# Coop winterizing



## Elisabeth (Sep 25, 2013)

I live in Michigan and soon it will be getting cold here. Does anybody have advice for winterizing our coop? It is a cconly 79 coop. www.cconly.com. I don't really want to use a heat lamp since the coop is rather small and for fire reasons. There are 4 happy 10 week girls out there now and adding our two 2 week old girls in probably 4-6 weeks for a total of 6. Any ideas or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I would just make sure they have good ventilation but would not insulate at all. Moisture is the enemy in colder climates and not so much the cold. If you batten down your coop in colder months so that their breath at night forms moisture on their combs and wattles, it will freeze there and cause frostbite. 

By opening up some ventilation at the floor you can let air flow through the coop to move that humidity up and out the upper vents, to keep your birds drier. 

The problem with most folks who have chickens in colder climes is they try to make their coop airtight to keep out "drafts" and it results in this collection of humidity each night as the birds roost together and breath. Then the folks who keep their coop airtight the first winter get frostbite on the combs so they conclude they live somewhere so cold for chickens that they simply must heat the coop the next winter. So they do, which will keep the combs from freezing but increased the humidity...so you have birds moving from a warm, humid coop out into the cold and then back again. 

Any old grandma can tell you that this kind of environment will not only breed upper respiratory viruses/bacteria but it will make the bird more susceptible to getting them as they suffer these temp changes throughout the day. 

Conclusion: Don't batten down your coop to try and make it airtight for the winter when you live in colder climates....instead, make sure there is airflow at the bottom and at the top, so that stale, humid air can be removed from the coop and keep the birds from suffering from damp and cold, instead of simply cold...which they are dressed to withstand in the first place.


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## Elisabeth (Sep 25, 2013)

Thank you sooo much for your response!!! So basically it sounds like we should have extra bedding in there for them during the winter months and call it good. The coop is far from being air tight but is also not too open for huge drafts either.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Deep litter is beneficial for all times and particularly in the winter, but it can generate humidity as well, so good ventilation is key to keeping it dry and warm. I LOVE deep litter and would never have another coop without it, particularly a winter coop...I'm currently storing leaves for use this winter in the coop but will also keep shavings on hand to provide more stable bedding. The leaves just decompose so quickly and just disappear! 

Monitor your humidity in the coop by feeling that bedding to see if it's retaining moisture, then open up more ventilation at the floor level to help move that up and out if it is. 

I buckled my coop down too much last year and it's pretty open air...but I found it was not open air enough and had to open up the whole front of the coop to get the right airflow to keep it from being humid in the coop. This year I won't make that same mistake and will keep it pretty open air in the front to improve the humidity levels. Right now we have excessive moisture in the atmosphere anyway, so I look to see some heavy, wet snows this year here in the mountains.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Wait a minute, I just took a look at that coop. It appears awfully small for that many birds. General rule of thumb is 4 square feet of floor space for large fowl. 

And from what I saw, other than keeping the door closed at night, they should be fine just as Bee said.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I saw several coops in that link, so I'm not sure which one is being referenced....can the OP post a pic of a specific coop?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Its the 79. Its very loose with dimensions. But it appears it is less than four feet long and that the width might be half that.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Yep...agreed! They advertise those as holding this or that amount of hens and it's sad because newbies take them at their word. I'd put no more than 2 birds in a coop that size, if I used such a coop at all. 

Problems will ensue if the current stocking rate is maintained as status quo.


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## Elisabeth (Sep 25, 2013)

We do have an extra run attached to the structure and let them out frequently to free range.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You also have to think about those times they have to be kept up. In Michigan Winters that could be for days. If the run is the one shown on the schematic, its still not enough space for that many birds. Boredom and picking on each other can become a real problem with over crowding. 

We're not picking on you. And I hope you don't take it that way. There is a lot to this whole chicken keeping thing. And the decisions we make for their care and upkeep can have a really good outcome or one that takes away all the joy of having them.


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## Sarah10Chickens (Sep 2, 2013)

That's really helpful to read as this is my first winter & I was going to attatch draft excluders to the bottom where the tray comes out as is a gap! I won't now! Thank you. 
& I can't see what coop the 79 is, just as I'm curious...


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## Sarah10Chickens (Sep 2, 2013)

Oh I found it


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## bkenright (May 7, 2013)

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I have a few questions on winterizing too!  I have plans to tarp the roof of the run, put plastic sheeting on the west side of the run, and plastic the area under the coop. The coop is raised up from the ground and this would block the north wind and provide a small area outside that's more sheltered than the main part of the run. I am also going to re-caulk the seams.

I currently have 2 pullets and 1 cockerel in a 24 square foot coop (there was supposed to be 6 to 8). They currently sleep on 1 side of the coop, have food and water on the other, and use 1 of the nesting boxes on the food side. Each side has a window and a ramp and door combo. There's a main roof vent, like on a house, that is always open. I can put a divider down the middle of the coop, but didn't want to do that. I had thought about putting 1 up with a door cut into it so they could still use both sides and thought it might keep the sleeping area warmer?

There a cedar and pine shavings in there right now. I heard straw is warmer, but I'm afraid it would get moldy.

I have come up with another option though. I have an old shed that is open on the south side, has a door opening on the north side (we could block it up), and a concrete floor. We used this as a makeshift meat bird shed and then put a dog kennel in there to house the extra roosters until they were re-homed. We could put the coop and run in there and I wouldn't have to plastic or tarp it, but it would be blocked from most of the wind and snow. I thought about putting sand, sawdust, straw, or wood chips to cover the concrete for them. What do you think of that idea?

Thank you very much! (By the way, the pics are old, it isn't still that green!)


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Try not to make this winterizing thing a pita for you. If you put something on top of the pen you will have to do something to keep snow or water from weighing it down. I've seen more than one collapsed because the top couldn't drain off. 

I am going to be enclosing my entire outside pen but at least one side will be roll up so on nice, sunny days the birds will have extra fresh air.


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## bkenright (May 7, 2013)

I'm sorry Robin, but I don't understand what you mean when you say "don't make it a pita".


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

P.I.T.A. Pain in the A-- Keep it as simple as possible. With the shavings on the floor providing some insulation and the bird's feathers they will stay warm enough.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

Pain in the a$$


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I like the idea of placing the coop inside another shed...that takes care of all the other issues. Just some dry, warm bedding in the run and coop and you'd be golden.


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## bkenright (May 7, 2013)

Now I understand! I got the re-caulking done today and put in a really think layer of wood chips. I also bought a couple of nice bales of straw and a heated waterer. I think I got my husband talked into letting me put the coop in the shed for the winter. Just as long as he doesn't decide he needs to tear it down (the plans are to get a new, bigger 1 built, but I hope even if the quote comes in, they can't do it until next spring). I'm afraid I waited too long to get it done, but this was the best chance I'm going to have for awhile, so ..... (shrug) We are going to move the coop to 1 more spot of grass before we move it to the shed. They are forecasting snow soon, but it probably won't stay long. Thanks for all of the help!


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