Heat lamps... You got it or no? - Page 4

I use a ceramic reptile heater as well in a large metal hood.  I also have it on a timer so it comes on for 1 hour before they go into the coop for the night and one hour after just to take the chill off and have there little hot bodies take over.  I have mostly bantams and some that don't weather the cold as well so I needed to get a happy middle for all.   However as I now reffer to the weather "it has been a good chicken winter so far".
.  No heat needed.  It is going to be a great chicken day here in NC.  This big chick will be in the yard with them.

I have one (heat lamp not the ceramic heater) but the thermostat keeps it off until inside the coop reaches 20. With the heated waterier and keeping the wind at bay my thermometer says it has not even gone below 29 in there. We had a few nights in the teens already.

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An 150 watt ceramic heat emitter will get amazingly hot. It was only a 60 watt one that almost set our house on fire. I set it down inside its metal fixture onto the top of a wood table to clean the reptile tank. The bulb wasn't in contact with the wood; because of the fixture, the bulb was 2-3 inches away from the wood.

In only 5 minutes, I started to smell smoke. The bulb had already burned a ring in the wood table top.  I shudder to think what could have happened if I'd walked away for 15 minutes!

They recommend that you have at least 2 feet clearance from surfaces (top, bottom and sides) when you hang these heat bulbs, and that you don't hang them only by the cord (have a backup). If a ceramic heat emitter comes into contact with wood shavings, you will get a fire, and fast.

I would definitely not heat a roost.

With the GREAT ideas floating around on here on something so unnecessary as to heating a chicken coop.  I wonder if we will make it through the winter without reading some sad sack tale of..... "My coop burned to the ground and I don't have ANY idea what happened."   150W ceramic heater,  Heat tape wrapped around  a wood roost.   WOW!
Jack

We live mid-Missouri where it can get very cold, with snow and sometimes ice. The coop is made of metal, so I placed a couple rows of hay outside along the north wall for better insulation against the prevailing weather and have a couple feet of this closed cell foam insulation up to the top to prevent snow/ice from accummulating directly on the metal. I also put a row of hay on two sides of the run. I am becoming a big believer in the deep litter method. I just bought a heated dog water bowl, but beyond that, no added heat. My chickens are also bred for the cooler temps, so I think they'll do ok. Don't forget the warm oatmeal in the morning.