Winter Chicken Guide - NO Heat Open Air Coop & Cold Weather Tips 

How we built this chicken coop: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dLYGh1PSoow.html Heated Pet Bowl Chicken Waterer: amzn.to/2RmE0Qq (affiliate link)

You can be sure that chickens in the 1600s, 1700s were not in sealed buildings....most had nesting boxes in an barn or outbuildings. Chickens would come and go as they please. Areas with predators had fenced areas. Your birds sure look extremely healthy.

Everytime I see the perch you built, I flash back on you perched on it. Still makes me laugh.

By the way , the reason we enjoy your stuff is because it triggers memories , it gives us ideas for enhancing our own lives , it makes us smile as we view , and we realize the world is probably not going entirely to the dogs after all !

Little Girl: "I'll lay my egg where I want!" Your chickens are beautiful and so healthy and happy.

I think you are a very intelligent young man. Thanks for the info..also, yea you for wearing a mask when cleaning the coop. Smart, smart, smart.

I do really love your coop! I'm planning building one just like yours! I've been keeping chicken for 20 years and everything you said is absolutely accurate

Thank you for sharing this video. Even though I've successfully raised two flocks over the last five years and have even gone through some really cold (long-lasting) weather where we lived in NY, we're now in TN and expecting a dramatic cold front that will last a few days. For some reason, it had me worried about keeping my girls (and boys) warm. Your video has reminded me it is better to work with nature than try to fiddle with it. My coop faces south and has ventilation via two small closeable windows and a screened ridge vent which is about 6' long and 5" wide. I was worrying whether I should close that up with plastic to prevent breezes but am seeing now that I definitely should not do that. I also fill their run and coop with hay so they have a lot of forage (I can't free range here because of too many ground and air predators), as well as ferment their feed. Thank you for the video, it eased my mind!

That chicken was hilarious following your hands every move. 😂

Doug you are an excellent teacher. Still praying for you and your family for safety, strength and progress. Take care

When Doug was talking that chicken was sure funny. It was just sitting there watching him, watching his hand go up and down while he was talking. I thought at one time that it was going to peck him. Thanks for sharing. Take care, see ya :)

My 2 chickens are 10 years old now❤️ We have a Rhode Island Red hen and a little Bantam rooster. They are happy and well here in Massachusetts 🌷 Your set up for your chickens is perfect !

Doug, the photo bombing chicken was killing me. Love those birds. They are fun to watch and I think they really enjoy you being out there with them. You have done a great job with them. Take care dude!

Thank you! I live in the primary snow belt in NE Ohio. I spent hours today wrapping the run with plastic hoping to decrease the wind and snow accumulation in there. I also covered about 1/2 of the coop with plastic because I’m extremely concerned about the wind. Their chicken door will be open during the day and there are vents at the roofline. The coop is not airtight. This is my first winter with chickens; I guess I’ll learn as I go.

I should try those mats. When it gets muddy I usually have to change out the hay. Great tips, thanks!

Chock full of information; appreciated the time and posting this video. My only surprise is that with these free-rangers, and while living in the country, you've been blessed with zero predators. Blessings.

Your flock is beautiful. I love everything about your coop and chicken yard. Your idea of putting out hay so they'll go out and forage and sit out there on their perch is spot on. Mine dust under the coop, too. They're smart little things for only having a bird brain. ;-)

One thing I have always appreciated about your videos and your projects is the thoughtfulness and the research you guys do. I also love the fact that you acknowledge that everything is a learning process and you are constantly learning by doing all of these things. Your family is very inspirational!

Absolutely love this one . Such a charming bunch of ladies getting on with things , murmuring cosy noises as they go . Living life .

Old Marine here that my wife came home with 10 chicks and 2 ducks, I have to learn fast and better be right the first time or im in the doghouse, This is a great video on coops and you are very appreciated, you may have saved my 6. Semper Fi

Your place looks like a Winter Wonderland ❄️❄️❄️❄️Happy and healthy flock. 🥚🐓🥚🐓🥚🐓🥚🐓🥚🐓🦚🔨Shalom

Word of warning about leaving hay for your chickens. One of our hens ate hay and it became impacted in her crop and entire digestive tract. I struggled for weeks treating her for sour crop. I eventually got her to pass a 8"long twisted rope of long blades of hay three weeks later by giving her dulcolax for a few days. I had to syringe feed her a liquid diet. She survived to live another year but was never as lively as she was before the blockage.

You have learned so much. Any Teacher/Professor would be proud of you. You are doing so great at living the life you what. I love watching you & Ashley and your videos. Art in CA

It's like your chickens are family! You've made a very nice environment for them.

