Hello and welcome to BYC! 
Glad you joined.
Did your husband build the coop with as close to 1 sq foot of permanent ventilation per bird as possible? Lots of ventilation is very important in cold winters so the moist stale air can be removed before it condenses on the birds skin. Chickens require copious amounts of fresh air.
Chickens also need 3.5-4 sq ft of floor space in the coop, 1 linear foot of roost space and 1 nest box per 4-5 hens. The run should offer 15 sq ft of space per bird and the run should have lots of things in it for them to scratch around in, perch on and hide behind.
I have a total of 10 linear feet of feeding space that the birds eat from on both sides so basically 20 linear feet. I still put dollops of their fermented mash on flat rocks and stumps around the run so there are plenty of places for the lower ranking birds to find something to eat.
I live in zone 5b and did not insulate the coop, but instead added lots of ventilation.
All the light coming in over the top plates is open with 1/2" hardware cloth securing it. There is also a ridge vent, two gable vents and two windows away from the roost area that left cracked open for the winter. I only had a small bit of frostbite on the tips of the rooster's comb the first year when we dropped to -23F. Nothing since.
I winterize the run by covering it with reinforced poly tarps to block the wind but it still has lots of fresh air coming in.
Glad you joined.I feed tuna once a week during the summer then kick it up to 3 times a week during the molt. Other than that, my flock of 21 gets 2 small handfuls of bird seed as scratch to get them out of my way when I clean the poop boards every morning.
Successful integration all boils down to plenty of space and other resources.
Did your husband build the coop with as close to 1 sq foot of permanent ventilation per bird as possible? Lots of ventilation is very important in cold winters so the moist stale air can be removed before it condenses on the birds skin. Chickens require copious amounts of fresh air.
Chickens also need 3.5-4 sq ft of floor space in the coop, 1 linear foot of roost space and 1 nest box per 4-5 hens. The run should offer 15 sq ft of space per bird and the run should have lots of things in it for them to scratch around in, perch on and hide behind.
I have a total of 10 linear feet of feeding space that the birds eat from on both sides so basically 20 linear feet. I still put dollops of their fermented mash on flat rocks and stumps around the run so there are plenty of places for the lower ranking birds to find something to eat.
I live in zone 5b and did not insulate the coop, but instead added lots of ventilation.
All the light coming in over the top plates is open with 1/2" hardware cloth securing it. There is also a ridge vent, two gable vents and two windows away from the roost area that left cracked open for the winter. I only had a small bit of frostbite on the tips of the rooster's comb the first year when we dropped to -23F. Nothing since.
I winterize the run by covering it with reinforced poly tarps to block the wind but it still has lots of fresh air coming in.
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
