Winter Coop Plans

[Aseit472]

New backyard chicken keeper here! Here are some pictures of what I've done to my coop to help keep the girls a little more comfortable through winter. I am in the North East so the temps are in the teens and singe digits at night and sometimes they dip below zero. The wind can be brutal and feel like it's in the negatives. So far, I think the girls are doing okay although I just noticed a mild case of some frostbite on two of their combs. I know this can happen despite best efforts but is there something I'm missing? I've covered the run in construction grade plastic and left some space at the top for ventilation. Also, the door is not covered. Inside the coop it's very well bedded, I have a droppings board (which I clean off each morning) and clean the coop out weekly so there isn't a lot of poo accumulating inside. There doesn't seem to be too much moisture so far inside because the window is not showing any condensation/icing in the morning. Any thing I should do differently or add?? Thanks for any suggestions!









Despite the cold, still getting some eggs!



Hollywood. She loves getting her picture taken!



A little frostbite?

 

[blucoondawg]

I don't see any ventilation in the coop part. Optimally you will want to have some cross ventilation near the ceiling of the coop

 

[Aseit472]

Thanks for the response and I agree. This is the only problem I've come across or can't seem to fix. I know how important it is but there is not much room to make one, two or even three holes to create some cross ventilation. They have a pop door into the run. When they go in at night the pop door is closed essentially closing the coop up completely. The coop inside is pretty small. There are three nest boxes and 2 roosts. The roost they use each night is directly in front of the window. Therefore if the window was open the wind would blow right on them. I thought about putting a few small holes above the window or above the nest boxes in the back of the coop and cover them w/ hardware cloth but I don't think it would be high enough and I worry about the wind/temps. at night. So it's like a catch 22...make the holes and risk it being drafty or don't and still risk possible URI's if too much moisture accumulates. See my dilemma?!

 

[blucoondawg]

Bate minimum I would cut a square hole in each gable end and cover it with hardware cloth or buy some grates that look better to cover the holes