That chicken following your hand was cracking me up! So sweet. 😂

Chickens look great Doug. Looks like you have a couple friends. Doesn't look like they're afraid of you at all. Generally you say if someone gets in trouble they're in the dog house, for Doug however when Ashley gets mad at him we know now he's in the chicken coupe!

I just watched a great homesteading video about growing American Elderberry bushes (not European varieties) and how much chickens love the berries which keep them very healthy. I was so impressed I am going to try to grow them myself. The shrubs actually improve the soil and can easily be propagated. The berries are used to make healthy drinks and chutneys. Sambucol is a flu remedy that is made from American elderberries.

You must of had a talk with my father about chickens. He did the same thing as you are doing with your chickens. He was raised in Oklahoma and moved to Arizona when I was 2. With all his farm 🚜 experiences and his knowledge in raising animals our animals were well taken care of and our gardens grew very well. We had white chickens like yours also Rhode Island reds. Also banties. You are doing a great job with your chickens. Steal love that rooster. My dad raised almost every kind of fowl. From peacocks to pigeons. Thank you for discussing your chickens. 🐓🐔🐔🐔❤❤

Your video just saved me the cost of an insulated coup. So happy you shared your experience.

Great video Doug, I thought that chicken was going to have a wee peck at your hand lol, love and blessings from Scotland :) :)

SO happy to see this! I often refer people in my chicken group to your channel when they think they need to heat their coop, or if the are planning to build one, etc. Now it is all in one great video!

I been raise in the country all my life and I never seen beautiful white chickens

good to see your chickens doing well and happy! I never knew that they liked to dust bathe. :)

Great video. They seem so happy out there with you. They know you take care of them.

They look healthy and happy. Win win!

As always thank you for your very informative video, love seeing the chickens they are looking very healthy and happy.😊

You are absolutely correct. As long as the birds are dry and away from the wind, they will be fine. This is how the birds in the wild survive.

They are such happy chickens 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓

So many people worried about chickens freezing yet we have these tiny birds that hang around all winter and survive with no shelter or food/water from humans. I do love the ideas of adding ashes to their dust bath and the hay pathway is something I definitely plan to do.

Lovely to have an update on the chickens. I totally agree on the way you've made the coop. It's the way we always had our chickens live, and they seemed to do well. As you pointed out, the small wire is what makes a difference with the weather. I especially loved the close interaction the chickens had with you while you were filming. Such inquisitive behaviour.

I live in Fairbanks Alaska. You are EXACTLY right about open air chicken coops .My chickens do fine at -40.I got onto it by reading a book written by a commercial chicken grower in Minnesota in 1900.PEAPLE DO BETTER IN FRESH AIR TOO! Daniel Boone slept outside when he could.Around the same time they started taking peaple out of asylums and parking them outside all day with blankets on them.They all improved greatly.!!Hospitals and old folks homes are breeding grounds for disease.Wearing a MASK IS A HEALTH RISK!

Haha Doug your chickens are just photo bombing your video haha!! Beautiful birds they are :-)

Your chickens look so healthy and clean.

I love your chickens, they have never known abuse and only been free. Its lovely. Be proud xx

I'm so happy I came across your videos! My hubby wants to build an outdoor, open air chicken coop. We love the way you explain everything and we plan to follow all your advice when building ours this spring!

My nephew in high school as a project, in a shed behind his house, grew larva and dehydrated it for chicken food. Well that was about 6 yrs ago. He has quite college, has won awards one from Forbes business as a new young entrepreneur..his food is amazing for chickens called " Grubbly" Farms. Good stuff for the chickens.

I enjoyed the Photo Bombing that was going on behind you starting at the 9:28 and lasting for several seconds. Later

I love seeing the chickens. They look so healthy and pretty.

They sound contented. I love hearing them.

it's amazing how little things can brighten your day. like a chicken video with a great little tune. awesome video! thank you

Great advice and you have healthy, happy, busy, spoiled chickens.

As Doug said on Off Grid with Doug and Stacy, become Master of One. You have certainly done that. You have done your research, applied techniques that have made sense to you, and now you have the ability to teach others. Just like when you taught to not dip newborn chicks' beaks into the water bowl, they will find it their self. Down to earth common sense. Thanks for sharing. Love and blessings.

I am now invested In Your chickens! I look forward to seeing them again and learning how they like the door mat In their nesting boxes. 👍🏼❤️

You are a 'Jack of all Trades' Doug. Thanks for sharing. 🐓🐓

it was funny to watch the chicken following you hand motion....

Very informative , where I live in Virginia my family always had Chickens and ducks , My grandmother used to make cakes with duck eggs and they were very good. I can remember the smells of her kitchen and the wood cook stove and everything always tasted good. Seeing this just took me back home to Grandmas house.

