Do I need heat lamp in coop with the cold weather???

[spotsplus]

I'm in MA and do not put heat lamps in my coop. I've never had a chicken or quail with a case of frostbite.

 

[bobbi-j]

You do NOT need a heat lamp in your coop. God gave them the tools to survive. I live in Ohio, have lived in Connecticut and while cooler, not by much.
What you do need is adequate space, ventilation but not a draft. Draft is a direct wind which the birds cannot get away from which causes the frostbite. Ventilation carries away breath and is moving air which keeps the problems of dampness away.

Direct air, and dampness are the enemy.

I would rather have it -30 and dry, than 15 and damp.... At least for the birds....

Shawn

X2!

How do I know if it's too damp? I touch the pine shavings and they feel dry; we also cover the coop with a tarp when it rains/snows just in case of any leaks. We had the coop built and I am assuming it's a well built house for the chickens. We have a door to the run that we close every night so the birds don't have a draft. I bought some straw to also put on top of pine shavings because I read somewhere that straw gives off some heat. It just feels strange to leave them outside in this freezing weather! any other thoughts on keeping the chickens warm? We are nervous that they are going to freeze!

Frost on the walls could indicate too much humidity. I'm in MN, and it's supposed to be in the double-digits below zero tomorrow night. No heater in my coop. You are actually doing your chickens a disservice by heating the coop. By using supplemental heat, they don't get acclimated to the cold. What if you lose electricity for some reason? You'll have a bunch of birds trying to deal with the cold that aren't used to it. Do you have songbirds where you live? I'm guessing that if you do, they don't have little heated birdhouses to keep them warm in the winter. They survive just fine. So will your chickens. Really, they will.

 

[HeatherM1375]

Thanks for posting! This is so helpful. I am in MA, and it is going to be a balmy 8 degress on Thursday. So I am worried about my chickens, too. I have 6 chickens in a small coop. I am afraid to use a heat lamp because I'm afraid that the the straw will catch on fire. We have a 100 watt daylight bulb in the coop and they seem to like that. I'm not sure if it gives off heat. I just don't want any of them freezing to death in the cold!

 

[CarlaRiggs]

If your hens appear to have frostbite on their combs,then they need more warmth. It must be very painful for them. We're their owners, and it's up to us to care for them.
Be very careful of drafts which would blow directly onto the hens. If you're worried, you could perhaps put some boxes or old baskets filled with straw or hay in which the chickens might snuggle in together.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

If your hens appear to have frostbite on their combs,then they need more warmth. It must be very painful for them. We're their owners, and it's up to us to care for them.
Be very careful of drafts which would blow directly onto the hens. If you're worried, you could perhaps put some boxes or old baskets filled with straw or hay in which the chickens might snuggle in together.

 

[DanEP]

If your girls have frostbite you need more ventilation not heat. vent up high above their roost so they don't get a draft but add venting . I learned the hard way when you think you have enough ventilation double it. Moisture causes frostbite not cold in this case. You want the bottom of your coop to be dry and draft free with lots of ventilation up high, this will allow moisture to escape. Meet these conditions and the cold will not be a problem for your girls.

 

[nfwc1964]

Thanks for the info. When I saw what had done keeping them too warm makes sense to me. Try living in Florida for a few months, then go back up north. Your body would have a hard time adapting to the temp. swing too. I have a 250 watt infra-red bulb at 42 inches off the coop floor. It is in a 4x8 foot coop with the egg boxes at both ends. No insulation in the coop. But it is draft free. The lamp is on a timer to come on at midnight and go off at 9AM. I use it to just take the extreme chill out of the coop. The lamp adds 15 degrees inside the coop to the outside temperature. I do open the door for them to come out in the PM when the temp warms up somewhat. At least it ventilates the coop daily.

 

[loanwizard]

2 points. To the person that mentioned that they heard that straw gives off heat. Not exactly true but close. Straw is an insulator. Straw is a tube. The air in that tube holds the warmer air of the body laying on it.

To the person that has a heat lamp in their coop resulting in more eggs. I am wondering if your heat lamp is a red bulb or a white bulb?

If it is what I suspect, a white bulb, the reason you are getting more eggs now is not the heat but the light itself. Optimal laying conditions is 14 hours of daylight per day. Supplying a heat lamp gives them supplemental light which is actually harder on their natural cycle than letting their system rest in winter time. If it is a red bulb, I have learned something new, but the same applies.

As said before, cold does not hurt chickens. Moisture can kill them.

 

[SCchickens2011]

I have a medium to large size coop and 15 birds, they have regular 100 w lamps (2) for daylight during the short winter days, so they will continue to lay more eggs, but I do not have insulation or any other form of heat. This morning was -8 degrees, my coop was +9.9 degrees, the girls were okay, but I lost 6 out of 8 eggs due to freezing and cracking open. Their 5 gallon waterer was frozen almost solid so I had to give them a pan of water to tide them over until the waterer thaws out in the laundry sink in the house. My shavings are packed down, I keep turning them with a manure fork daily to fluff them up, but the girls haven't been able to go out for about 2 days due to snow falling, so I am wondering about adding an oil filled radiant heater just so I don't lose any more eggs to the cold, and a little to keep them warmer, I noticed very tiny black spots on their combs this morning, at least until I can modify in the spring with insulation. Another question I have is my waterer has been placed up on a block to keep it off the coop floor, it stays a bit cleaner but still freezes, is it better if I hang it?

 

[JackE]

Below is my coop. When the picture was taken it was right around 10 degrees. It gets colder than that down here sometimes, not including windchill. And yes, the front of the coop is wide open. Look at the chickens, up front, not huddling in the back freezing to death. Unless you have some kind of exotic or a featherless breed, you don't have to worry about your chickens and cold weather. They are built to handle it. They don't need any help from us with heatlamps or any other added heat. Make sure you have good ventilation. Like Bobbi-j said, if you notice excessive moisture or frost building up in there, you NEED more fresh air/ ventilation.
Jack