[outercircle]

We have an infestation of redmite in our wooden hen house and are thinking of replacing it with a plastic house - we like the look (and the price) of the Solway ark or the Eco Chicken house that are on the Poultry Pages.

We can see the advantages about cleaning, pest control etc, but are concerned about how warm they will be in winter. Last year, it was minus 10 or even 15 at night for weeks, even here in Birmingham.

Do plastic coops need additional insulation? Also, are they prone to condensation?

We have five 18 month old birds, all light breeds, and will most likely get more once egg production begins to drop, so need space for up to 8 birds.

[Jae Dawn]

  Hi,

  I am in the South East of England and we had an Eglu last winter and it was so very easy to clean and dry out during the winter months, and as yet (knock on wood) we have had NO issue with red mite!  I poo pick daily and do a complete wash out every 10 - 14 days.  I have been doing 7 -10 during the summer (flies).

 We have 6 chickens and we had no issue what so ever with them.  We were so impressed with it (I bought used and had doubts) we bought a Cube recently and am not at all concerned for this winter!  Only thing I wish it had was the roosting bars but my chooks don't seem to mind that issue only me  . 

  I know alot of people poo poo the "plastic" type coops but in my opinion for people that work full time and have a few chooks back garden or allotment and are just enjoying them as pets they are a time saver!  We have our eglu on a wooden table in a WIR run and I washed the table a few times and thought ... what a PAIN, trying to get the wood to dry etc.  Was really glad of my choice last winter   

[outercircle]

Thanks Jae Dawn - it's not the cleaning and drying I'm concerned about, it's insulation.

I know some people are really keen on Eglus, but I simply cannot afford to pay £600 or more for a hen house - even on Ebay they are being sold very close to their original price.

The Solway or Eco house types are still quite expensive  - does anyone have one? How are they in winter?

I've also seen people suggest using the plastic sheds you would use to store a bike in that you can get for less than £100 - anyone doing this?

[OpiumEater]

The reason the Eglu is good for insulation is the double skinned wall. I don't think the Solway has this, and therefor no insulation, so could get very chilly.

Christine

[joyfull]

I have 2 solway arks - the really big ones for 20 birds each, they are really thick and whilst I haven't had mine over a winter yet I have no qualms about them. Since having my first we have had severe frost and they have been perfectly fine. Birds are a lot hardier than people give them credit for - last winter I still had some sleeping in the trees (some went into the laurels which are evergreen but others slept in the bare cherry trees) and in the morning they were fine even though they had frost on their feathers.
I have used an eglu on the ground over winter and again no problems.

[outercircle]

Thanks Joyfull - I was just about to PM you after searching the forum!

I'm not anti plastic, it just seems counter intuitive as wood is such a good insulator, is breathable, renewable etc. My mum kept chickens for years in Scotland in a very dodgy wooden shed in all weathers and they were fine, but the last couple of winters have been so harsh - I lost no end of plants and hardy crops such as kale were destroyed. One of the chickens managed to get lumps of ice frozen to her feet and nearly lost a toe to frost bite - I think she'd somehow manged to step into her water container.

We're going to persevere with the wooden house and a regime of Poultry Shield and Diatom for now but if we can't keep it manageable, then we'll look at a plastic house for next year, but will need to save up first! My husband has built the most brilliant run with an automatic door that fits the wooden house perfectly and is a bit fed up that all his hard work might be in vain. Meanwhile, mites seem to be confined to the ends of perches, hens are happy and laying well.

[Dominic]

We went below -20 for a couple of nights, theres still plenty of birds around this winter.
If it gets that cold again, I might bring them inside over night.

[joyfull]

our temperatures were the same Dominic coupled with strong winds (we are very exposed here in the flat lands of Lincolnshire) and lots of mine still lived outside in the trees - last winter we never lost a bird to the weather 

[outercircle]

Isn't it strange how chickens are intelligent enough to break into my cold frame and eat all my salad but daft enough to roost in a tree in arctic weather?

[joyfull]

I think they are highly intelligent - they have their own feather duvets to keep them warm and obviously wanted the freshest 5 a day possible 

[evie2]

Isn't there a picture on one of the threads showing where a chicken loses heat?