appleacres
Chirping
- Feb 9, 2021
- 41
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Hello everyone,
My guineas are 3 weeks old and definitely ready to get into a larger space. I have read they need to live in the actual coop that will be there home for quite a while in order to think of it as their home and not just go wild into the woods and roost in trees at night. Problem is now we are about to have lots of cold weather and actually a bit of snow! The coop walls are just pine boards, so there are some cracks (the walls and floor are lined with heavy duty 1/4" wire to prevent predator chewing) in addition to windows at the top, all with the purpose of ventilation. By using some insulating sheets in one half, and a heater, I have gotten the temp up to 55 degrees when it is 40 degrees at night within that corner, plus they will have the two Brinsea heat plates, but they are only 3 weeks and the temps are going to go down to the high 20s with snow the next few nights). My partner was suggesting more insulation of the walls, possibly creating some sort of cave to trap the heat in, but I feel like the pine shavings will make them sick if there is not enough air, and also insulating a small area doesn't make a space that's much bigger than what they have now in our house. What are people's thoughts on temps? What is the minimum temp you have had, in addition to using Brinsea Heat plates (most can still fit under them, but not 100%), and how much should I be concerned about the ventillation--(it's possible to remove some of the ventillation during the day when it gets up into the 60s) Options I currently have for more heat are to add a heat lamp which I don't like because it lights up their sleeping time and I am nervous about it falling, or to insulate the coop more. To give you an idea--it is a 6x10 coop (interior dimension), with a shed roof and windows all across the high side of the roof, so if I insulated the walls I would still have air up above (but of course, heat rises...)
Thanks!
My guineas are 3 weeks old and definitely ready to get into a larger space. I have read they need to live in the actual coop that will be there home for quite a while in order to think of it as their home and not just go wild into the woods and roost in trees at night. Problem is now we are about to have lots of cold weather and actually a bit of snow! The coop walls are just pine boards, so there are some cracks (the walls and floor are lined with heavy duty 1/4" wire to prevent predator chewing) in addition to windows at the top, all with the purpose of ventilation. By using some insulating sheets in one half, and a heater, I have gotten the temp up to 55 degrees when it is 40 degrees at night within that corner, plus they will have the two Brinsea heat plates, but they are only 3 weeks and the temps are going to go down to the high 20s with snow the next few nights). My partner was suggesting more insulation of the walls, possibly creating some sort of cave to trap the heat in, but I feel like the pine shavings will make them sick if there is not enough air, and also insulating a small area doesn't make a space that's much bigger than what they have now in our house. What are people's thoughts on temps? What is the minimum temp you have had, in addition to using Brinsea Heat plates (most can still fit under them, but not 100%), and how much should I be concerned about the ventillation--(it's possible to remove some of the ventillation during the day when it gets up into the 60s) Options I currently have for more heat are to add a heat lamp which I don't like because it lights up their sleeping time and I am nervous about it falling, or to insulate the coop more. To give you an idea--it is a 6x10 coop (interior dimension), with a shed roof and windows all across the high side of the roof, so if I insulated the walls I would still have air up above (but of course, heat rises...)
Thanks!