# Winter safe questions.



## puppidoodle (Jul 14, 2013)

We live at 9,000 feet. It can go below 0,usually around 14 below in a cold spell,once in a rare while 30 below. Lots of wind chill, plenty is snow. We plan to tarp the run with a clear tarp to decrease snow, and block wind on the windiest side, it is an 8x10 run. The house is big enough for 6hens to perch ( I have 5), and it has the nest box (3 nests) attached to the side, outside the coop. We are installing one of those jelly glass light fixtures for increasing hours of light during the short daylight months, and a little warmth. Here are my questions: 1: what wattage of bulb? 2: we will have it on a timer, is it better to add light hour at evening or morning?
thbeginning 

1
1


----------



## puppidoodle (Jul 14, 2013)

Page two, sorry for so many questions. We are also looking at some insulation and found a thin metallic stuff. Will they eat it, and will the heat reflecting properties be too glaring? 
Also how much ventilation is needed for 5 hens? I think we need to keep a few bung holes, my husband says there are plenty of gaps around the door, nest area hinges. Is there any recommended measurement per hen for ventilation ? I keep the house really clean, and we will be able to let them be outside even if snowy.
My husband wonders what other people use to insulate, if anything. See page one, below 0 snowy nd windy winters!


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Good ventilation, even in the winter, is key to keeping birds warm...I know that sounds contrary to what we know of warmth and cold. Birds cooped up can generate a lot of humidity, especially at night when they roost together, which forms condensation on their feathers, combs and wattles and makes those areas very cold because they are no longer dry and cold, but moist and cold. 

Birds can put their heads under their wings for added warmth to the head and their feathers cover the feet as they roost. 

Good ventilation accompanied with good deep litter that is kept well balanced~not moist~is the best for keeping birds warm. You can insulate, but don't heat it or close it up tight because those are the issues with which you will be dealing..moist and cold. 

Ventilation vs. Drafts: A draft blows directly into the coop, whereas ventilation seeps into the coop and allows air to flow outward. This can be accomplished with louvers, cracking open shuttered windows, creating ventilation that has to come through and escape through a curved opening such as jointed pvc pipe, etc. 

Good ventilation at the floor level is important if you want stale, humid air to escape out the top...many will tell you not to have vents at the floor level, but it will work to bring cool air in that moves warmed air up and out in a constant convection past the roosting birds. Particularly if you are using a good deep litter system. 

There are many choices out there for winter living for birds and you may have to play with them to see what suits your climate, the position of your coop in regards to the winds and snows in your area and the prevailing winter temps and humidity.


----------



## puppidoodle (Jul 14, 2013)

Thank you so much, Bee. A thousand years ago when I was in nursing school, I did a paper on Florence Nightengale, same principles; cleanliness, light and ventilation!


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Exactly! Germs like warm, dark, moist conditions. If a person can change that picture from dark to light, from moist to dry, then warm is just fine.


----------