9:30 chicken photo bomb 😹😹. ☮️💜😺

Doug, you inspire me with every video----showing how to live frugally, healthily, creatively, and wisely. I thank you and always look for your next video with eagerness. Bless you and family.

aw it was just lovely to hear all the happy noises!! such contented birds- they clearly love you as much as you love them and they not only sound contented they look super healthy, a very informative video too as always. love the mats - I hope the chickens like them too. my mother would go once a year to the nearest battery egg producer and get the chickens who were not laying enough for being worth keeping and they would come home with no feathers and look so sad but after some good food and clean beds they would produce eggs and make those happy noises that is so relaxing and satisfying to listen to.

That was a ton of great information. Thank you! I may never have chickens again, but in the past I inherited 4 chickens that I kept in a backyard shed - wish I had your info then. They each had their own personality, a definite pecking order, they actually looked out for each other, and my yard was cleaned out of a plague of slugs.

We use an old pickup truck cap, propped on straw bales, to keep our chicken's dust bath under. Keeps it dry and gives additional protected space for the chickens.

My grandma would have loved your low maintenance nesting box. When I was little, I went into her coop one time (I wasn't trusted to collect eggs). It was about as large as your hay storage place. It was not an open air coop. I like your design much better. Chicken coops and pig stys, for me are the nastiest parts of the farm. I am thinking that this open concept it really smart.

The chickens look very healthy and happy.

Your one chicken was following your hand movements when you were talking 😂

Excellent video! Beautiful chickens! Loved how they are not afraid, even to the point of photo bombing you! Lol. Don’t have chickens, so I’ll enjoy yours vicariously! 😂😂. ❤️❤️🙏❤️❤️ 👍

Your birds are so cute and they look very happy and content. You can tell they are well kept. I certainly can see the importance of all that you shared. Even if I don’t have chickens I can share this video with people who do. Take care Doug And Ashley

GREAT advice! I'm sending a link to this video to the NorthernSeclusion channel, as he has chickens kept in a closed up coop with no ventilation, no natural light, and no heat!

We used the same principle of “dry and out of the wind” for our cattle. The calves were in individual “hutches” which were open to the weather on the front. Mortality went down to near zero, compared to when they were housed together in a barn.

Your birds look beautiful. It pays to do your homework.

You are a great teacher!

YAY CHICKENS!!! They look so nice, and seem less noisy since you thinned out the flock. :) Good job!

Excellent! I love the breed you chose. Your chickens seem so content. 😊 You are correct about the coop - heat lamps are so dangerous and can be devastating. Might suggest removing the hay from all nest boxes so the hens get used to the mats sooner. Also, hens like privacy, so nest box curtains (hemmed strips of cloth 3-4 inches wide strung across the entrance to the nest boxes) might help in getting that one hen to lay her eggs in the nest box. Have you thought of using several inches of construction grade washed sand (or washed river sand, not manufactured or play sand) for your coop floor? It can be easily and quickly cleaned daily with a kitty litter scoop to remove droppings without replacing the sand. And chickens love dust bathing in it in the winter when the ground is frozen or snow covered.

I'm so happy to watch your videos more to come love you guys 😘😘😘

Wonderful information Doug. I will say that you and Ashley have always been such good care givers to your animals. I liked the chicken coup you had in Indiana,then the second home in Indiana was really awesome also. You guys research before you dive in to anything and I have seen people just get chickens to raise for eggs and haven’t a clue what they are doing.its actually sad because the animals suffer.Your chickens are beautiful and very fortunate to have such awesome care givers. Great video. God Bless

Chickens also are really fun to watch..I could watch them for hours!! This was a really informative video..thank you!! Keep the videos coming!!

Great advice and your small gauge screens will keep out many preditors like snakes from getting in. I am in the south so my coop faced east. Doug your always so happy when your with the chickens., turn a bucket over and sit and see if they jump up on you to sit with you. You should show what you feed you chickens and do you give them veggie scraps? : ) peace

