# Freezing to death in open air coop?



## Buddy (Aug 10, 2013)

I just finished my first coop (pictures to come). Imagine a traditional chicken ark but with no floor upstairs - only a roost. I live in Louisiana where the temperature might dip into the mid 20s a few times a year and into the teens once a decade or so.

People are already telling me that I need to enclose the top portion before winter. Has anyone heard of an adult chicken actually freezing to death (or getting frostbite) from wintering in an open-air coop? I have heard of many instances where chickens died from the heat when enclosed.


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

There were a lot of people who lost birds last winter and they were in enclosed buildings.

There is more than just open air to consider, its wet weather and wind also. Wind leaches body heat, add wetness to it and it becomes an even bigger problem.


----------



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

not in the 20's... I have seen my birds outside on the outdoor roost mid winter here when i was -15 out. as long as they are not getting blown on by the cold wind, they will do alright. I live at high altitude in the mountains, it gets cold and windy here so I built a big sealed coop. through winter I had to take off windows and make more ventilation, as the coop itself would hold moisture. 
as long as there was not wind ripping through the birds did not mind the cold.
I have only lost one bird to cold, it was a 10 week old pullet, who had been chased out of the coop at night and did not figure out how to hide from the rain. this happened in june. 
good luck, lets see some pictures so we can get a true idea of whats going on


----------



## Buddy (Aug 10, 2013)

Here are the pics. 2nd pic shows the nesting box (sealed off for now). 3rd pic shows the other side - the entire side can be opened with 4 different panels. The first panel (pics 3 & 4) is opposite the nesting box and gives access for feeding and watering. The last 2 pics show the roosting area. 

Adding a floor would be fairly easy and cheap to do, however, I would prefer to leave it open if it won't endanger their health. BTW, the bottom (on the ground) is covered by 2x3 wire to prevent predators from digging under. We're on the water and have lots of raccoons.

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated - I am new to this.


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What you can do and I have done is staple or attach plastic sheeting in some form on the open areas during the Winters coldest months. 

You don't say where in Louisiana you are but if you're far enough South where tropical storms or hurricanes can be a threat you will need to consider the rain getting blown in on them. 

My birds are now housed in a large dog pen under an equipment shed. I can tell you its a royal pain in the behind dealing with everything getting soaked by a driving rain. Now I have tarps that I use as curtains to prevent the rain being driven in. I can also drop them when the wind is howling to keep them from having to deal with that as well as the cold.


----------



## Buddy (Aug 10, 2013)

We are in Northeast Louisiana, about 25 miles from Arkansas line. The coop is movable and right now it is protected from our strongest winds by a two-story building.

Building on your idea I could just throw a big tarp over the whole thing when we are expecting especially cold or windy weather and leave it open the rest of the time. I could even custom make a weighted tarp just for that purpose. Thanks for the idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Like I said, I learned the hard way.

We had a Winter this last year that would challenge any breed with the kind of extreme cold and wind that we had. Being further North you would have had it harder than I did.


----------



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

i surrounded my coops run with hay bales. it stopped the wind, attracted other wildlife, and after i cleared snow I could pluck on of the less needed bales and spread around. The chickens would stay outside in sub-zero as long as the sun was shining. A big weighted tarp would be good, if you can tyvek is a good option as it lets the air flow out, while keeping moisture away.


----------

