COOP HEATERS

I dont know a good temp for little chicks.

I've raised laying hens for years in Northern New England, with temps regularly staying for days below zero, and long stretches of weeks below freezing. Heating your chicken coop depends upon multiple factors. I've only really needed heat in my 10x16' coop, attached to an unheated barn when I've had a small flock, fewer than 12 birds. I also only breed and raise truly winter hardy birds, large layers with small or no combs/wattles.....Chanteclers, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Delawares, sometimes Rhode Island & New Hampshire Reds. I have stacked perches, insulated ceiling, wooden walls and wooden floor, 2 single paned windows. The best heater that I have used is the "sweeter heater" 11x40" ceiling mount on a timed outlet, When the coop stays below 30 degrees for more than 6 hours, the radiant heater goes on, over the perches, and warms even the nests 6 feet away about 15-20 degrees. I used this when my flock dropped to 6 layers for 2014 winter. We are working to convert the barn, coop and attached greenhouse to solar power. Meanwhile we run the risk of prolonged winter power outages, so we have generators. I have 25 large breed hens this year, so they can generate a lot of heat, even during hard winter. I will monitor the remote thermometer mounted in the coop, and possibly re-hang the heater if the weather warrants. I also practice mulch heating and solar gain methods The 'sweeter heater" runs on max 150 watts, so you can run a timed heater, a timed light and a timed bird door on one outlet safely. This heater is also great to brood any number of chicks...easy to hang and plug in.

would a seed starting mat work?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Viagrow-Seed-Propagating-Seedling-Heat-Mat-VSEEDMAT48/203357026

So I woke up this morning to find a pile of ashes where my coop used to be only one chicken survived. I was wondering if there is I safer heater out there I can use to keep the coop warm

I'm so sorry our coop caught on fire last winter and we lost 10 chickens. We had used the bulb with the reflective medal thing and somehow it come down from the ceiling and caught the floor on fire. We now use the oil radiater heater they are electric and they are safe to use.

Unless you have some kind of thinly feathered exotic breed. You DO NOT need to add any heat, of ANY kind, to a chicken coop. They are built to handle the cold, and don't need ANY help from us.

chickflick said:

Has anyone ever used the flat panel coop heaters? I'm trying to figure out what would work best in the coop. Red heat lamp ain't cutting it. Coop is too big for it to do any good. What do you all use?

Click to expand...

I am subject to -40º weather l live in Canada think North Pole. I have been keeping chickens and birds for decades.

Your best practice I find is to not be too concerned about winterizing or heating your coop to help your birds combat the cold.

Predator proofing "ABSOLUTELY".

Your efforts should be spent in winterizing your birds and letting them acclimatize to their surroundings.
This is done by feeding them whole corn if available or cracked corn as an added supplement in a separate feeder.

The extra nourishment is more then adequate to bring them through the
"COLDEST" winter.

Do keep an eye open for birds that maybe not be adapting well to the new menu and may be at the lower end of the pecking order they can sometimes run into problems and may need extra TLC.

That being said in a perfect world the flock will flourish and do just fine .

I do not add any extra heat or lighting.
Egg production does slack off but I have more than enough eggs for the table all winter long (24 hens).

Some people may disagree with my method but it has worked well for me and I am not about to change.

I look at it in the same light as winterizing your car.

You really do

"NOT"


have to winterize your car if you can keep it in a controlled environment at all times otherwise you are in for

"MAJOR" problems.

When it comes to lighting if you find you are short on eggs it does apparently help. I personally do not bother in my operation eggs are sold only to neighbours when they are available (if the sign is out I have eggs). Eggs in my operation have a tendency to crack and freeze during the winter months (we do not discard them and are fine but use them in house not for sale) the more eggs you produce during these months the more eggs will fall into this category.

I have roughly 24 Golden Comet hens the longest I ever been out of eggs can be measured in hours >12<24. You will find that the egg supply in any hen is a finite resource the quicker you milk the eggs out of a hen the faster it will be spent and end up in your stew pot.

On average one hen produces somewhere between 600 to 700 eggs in its life time. Lighting only effect the speed of delivery of the eggs which at the end of the day would amount to less than a year in the hens life is my guess

If you do decide extra lighting is necessary have your light on a timer to lengthen the day "MAKE SURE IT IS SECURED BY 2 MEANS OF SUPPORT" one being a "SAFETY CHAIN" in case one fails especially if it is an incandescent bulb or heat lamp.

I personally raise hens as a hobby; and for their manure to enrich my vegetable garden any thing else the hens provide is merely a bonus.

Here is one BONUS NOW not many people can enjoy seeing in their back yard on a regular basis.



Nest boxes
In my nest boxes I fold a feed bag to fit (nest boxes are 1 ft³). When a bag gets soiled; fold a new one; pop out the soiled; pop in the new. Feed bags are a nylon mesh bag.
Frozen poop just peels off in below freezing temperatures and just flakes off in summer when left out in the sun to bake and dry.

I have 65 trips around the sun it is the best method I have stumbled upon.

Make sure the twine is removed from the open end of the bag it can get tangled around your birds.






Story about a budgie surviving winter in Winnipeg Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2681426446