Cold weather coop ventilation

Looking for opinions about our coop ventilation. This is our first time raising chickens, so all I have to compare to is stuff online. We get into the negatives here regularly in the winter and I don’t plan on heating the coop unless maybe single digits or below zero. There is no insulation, just bedding and plywood sides. It is far from airtight as you can see the light coming through around the windows and roof. I’ve been keeping the windows closed at night but am wondering if one should be left open. They shouldn’t get a direct breeze on the roost, because the windows are about head level if they are standing tall on the roost.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

How many chickens do you have?  What is the square footage of the enclosed area?

That looks leaky enough to me that you shouldn't need to add any ventilation in winter other than the cracks it currently has.  I'm a few miles south of you and my coop is much bigger for 15 chickens.  My guess is that your bird's body heat may actually keep the coop a bit warmer than if they weren't in there.  I start to think about adding heat when it gets to -10 but my birds are deliberately cold hardy.  In your little coop it might just take a little 100 watt heater to keep it plenty warm.

I built my Hen-House(s) raised off the ground, with wooden slats under so the droppings fall out. My rafters rest on top of my wall line and the gaps created between the metal roof and the wall allows for a couple inches of vent.

My opinion on Chickens is that they have feathers, so if they are out of the direct wind they should be fine.

I have a few younger chickens in cage-type tractors (soon to be in their own house) and they only have a bit of roof, no walls.

Chickens can handle cold (assuming you didn't get any exotic tropical chickens) but moisture and wind are the issues in winter. The moisture from poo and breath will promote frostbite on wattles and combs. The solutions for this are ventilation and keeping things clean.... but with ventilation comes wind if you don't plan it right! This can be as simple as locking one of those flaps in place with a wood scrap to keep it open an inch or so. And as far as poo moisture, I keep the poo board cleaner in winter. Didn't look like you have one of those but generally keeping things cleaner in winter is better since they spend more time pooping indoors anyway.

Other winter considerations: They tend to molt in the fall. Last year there was a horrible cold snap right in the middle of molt, so that's when I felt bad and gave them a heater. One of those oil filled radiator types since they're safer. I did have to cage it with some woven wire fence to keep anybody from roosting on it and burning their feet. You can tell if you're getting frostbite when wattles and combs turn black. Only happens in the coldest of cold weather, sub zero or so. I did apply Vaseline to these areas once or twice and it helped, but I do notice the frostbite will heal in the spring so I haven't bothered lately.

John F Dean wrote:How many chickens do you have?  What is the square footage of the enclosed area?

We’ve got 7 Buff Orpingtons and the coop is about 28 square feet.

Mike Haasl wrote:That looks leaky enough to me that you shouldn't need to add any ventilation in winter other than the cracks it currently has.  I'm a few miles south of you and my coop is much bigger for 15 chickens.  My guess is that your bird's body heat may actually keep the coop a bit warmer than if they weren't in there.  I start to think about adding heat when it gets to -10 but my birds are deliberately cold hardy.  In your little coop it might just take a little 100 watt heater to keep it plenty warm.

Originally, i was planning on running a heat lamp when we get below zero, but I’ve had quite a few people recommend not to. One guy said he had chickens in -50 F in Alaska and never gave them any supplemental heat, with no problems. We’ve g out orpingtons and they are supposed to be better off in cold than heat.

Ben House wrote:I built my Hen-House(s) raised off the ground, with wooden slats under so the droppings fall out. My rafters rest on top of my wall line and the gaps created between the metal roof and the wall allows for a couple inches of vent.

My opinion on Chickens is that they have feathers, so if they are out of the direct wind they should be fine.

I have a few younger chickens in cage-type tractors (soon to be in their own house) and they only have a bit of roof, no walls.

I built this one on wheels and it sits about 9” off the ground. The bottom is entirely 1/2” hardware cloth, thinking the poo would fall through. I’ve got cardboard over the hardware cloth and bedding on that for now since we’re getting colder now, but in summer I may try without. Although, they have decent sized poops and I’m not sure how easily they will fall through a 1/2” gap! It could end up just being a mess. Time will tell.

Matt Todd wrote:Chickens can handle cold (assuming you didn't get any exotic tropical chickens) but moisture and wind are the issues in winter. The moisture from poo and breath will promote frostbite on wattles and combs. The solutions for this are ventilation and keeping things clean.... but with ventilation comes wind if you don't plan it right! This can be as simple as locking one of those flaps in place with a wood scrap to keep it open an inch or so. And as far as poo moisture, I keep the poo board cleaner in winter. Didn't look like you have one of those but generally keeping things cleaner in winter is better since they spend more time pooping indoors anyway.

Other winter considerations: They tend to molt in the fall. Last year there was a horrible cold snap right in the middle of molt, so that's when I felt bad and gave them a heater. One of those oil filled radiator types since they're safer. I did have to cage it with some woven wire fence to keep anybody from roosting on it and burning their feet. You can tell if you're getting frostbite when wattles and combs turn black. Only happens in the coldest of cold weather, sub zero or so. I did apply Vaseline to these areas once or twice and it helped, but I do notice the frostbite will heal in the spring so I haven't bothered lately.

