How to Winterize My Coop?

[Prieto1399]

Hello! I am a new chicken owner, and I live in Mid-Michigan. I was told by others around that I don't need to do much for my four chickens over winter besides make sure they have fresh water that isn't a block of ice. I have a water heater in their water, but I'm worried that I need to do more. I change the bedding in their coop every week, and put down a couple of inches of pine shavings as their bedding when I do. They have a 10'x12' chicken run that the coop is inside of, and I try to keep the snow out of it. It's covered, but snow still blows in.

Here is a picture of the coop I have (website version so you have dimensions). I know it's not the greatest coop, but I live in town and needed to work with what I was allowed to have. We did install a higher roost so they are about 6 inches from the bottom of the coop. The sliding tray to clean makes it difficult to layer a deep layer of bedding, but I'm willing to deal with cleaning out a mess of bedding through the little doors if I need to in order to make sure my girls are taken care of well.

What, if anything, can I do to ensure my ladies are safe and warm? I keep one of the sliding windows open at the top for ventilation.

 

[DobieLover]

As I wrote in your other thread, you need ventilation.

You should not keep any water in that coop. First of all, as you already know, it's too small and you don't want to take even more precious real estate from the birds. Secondly, you cannot have an open water source in the coop during cold winters as that will overload the air with moisture that even the best ventilation cannot remove.

If you haven't done so already, pull the dividers out of one of the nest boxes. It is beyond me why anyone would design such a tiny coop with SIX nest boxes. It only needs 2. Removing the dividers on one side will allow them to use this space as floor space to hang out in.

I wish those windows with the sliders over them were up higher and hinged at the top instead so the entire area could be opened but you have what you have. If you are handy, I would remove the sliding panel entirely and have that entire long rectangle open with well secured hardware cloth over it then build a little awning over both windows. If there is too much draft blowing through, you can cover them with cheap furnace filter material.

When it's really cold, chickens do enjoy nesting down in dry fluffy bedding. So giving them a nice thick layer when you know it's going to be cold for a while will be appreciated.

Maybe it's time to start designing a new coop to build in the spring. You can look for used sheds for sale. Or visit your local shed dealer and ask if they ever remove old sheds for customers. You may be able to get a great deal on a cruddy old shed that is still structurally sound and convert it into your new and much improved coop. A small 8'x8' prefab shed shouldn't need a permit and you should just be able to get one.

 

[Prieto1399]

As I wrote in your other thread, you need ventilation.

You should not keep any water in that coop. First of all, as you already know, it's too small and you don't want to take even more precious real estate from the birds. Secondly, you cannot have an open water source in the coop during cold winters as that will overload the air with moisture that even the best ventilation cannot remove.

If you haven't done so already, pull the dividers out of one of the nest boxes. It is beyond me why anyone would design such a tiny coop with SIX nest boxes. It only needs 2. Removing the dividers on one side will allow them to use this space as floor space to hang out in.

I wish those windows with the sliders over them were up higher and hinged at the top instead so the entire area could be opened but you have what you have. If you are handy, I would remove the sliding panel entirely and have that entire long rectangle open with well secured hardware cloth over it then build a little awning over both windows. If there is too much draft blowing through, you can cover them with cheap furnace filter material.

When it's really cold, chickens do enjoy nesting down in dry fluffy bedding. So giving them a nice thick layer when you know it's going to be cold for a while will be appreciated.

Maybe it's time to start designing a new coop to build in the spring. You can look for used sheds for sale. Or visit your local shed dealer and ask if they ever remove old sheds for customers. You may be able to get a great deal on a cruddy old shed that is still structurally sound and convert it into your new and much improved coop. A small 8'x8' prefab shed shouldn't need a permit and you should just be able to get one.

I definitely have been thinking about a new chicken coop!

Yes, the water is in the run, not in the coop. Sorry if it seemed like otherwise. Their water and food is both outside, and the water has a heater in it.

I did remove all the dividers in one side, and one on the other side. They've only been using one box to lay in, so I figured I'd give them the extra space to hang out.

How thick of bedding would you recommend?

 

[DobieLover]

How thick of bedding would you recommend?

I give my birds 5-6" of bedding but I don't think you can do that. Just put enough in there so they can have a decent fluffy layer under their feet without touching the floor.