Winterizing a Chicken Coop: A Weekend Checklist in Nine Steps

What you end up with, and what it takes

After this weekend the coop is tight where the birds sit, open where the moist air leaves, and bedded for the cold months. Most of the work is carpentry and cleaning. Plan one day for repairs and sealing and one for cleaning out, bedding, the wind cover and the checks of water and power.

The order follows the extension publications, which agree on the essentials even where they disagree about heaters. Ohio State University Extension adds the timing: make structural repairs in warm weather, before winter.

What you need

• Roofing material, screws and boards for repairs
• Caulk or spray foam for gaps, placed where birds cannot peck it
• Sturdy wire or screen for vent openings
• Fresh bedding: pine shavings, straw or another dry material
• Heavy clear plastic or a tarp, with battens or staples to fix it
• A flashlight or work light, a brush, a shovel and a wheelbarrow
• A thermometer for roost height

Step by step

1. Repair the roof and anything that leaks

   The University of Maryland Extension starts here: check the housing before winter and fix leaking roofs. Water in the coop raises ammonia levels and makes the birds harder to keep warm, and damp air feels colder than dry air.

2. Find the holes after dark

   Ohio State describes a simple method. Turn on the lights in the coop after dark and inspect it from outside. Wherever light shows, air, moisture or pests can get in. Check doors and windows at the same time: they should close tightly and lock.

3. Seal drafts at bird height

   Maryland advises sealing cracks and holes that blow fresh air directly onto the birds, with spray foam or a thick plastic sheet or tarp over problem areas. Ohio State adds that spray foam, caulk and insulation must not be accessible to the chickens. Whether to go further and insulate walls and ceiling is a separate decision, covered under insulated chicken coop.

4. Check the vents near the roof

   Sealing ends below the roof. Maryland asks for a vent or opening near the roof or ceiling so that ammonia and stale air can escape. The University of New Hampshire Extension places vents on a side away from the prevailing wind and small enough to keep predators out. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension asks for sturdy wire or screen over inlets and outlets. More on placement under chicken coop ventilation.

5. Clean out and bed deeply

   Ohio State recommends removing all used bedding and cleaning the coop before adding a large amount of new, dry bedding, and names wood shavings or chips, straw, soft hay, ground corn cobs and shredded paper. Maryland calls three to four inches of pine shavings or straw good insulation. New Hampshire recommends four to six inches where the floor is open to the ground.

6. Check the roosts

   Maryland advises wooden roosts with a flat surface, such as a two-by-four, so that birds can cover their feet with their feathers, and warns against metal and plastic pipe. For space, Ohio State names 6 to 8 inches per bird and New Hampshire about 9 to 12. Use the larger figure if the roost allows it.

7. Cover open wire sides

   Ohio State describes heavy plastic or a tarp as a temporary wall over open fenced sides, to block wind and moisture at ground level. Its limit is the important part: the cover should not reach the roofline. New Hampshire recommends bedding in an enclosed run as well. A clear tarp sold for coop winterizing^* (paid link) lets daylight into the run. Its thickness and durability are the seller's statements. Sizes, fastening and the roofline rule are covered under winter covers for chicken coops and runs.

8. Set up winter water

   Water is the one winter device question every flock has. Chickens cannot break ice, as Maryland points out. With a fixed outlet at the coop, a heated waterer keeps water from freezing with little daily work. Without one, plan to check and replace water at least twice a day. The methods are sorted by effort under how to keep chicken water from freezing.

9. Inspect the electrics and store hay safely

   The NFPA safety tip sheet for backyard coops gives the list: check all wiring for damage, brush cobwebs and dust from light fixtures and outlets, choose bulbs that have covers, and do not use extension cords in the coop. It also asks that hay and bedding be stored away from anything that can burn. A cord that has been lying through the summer as a makeshift supply comes out now. What a fixed supply takes is described under electricity to the chicken coop.

The checklist at a glance

Winter water: the one purchase most coops need

Our pick for waterAd

Farm Innovators

Farm Innovators HPF-100, 3 gal

A complete 3-gallon heated fountain with a built-in thermostat for a dry, sheltered spot in the coop.

Why here: For step 8 with a fixed outlet at the coop: a complete 3-gallon heated fountain with a built-in thermostat. The manufacturer rates it to keep water from freezing down to 0 °F. For colder regions, compare the alternatives first.

Best for: Small backyard flocks in regions where winter lows stay above about 0 °F.

What speaks for it

• All-in-one: reservoir, trough and 100 W heater in one unit
• Thermostatically controlled: operates only when temperatures fall below 35 °F (instruction sheet)
• Foldable legs allow three heights (manufacturer)
• Manufacturer publishes instructions and a one-year guarantee

What to know first

• Rated to keep water from freezing down to 0 °F only (manufacturer) – not the choice for deep northern cold
• Fills from the bottom, so it has to be taken down and turned over
• Open trough gets dirtier than nipples do
• An indoor product for a dry, sheltered area, placed on a hard, flat surface and protected from wind (instruction sheet); the product page says “designed to hang”
• Needs a grounded cord and plug on a fixed GFCI outlet (NFPA, instruction sheet)

Type

Heated fountain with trough

Power

100 W

Capacity

3 gal

Thermostat

built in; operates below 35 °F (instruction sheet)

Use

Hard, flat surface in a dry, sheltered area (instruction sheet); fills from the bottom

Rated to

0 °F (manufacturer)

Warranty

1 year (manufacturer)

Price class

mid-range

See it in the comparison

View on Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · price and delivery shown on Amazon

A heated waterer prevents ice. It does not serve warm water. Which unit suits which climate and flock is on the heated chicken waterer page. The same electrical rules apply as for any device in the coop: the NFPA tip sheet asks for a properly grounded cord and plug on electrically heated poultry waterers.

What is not on the list

A heater. No extension publication read for this site makes a heater part of preparing the coop. Whether your flock is one of the cases that may need one is the subject of do chickens need heat in the winter.

A sealed coop. Ohio State's wording is to control the airflow, not to eliminate ventilation. Humid air raises the risk of frostbite more than dry air does.

Additives in the water. No primary source read for this site recommends any.

Typical mistakes

• Starting in the first cold snap. Repairs and cleaning go better in warm, dry weather.
• Sealing the vents along with the drafts. Close what blows on the birds, not what lets moist air out.
• Leaving foam or insulation exposed. Ohio State asks that the birds cannot reach it.
• Running the plastic up to the roof. Leave the gap.
• Adding fresh bedding on top of wet litter. Take the wet material out first.
• Skipping the wiring check. The Maine Fire Marshal's Office names heat lamps, extension cords, bedding and water heaters as the main causes of coop fires. Three of those four are part of this checklist. More under chicken coop fire safety.

After the weekend

Winterizing is the building. The daily routine that follows is under how to keep chickens warm in winter. If you decide to add a heater after all, the order of steps is under how to heat a chicken coop. The overview of heaters and waterers starts on the chicken coop heater home page.