I was going to use a poo board but I would have to raise their roosts to get it under. That would put them high enough to get drafts from the windows. So now, my plan is to make a small sand box to fit under the roosts and use a scoop to clean the turds out every couple days or so. I hear so many good things about sand in coops/runs but that would be too heavy for this coop and we have no dedicated “run” for them. So, I’ll just try is small scale where their droppings accumulate the most.

I think you will have issues with your coop being too drafty.  Ventilation is probably the most important thing for chickens in the winter, but drafts on the chickens while roosting are bad.  We have hit -40 here a couple times, and in the -20F range every year and my chickens are fine without any type of heating, but the area they are in is very tight and has no drafts.  With drafts, you will have toes and combs freeze off.

You may want to read about Woods open air poultry houses.  The PDF is available free, and will explain this in great detail.  There is a lot of good information in it, even if you have a different type of coop.

Trace Oswald wrote:I think you will have issues with your coop being too drafty.  Ventilation is probably the most important thing for chickens in the winter, but drafts on the chickens while roosting are bad.  We have hit -40 here a couple times, and in the -20F range every year and my chickens are fine without any type of heating, but the area they are in is very tight and has no drafts.  With drafts, you will have toes and combs freeze off.

You may want to read about Woods open air poultry houses.  The PDF is available free, and will explain this in great detail.  There is a lot of good information in it, even if you have a different type of coop.

The pictures make it hard to see since it’s a little dark still, but when I close up the windows, theres only small gaps around them and the roof where drafts could come through. The roof and biggest window would draft above the roosted birds, which should be helpful. The 2 smaller side windows could draft close to them a bit and that’s my only real concern. I plan on angling the windows in the opposite direction of our prevailing winds and leaving the windy side closed throughout the winter. Their roosts are wide enough for them to be able to cover their toes while they sleep. I could put vaseline on their combs and wattles when its really cold. I also have 6 bales of straw that i will stack on the windy side of the coop for the winter.

So far, you’re the only person I’ve talked to that thinks we could have issues. But many of the others either heat in the winter or live somewhere warmer, so I do value your input!

Given the area and the number of birds, your arrangement looks fine.  You can always open things up a little on warmer days.

I lived in northern MN for 4 years.  If you get worried about the cold, you can wrap the thing in plastic or old blankets. I never lost a bird due to the cold.  7 birds should keep that space plenty warm.

I think with 7 buff Orpingtons in that little coop they'll keep it warm enough.  If you see some frostbite on their face parts then you know to make some changes quickly.

I just have to say your coop is adorable.  Seems like lots of good advise.  I think as long as you check on your chickens, you will figure out what you need.  We rarely even get to freezing weather, so I can't help you there, but it seems like you should be able to tell if your chickens seem cold and miserable.  I got chicks late this year and needed a heat source because the chicks were too young to keep themselves warm.  I read a lot of horror stories about heat lamps, so I purchased a heat emitter.  It goes into the heat lamp, but doesn't produce light. The one I got is 100 watts. It's primarily used for keeping reptiles warm and is safe to run 24/7. I got it on Amazon (just the emitter, because I had the lamp) for 12.00 (and it came with a temperature gage).  If you have easy access to something like this (Walmart and pet stores sell it for slightly more$) Then you may want to keep it as a backup plan.  If you don't you could order one for just in case.  If your real worried about it and money isn't a issue, they do sell heaters designed for chicken coops.  This wasn't an option for me because they run about 50.+  That isn't in my budget, and I should only need it temporally, but it might give you peace of mind.  Good luck to you and your chickens.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:I just have to say your coop is adorable.  Seems like lots of good advise.  I think as long as you check on your chickens, you will figure out what you need.  We rarely even get to freezing weather, so I can't help you there, but it seems like you should be able to tell if your chickens seem cold and miserable.  I got chicks late this year and needed a heat source because the chicks were too young to keep themselves warm.  I read a lot of horror stories about heat lamps, so I purchased a heat emitter.  It goes into the heat lamp, but doesn't produce light. The one I got is 100 watts. It's primarily used for keeping reptiles warm and is safe to run 24/7. I got it on Amazon (just the emitter, because I had the lamp) for 12.00 (and it came with a temperature gage).  If you have easy access to something like this (Walmart and pet stores sell it for slightly more$) Then you may want to keep it as a backup plan.  If you don't you could order one for just in case.  If your real worried about it and money isn't a issue, they do sell heaters designed for chicken coops.  This wasn't an option for me because they run about 50.+  That isn't in my budget, and I should only need it temporally, but it might give you peace of mind.  Good luck to you and your chickens.

Thank you! I designed/built the coop and my wife painted it. We wanted something small and mobile made out of as much free stuff as we could get our hands on.

Good idea with the heat emitter! I’ll probably end up getting one of those or something similar, like you said, just for back up. Or in case one of these ends up being a rooster (we have some reasons to believe the hatchery snuck one in) and we end up with more chicks to raise. We used a red heat lamp this time around, but I know they’re dangerous and there are better ways.