I lived in Minnesota Northern Minnesota and it did it can be 40 below for weeks and I had an insulated closed coop with 3 foot by 8 foot insulated windows on the Southside with insulated ventilation Windows opened about 2 in in the winter wide open in the summer and screens on to keep flies out unless they had a chicken door open all day long I never had any moisture buildup I never had any dust problems cuz I dusted The Coop down every other day and when the litter got too thick on a warm day I would Fork it out into the Run with insulated ventilation windows open about 2 inches in the winter wide open in the summer and screens on to keep flies out plus they had a chicken door open all day long I never had any moisture build up I never had any dust problems cuz I dusted the coop down every other day and when the litter got to think on a warm day I would Fork it out into the run so that the chicken is had it under foot out in the Run plus any grain or chicken feed that was still in the wedding would be scratched through and they would break it down even further for the compost pile in the summer I would rake it up into piles in the chickens would sit through it and dig it down and keep breaking it down and then fall it would go into a compost heap I had a solar battery the kept a light on longer in the winter it was on a timer so that the chickens had it under foot out in the run plus any green or chicken feed that was still in the bedding would be scratch through and they would break it down even further for the compost pile in the summer I would break it up into piles and the chickens with zip through it and dig it down and keep breaking it down and then fall it would go until a compost heap I had a solar battery that kept a light on longer in the winter was on a timer so it would stay late in the chicken coop till about 9:30 in the evening which kept the eggs coming in just as good as in summer. In the winter time the large windows on the South Side bring in enough heat and when it's 30 40 below it remains about 60 degrees inside of the coop usually in the winter time now in Wyoming are average temperatures daily around in the 30s I usually only have 2 weeks through the winter time the deepest part of winter where my water would freeze in my Coupe otherwise it stays warm enough to keep its odd day and night in the summertime I have to roll down plastic covers over the windows otherwise it gets too hot in the coop. And with the Deep wood chip bedding I get no ammonia smells and it controls moisture from the chicken manure. I always had a block of hay in the coop and use turkey feeders which home from the ceiling to keep them from scratching the feet out on the ground works very well it also enables me to fill them and I usually only had to fill feeders once a month cuz I hold about 40 lb of peace I had two of them the waterers each held 5 gallons. Outside in the summertime I had drip Waters attached to a barrel that would collect rainwater off the roof the run with cattle panel so if something hit it hard like a dog wouldn't go through the wire so with cattle panel reinforced wire with chicken wire attached to it a foot in the ground an angle to the outside with the chicken wire at the bottom of the hole refilled back in the posts on the outside of the Run were six foot high and from there I put netting over to the coop roof to keep out owls Hawks and Eagles I never lost a chicken in Minnesota or Wyoming and they free range all day long and every evening they had for the coop to roost and lay their eggs

Thank you for sharing that information on the chickens.I have wondered how the chickens were being maintained for the winter.

You must be doing it right .. those chickens are HUGE :) well done .. how is Edward making out ? you are all stars here :)

All the information on chickens in one video. Well done! You made it easy for me when I get my own chickens. Keep safe, keep warm. My best to you and your family. Now for some hot cocoa after seeing you in the cold and snowy whether. From: SEA

100%! This is an awesome video! You've hit all the points. We raise chickens in Northern Idaho and were initially concerned about our flock in our sometimes incredibly cold weather. If you follow this video, you'll be A.O.K.! Get the right breed for your area, keep your chickens out of drafts, give them plenty of ventilation, room to run in the winter, put hay on the snow, give them dirt bath areas, places to perch, and plenty of fresh water.

Your chickens are gorgeous and very happy and healthy

Very good informative and interesting video. I don't have chickens, don't know if I ever will, but I enjoy learning. Who knows? Maybe someday I will have chickens.

they're looking good and healthy great job with everything you are doing. Nothing like farm fresh eggs.

Your chickens look beautiful, healthy and very happy.

Canadian chickens, hardy breed for cold weather! They look very good. Thank you for sharing. ❤❤❤❤

Chickens are doing great!! I'm just at the point in the video where you point out the chickens going under the coop for a dust bath. You had previously said that you were thinking about raising the coop to make it easier for them to get under. I'm thinking: could you dig out the front of the under-coop area? That would give them more room and you would not have to raise the coop.

What a wonderful coop , thank you for sharing all of the tips .

I love chickens...yours are VERY well cared for. 🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓

Those are some happy chickens. You gave a lot of great info 😊👍

Love my chickens I live in SW Florida we have a open chicken coop also .We have hardware cloth run so coop is always open but they are free range all day .We use sand for coop floor since our weather is never need for insulation Your setup Is similar to what we have minus the snow !

I love the sounds your chickens make. They sound "happy" to me. : ) They really look healthy also.

We used similar hardware cloth on our chicken run and in a recent snowstorm it actually caught the snow and kept the snow and wind out of the run, in spite of strong winds, it was nice and cozy in there run.

Loved this video very interesting, your chicken's look very healthy and happy keep the videos coming 😃

Best, by far, chicken coop info I've seen out of countless vids on RU-vid. I've been preparing for a yr. Got my starter chickens 2 wks ago. All's well, BUT this video allows me to make a time saving change.Thank you!!!

Doug, It is so wonderful how much knowledge you have learned, I am sure it will help a lot of people. The proof open air method is good is how healthy your chickens are, they are thriving!! Thanks for sharing them with us. Take care and God Bless.

Very interesting and I do not own chickens. I really appreciate the way you “teach” how you and Ashley have chosen to live without any bias or opinions. You explain things very matter of fact-ly and also why you do things the way you do. It’s a relief to watch your content. You two are a very lovely young couple.

Great idea!

Great info! Thanks!

Chicken is so adorable 😍😍😍