Heating

josiahj1313

In the Brooder
Sep 25, 2015
22
0
34
Eastern Colorado
Hey everyone, I've read the stuff in the learning center, and I still have a question about heating in winter. I live in eastern CO (zone 5), and I'm wondering if I should add heat to the coop this winter. The coop is "the ranch" from chicken saloon. We have five birds (no way we were gonna put 10-15 chickens in there), and I'm wondering if they will be warm enough. It's usually in the 20's and 30's here in winter, with lows that do reach into the negatives. If I add a heat source, it would only be on during the absolute coldest nights, but what should/could I add? Like I said, the coop is "the ranch", would adding an under the tank pad, built for terrariums, be enough, too much? I'm skeptical about trying add a heat lamp. Any advice?
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. I'm sure you'll get varying opinions on this, but I have personally never used a heat lamp; partly because too often they seem to be the cause of coop fires, and partly because my chickens have never needed it. I've raised cold hardy breeds where winter temperatures dropped to -30 F and with a draft free, dry, and well ventilated coop to keep moisture from building up inside it, my chickens have done just fine in those temperatures. Feathers are wonderful insulators and moisture is a much greater danger than cold. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
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Michael OShay has given you some good advice. As long as they are dry and the coop ventilated & draft free, your chickens should be fine. Being too hot is usually more of a problem with chickens than being too cold.

You might like to ask the members on the CO state thread what they do if you'd like the opinions of people that raise chickens close to you:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/68894/colorado

Thanks for joining us!
 
Chickens tolerate cold much better than heat. If you use a 2 x 4 for roosting poles have the wide side up. Chickens lay their feet flat out and cover them to keep them warm.

Welcome to BYC.
 

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