This is the first winter for my new aviary addition. The Chickens and Pigeons love it. It's safe, dry and warm. They love to take dirt baths and they lounge around laying in the warm sun like tourists on a beach. They're free to go outside, but prefer inside.
Whenever the aviary is over 50 degrees a thermostat turns on a fan to draw surplus heat inside to the insulated coop to warm it so the coop will remain warm all night long (free). The pigeon nests near the top are the warmest...the sand floor (about 85F degrees, 30C ) acts a bit like a heat sync during the day so at night the aviary is always about 10-15 degrees warmer than ambient, the inside coop remains well above freezing. It's all free heat. Even on cloudy days it's about 15-20 degrees above ambient. On those minus 40 degree nights a tiny elec heater (40w hair curler) keeps the coop above freezing. The elec bill for all winter is less than $5.
For more information click on Coop Design (temporarily disabled)
Bert, them'r some content looking fowl! So, when are you coming to build me a house I can heat for five bucks? I could really use that....in case this winter repeats itself, you know? Hope it doesn't, but, hey, what would life be if shit didn't happen?
ReplyDeleteIn my next life I want to come back as one of Bert's chickens. It looks great!
ReplyDeleteNow - there's a thought. Why DON'T they build houses that do this?
ReplyDeleteBecause there's no money in building houses like this one. No one can understand such concepts without putting a huge price sticker on it. We took a wrong tiurn somewhere in this lifetime, and now we are letting the monkeys run the zoo!
ReplyDeleteI cannot "feel" Fahrenheit temperatures anymore - I have no idea what is cold and what is not. But clearly your chickens and pigeons are going to be warm and happy all year round - your addition looks great and clearly works brilliantly. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteLowercase -
ReplyDelete)1 This is why I'm anxious to build a new house... will incorporate part of this coop design.
2) They are getting much better but still have a long ways to go.
ienvan - I have thought about bringing in a lawn chair and spending the winter days in the nice warm coop.
blackmoon - ? Dunno, could be done at nearly NO additional expense.
iriani - 30F= -1C... 110F = 43C. They used to spend a lot of time outside in winter, but lately they've become "chicken" and only go out if it's quite sunny and warm(ish).
See..?.. Chickens are smarter than you'd think.
*Sigh...* so much for my thoughts of moving in, then... ;P
ReplyDeleteThat's just excellent!
ReplyDeleteOh thanks. I have to say -30F sounded so much colder than 1C lol. A normal winter morning temperature here in Canterbury. 43C on the other hand is stinking hot - that be Aussie weather. Do you get that hot where you are?
ReplyDeleteI think you chickens are spoilt and they know it hehe
Iriani - Here in central Minnesota the probable low can be minus 40C, and a very hi might be 42C,
ReplyDeletebut more likely between low of minus 31C and hi of 37C
with 15 summer days over 33C degrees, somewhat rare over 38C
In Northern MN extreme temps might be -48C low and 35C high.
This winter we got a bit more snow than usual... 85"= 216cm, a lot here, but that's not unusual for Northern MN.
Yes, my Chickens are indeed spoiled and it shows. Everyone elses chickens go outside when it's minus 18C but mine don't come out unless over minus 7C... they stay in the nice warm aviary... Wouldn't you?
Absolutely I would (no way would I admit to being dumber than a chicken lol)
ReplyDelete