chicken coop for extreme climate

Hello friends,

Here the thermomether can show -25F during the winter...

I built my hen house with this factor....

See my pictures plans: My chicken coop for summer and heated for winter.


One of my laying hen:

Prepared for winter !

Pictures coming soon !

Looking forward to seeing how it works out over the winter being from Ottawa, Canada.

Karnold

How hot are your summers? If not too hot; you might want to consider a breed more adapt to your cold winters. Such as a variety with a rose or pea comb. Typically; extreme heat is much much more of a concern than cold. The other being the combination of wind and rain.

Summer temperature: 68 - 95 F.... summer here = 2 months

Generally speaking; a heated coop is not a good idea They will be less likely to forage as long as they would otherwise. They will not be as adapted, causing potential death of the whole flock, should your heating source fail.

Providing them a roost(s) up off the ground a few feet within a coop that shelters from wind and rain, but with good ventilation, will make for happy chickens. Be sure to include means to let in the early first rays of morning sun, as this will encourage them to get up and out and start their day of foraging.

Using the "deep litter method" is both a convenient and excellent way to facilitate a small boost in buffered temperature, with hardly any input from yourself. As the days grow shorter and colder, they will roost longer and leave more manure beneath their perch. An occasional top dressing with straw, sawdust/chips or the like, beneath their roost(s), will provide for some excellent Spring dressing in the garden, orchard or as a compost amendment.

Generally speaking; a heated coop is not a good idea They will be less likely to forage as long as they would otherwise. They will not be as adapted, causing potential death of the whole flock, should your heating source fail.

Agreed. Additionally, if they are warm & cozy while moulting, they are more apt to put on a light summer coat rather than a heavy winter parka. They need to prepare for winter.

We have a nearby community of $Million houses that went 3 weeks without electricity after a wind storm.
Even a day or two can be deadly for birds that are not equipped for the cold.

My grandmother tended hens in Churchill, CA before they had electricity. The coops were open sided on the south face.
She suffered going to-from the hen house, but said the hens were always happy and well.

If you have another barn full of large animals, house the chickens there. We had chickens in a barn with horses and cows in Ontario. During really cold weather, they would all huddle together and the chickens came down from their perches to sit on the backs of the larger residents.

Bonjour Paul,

Here I have 2 coops, 1 in an old barn that we transforme a part for the coop...no heat nor electricity. My Chantelcers hare there and will spent the winter there also. My main concern will be humidity...we will see.

My other coop is a small one (8X8) near the house . I have electricity with a heat lamp. This coop was for my chicks in spring and now my Silkies are in it but I didn't put the lamp yet. I want them to get use to the cold. I have read that they can be hard to winter...will see.

Isabelle

Have any of the forum members build their coops using passive solar techniques to better control thermal gradients? Yes, roost placement, thick litter (thermal mulching), but South facing windows with overhangs to control seasonal sun contact? Even thermal windows on tractor style coops/runs make a huge difference. I have not seen this here. We routinely use solar to keep our animals safe, comfortable and healthy. Even our Sulcata tortoise maximizes his winter outdoor time with the use of a greenhouse-garden with high thermal mass and extra insulated cold frame spaces. He does not seem to care that he is living in his own pseudo solar oven…he is just a warm and happy Sherman Tank Cow.

Not choice to heat my chicken coop. Just with one 250 watts hot lamps.

Last month -43 F. Here.

See my lamps: My hot lamps

I am building a cob chicken house. I had hoped to get it finished before winter, but it is very slow going. But next winter the girls will be comfortable, and in the summer they should be cool too.
I really do wish it was finished, this is the coldest and snowiest winter here in ages, according to the neighbors. I've thought about just roofing the 3 foot tall walls if the weather breaks for a weekend, but so far no break.

I built my coop with our extreme weather in mind... Winters here are sometimes -50.. That just about requires I hang a heat lamp for them, but they still need ventalation so thats the reason for the "upper story windows, they have shutters so I can prop one open slightly on the opposite side of wind direction. The lower windows for summer time keep a nice breeze through so it doesnt get too funky.. The whole thing is insulated and vapor wrapped so any moisture really gets the litter smelling funky as it tends to wick there.. Big overhangs keep it fairly sheltered from the rain (I say fairly because sometimes we have "sideways" rain in tornado season) and snow doesnt pile up so bad that we cant feed and open the egg boxes. It gets a good southern exposure during winter, but in summer the mulberry tree shades it perfectly, and the chicks all get stained red when it drops mulberry's (they love that time of year).. Natural earth floor with deep litter. I used old timbers for the foundation and once I set the coop on them I skirted with trim boards to prevent any draft. Inside I dug about 1 foot down and placed hardware cloth to prevent any unauthorized predators from having chicken.. In summer I run about 6" of litter and add from there till its full around winter, then I clean it all out in spring and throw the mulch in the compost..

Works pretty well, and doesnt look too terrible i guess..