do I need to winterize my chicken coop

[monkahi]

My girls coop is 16 sq. ft, two stories, has a skylight, west facing window, is 2 ft. off the ground and is placed in the south west corner between my garage and house. My garage is on it's northeast side and my house is on it's southwest side. How cold of temps can the girls with stand and should they have a heat lamp in the coop? Would like to hear any and all comments. Thank you

 

[aoxa]

My girls coop is 16 sq. ft, two stories, has a skylight, west facing window, is 2 ft. off the ground and is placed in the south west corner between my garage and house. My garage is on it's northeast side and my house is on it's southwest side. How cold of temps can the girls with stand and should they have a heat lamp in the coop?  Would like to hear any and all comments.  Thank you

-40 with wind chill - no heat lamp

Chickens can take cold weather much better than hot weather. I say never use a heat lamp on grown chickens in the winter. It can create a lot of problems.

 

[aoxa]

Wait a second here.. Did you say 2 stories?! Okay.. you must post a picture.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

You do not need to add additional heating. Just make sure you have good ventilation for winter but avoid direct drafts.

I'm with aoxa. I'd like to see images of this two story coop!

 

[BrendaJ]

I use a light during the day in the winter to help with egg production but have never heated my coop at night. I do tarp part of the run in the winter to help keep it dry. It gets pretty rainy around here.

 

[aoxa]

I use a light during the day in the winter to help with egg production but have never heated my coop at night. I do tarp part of the run in the winter to help keep it dry. It gets pretty rainy around here.  

I would do that if I had a run as well. Just to keep the wetness and snow out and give the birds a place to stretch their legs. I have to plough them a spot to stretch their legs since I free range.

 

[monkahi]

The girl's coop is a two story to them, not to us...LOL they have the bottom floor, the egg laying level, the ladder and then the loft. My girls like to lay on flat surfaces more than roosting.

 

[real_redhead]

Agree with everyone else - no heat lamp. When I first started with Chickens I was overprotective and kind of crazy about their comfort (I should make a disclaimer that I am still crazy where they are concerned! but just not as much!). I have come to face the truth that chickens are farm animals and even though I treat mine as pets they can survive the cold look at all those people in Alaska who have chickens and they do not heat the coop.

 

[chickensinwasillaAK]

Well Redhead, I am in Alaska and agree, don't heat the coop. Now I won't say I don't have the ability to add heat when we get those -40 weeks and the wind picks up (rarely gets that cold) I do have the ability to turn on some heat if I see that they pile to stay warm. They generate enough heat to stay warm on the normal winter days, in the deep winter I do turn on a natural light T-8 bulb to give them light but it doesn't produce heat. They can handle more then we give them credit for, so my advise is don't spoil them with heat or they'll never walk outside in the cold, they'll become house bound for the warmth. Then if you gett them accustomed to the heat and you have a long term power outage, the hens will chill down where if you leave the house cool, they will be able to handle the long outage.