/fresh_air_poultry_houses.html


Hello Shorty!!

 

[cuties]

Good morning shorty and welcomee!!! I do not have good insulation... but I do have a light k ver the roost to keep the girls warm. We converted the milk house for them. Good area because it has 2 wery large windows that get lots of sun all day! So... we now also have humidity. I lucked out! There was a vent already cut into the stone with an adjustable cover.
While I did not insulate, the areaa holds sunshine heat very well throughout the night. Most nights, the water doesn't even freeze.if it is super cold, hubby gives them a small heater at night.
In hindsight; good venting is key! Hope we were helpfull.





Vicki... vents by the roof, I like that idea. Hhmmmm wonder if hubby can cut through stone and cinder blocks... hes going to be very upset with my new want ;-)

 

[NDchickens]

Hi Shorty!

 

[kristip]

We dont insulate either, but have vents along most of our roof line. I plug some up in winter to make sure it is not drafty, but still allow the air flow.

Depends where you are guys..for Madison area, $8k an acre is cheap! Wont even tell you what we paid for our 3 acres here...but alot more than that just for the land. But I love our nice flat lot with a row of pine trees that were already planted and established in our yard.

Waiting for a fan to arrive today to hook up to the incubator. Then to get it set for a few days before I put the eggs in there. So excited. Can I wait the 21 days??? guess I have to. Someone posted a really neat thread in the incubating threads where they candled every day of incubation and took pictures so you can see the different veining and growth. My kids were enthralled last night looking at that. And I promise I will not be candling anywhere near that much!!!

otherwise have a free weekend, well kinda free. Kids dont have school tomorrow and tonight my in laws are dropping off their dog(our old dog) that is arthritic and cancer ridden and on her last legs. Have to help her outside to go potty because she does not do steps. And she gets to meet the hyper 6 month old puppy. Should be an interesting weekend.

 

[vickiw]

hey vicki- how far up are you? My parents have a "vacation" house in Glidden and we travel up there several times a year. Are you anywhere near there?

Hi Judge

nope, Glidden is north west of us I think. Best I can figure, I must be just a little north of Frenchie. I'll ask her if she ever drags her roost back into our coop. Yoohoo, Frenchie!!! I see you lurking

 

[Apyl]

Hello,

I am a Newbie from Sparta, WI. My husband and I decided to start rasing chickens this year. We are starting with 3 Barred Rock, 3 SLW, and 4 Americanas. We will be getting two silkies but they are not ready yet so we are not going to be able to get them at the same time as the others.

I do have a question for the group seeing as everyone is from Wisconsin

How well does the coop have to be insulated so the chicken stay warm in the winter. Everything that I have been able to find so far says that you don't want a lot of insulation because the coops humidity will get to high and then you risk frostbite. I have seen pictures on the site of chickens in the snow but not a lot of info on keeping them warm in the coop. Any help would be great, now that I have found Wisconsinites that are already dealing with the weird WI weather.

Hi, I'm not to far from you. I'm in Necedah. My coop is not isulated. The only thing I have done this winter is to pile up the straw bedding to give them more layers.

 

[vickiw]

My coops have big cracks in them. I have no insulation. Air flow is more important. I have the upper windows cracked open in the winter and large air vents covered in hard wire. As long as the floor is draft free, and they have a draft free roosting area you will be fine. One of the best built and designed coops in Wisconsin is a south open upper faced coop. I can't find the link. Sorry. I did find a Canadian one. The design is similar.

http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/fresh_air_poultry_houses.html

Delisha: must be nice. With my 4 girls up here in a rather large coop, if I did the open coop thing I would have chickiesickles if they weren't fox, coon, coyote, wolf, bear or wild dog food first

I will be adding 4 new cinnamon queens soon (chicks) to offset my aging exbattery girls and to add body heat next winter. already working on a new nest design for the coop to accomodate the additions. Good thing I just bought hubby a new table saw for his birthday!!!

BTW~saving room for 1 or 2 rescues if I happen across them and I am really not expecting one of my batteries, Crockpot, to last another year. she just hasn't bounced back like the others from her horrific start in life.

 

[jvls1942]

good morning.. one of my coops is insulated to the max.. another has just a "hay mow" and bare walls.. no vents.. but I open the people doors every day so the chickens can come out and exercise.. I do have an electric heater in both coops with thermal cubes.. in the coldest nights, the water does freeze.. but when it is above zero outside, the water stays fluid..

I think the extra heat has triggered early eggs from the geese and turkeys.. and now even the guineas are starting to lay.. yesterdy we got a large egg that i think is a peahen's.. Annie thinks it is a chicken egg.. It would have to be a triple yolker if it is chicken.. I candled,, just one pale spot that could be a yolk..

If you decide to insulate, you might just as well do the fibre glass between the studs.. because no matter what you use, you will have to protect it from the chickens.. styrofoam to them is like popcorn to us.. and yes,, they will devour a styrofoam incubator is minutes..

.....jimgoingtocleanupandfeedthebirdsandgobumming........

 

[delisha]

Quote: I am not sure if you looked at the design, or the picture was not very good, but it is pred proof and draft proof..The front is open, to the air and sunshine, not predators. Some use sliding windows, and hard wire. Others use just hard wire. It is like a sun room attached to the south side of a coop.