Wyoming Unite!!!!

[Blooie]

Happy Thanksgiving, Wyoming!!!

 

[LluviaChic77]

Happy Thanksgiving from Evanston! They closed I-80 from Evanston to Rock Springs last night but it reopened this morning. If you're traveling be safe, and enjoy your friends and family!

 

[WyoChickenFan]

Good Morning Wyoming! My thermometer in Daniel, WY says it is -26F this morning. I built a chicken coop in Daniel last summer. Curious to see the max/min thermometers I put up in both the coop and run. No chickens yet though, I'm just monitoring to get an idea of what chickens will experience once I get some in the coop. The coop incorporates passive solar features.

 

[Blooie]

Yikes! It's coming, ain't it? Cold here this morning but nothing like that yet. I've had my chickens in an unheated coop with temps like that in past winters and they haven't had any issues, so with any luck your new ones won't have any either.

When you select your chickens, see if you can kinda focus on the ones who do well in colder climates. A search for winter hardy breeds should give you all kinds of options.

 

[N F C]

Good Morning Wyoming! My thermometer in Daniel, WY says it is -26F this morning. I built a chicken coop in Daniel last summer. Curious to see the max/min thermometers I put up in both the coop and run. No chickens yet though, I'm just monitoring to get an idea of what chickens will experience once I get some in the coop. The coop incorporates passive solar features.

Brrrr, and I thought it was cold here in Carbon county with -4*!

@Blooie is your coop insulated? We're talking about putting up a small coop in the spring and I've been undecided what to do about insulating.

 

[R2elk]

Good Morning Wyoming! My thermometer in Daniel, WY says it is -26F this morning. I built a chicken coop in Daniel last summer. Curious to see the max/min thermometers I put up in both the coop and run. No chickens yet though, I'm just monitoring to get an idea of what chickens will experience once I get some in the coop. The coop incorporates passive solar features.

One thing to remember is that the coop will be warmer once there are chickens in it due to the body heat they release. Another thing to remember is that keeping the coop too warm can prevent the birds from winterizing properly. A cool coop is much healthier for the chickens than a hot coop. Unlike us they cannot put warmer clothes on to go out in the cold.

It only got down to -12°F here and is already back up to -2°F now.

 

[R2elk]

Brrrr, and I thought it was cold here in Carbon county with -4*!

@Blooie is your coop insulated? We're talking about putting up a small coop in the spring and I've been undecided what to do about insulating.

I have seen a number of threads that recommend against insulating coops. If I remember correctly, it had something to do with causing condensation but won't swear to that.

My main coop is a cement block basement that has no insulation. The north side is below ground level with the ground sloping down on the east and west sides to a fully uncovered south side. The south side has two big windows (formerly doors from a glass sliding door). On a sunny day it gets nice in there but not hot.

I did fully insulate my guinea coop which because of the huge skylight can get really hot in there during sunny winter days. It can also rain in there just like a greenhouse would when the humidity and temperatures reach the right points. The guineas love getting up in the rafters under the skylight. They do tend to forget that they can't fly through the skylight.

Hope everyone can stay warm today.

 

[Blooie]

Brrrr, and I thought it was cold here in Carbon county with -4*!

@Blooie is your coop insulated? We're talking about putting up a small coop in the spring and I've been undecided what to do about insulating.

Nope, no insulation and no heat either. We have a great run that we partially cover with greenhouse type mesh reinforced clear plastic. It stays so nice (NOT warm, just a hair above ambient temps but sunny!) that I raise chicks out there. They have a wire enclosure within the run so they can see the adults and vice versa. All I use for heat is a straw cave with a heating pad, formed into a sort of cave. They thrive, even with our "springtime" temps of teens and twenties.




This was us on October 12 of this year, remember? Well acclimated chickens can cope very well with just about anything....well, excess heat they don't do so well....but as long as they are kept in a dry, strong draft free place with plenty of ventilation they do great. By draft free, I mean nothing strong enough in the coop to ruffle their feathers and let their trapped body heat escape. But then my goofy girls even like being outside in the snow!

 

[N F C]

One thing to remember is that the coop will be warmer once there are chickens in it due to the body heat they release. Another thing to remember is that keeping the coop too warm can prevent the birds from winterizing properly. A cool coop is much healthier for the chickens than a hot coop. Unlike us they cannot put warmer clothes on to go out in the cold.

It only got down to -12°F here and is already back up to -2°F now.

Only -12 and now all the way back to -2! This former-FL gal has some acclimating to do yet, lol.

I have seen a number of threads that recommend against insulating coops. If I remember correctly, it had something to do with causing condensation but won't swear to that.

My main coop is a cement block basement that has no insulation. The north side is below ground level with the ground sloping down on the east and west sides to a fully uncovered south side. The south side has two big windows (formerly doors from a glass sliding door). On a sunny day it gets nice in there but not hot.

I did fully insulate my guinea coop which because of the huge skylight can get really hot in there during sunny winter days. It can also rain in there just like a greenhouse would when the humidity and temperatures reach the right points. The guineas love getting up in the rafters under the skylight. They do tend to forget that they can't fly through the skylight.

Hope everyone can stay warm today.

Thanks for the feedback Bob!

 

[N F C]

Nope, no insulation and no heat either. We have a great run that we partially cover with greenhouse type mesh reinforced clear plastic. It stays so nice (NOT warm, just a hair above ambient temps but sunny!) that I raise chicks out there. They have a wire enclosure within the run so they can see the adults and vice versa. All I use for heat is a straw cave with a heating pad, formed into a sort of cave. They thrive, even with our "springtime" temps of teens and twenties.




This was us on October 12 of this year, remember? Well acclimated chickens can cope very well with just about anything....well, excess heat they don't do so well....but as long as they are kept in a dry, strong draft free place with plenty of ventilation they do great. By draft free, I mean nothing strong enough in the coop to ruffle their feathers and let their trapped body heat escape. But then my goofy girls even like being outside in the snow!

Blooie, thanks for your input and pictures! I've been reading a lot of coop build posts and so many people talk about insulating their coops...wasn't sure what you all did so thank you!