JHello-I'm new on here,but have been raising chickens for about 40 years now.This time,I will address the topic of heating and wiring in the coop or barn.Where I live,it can get very cold in winter,and no domesticated animal can survive the prolonged bittetr cold for very long.I have in my "barn",which was actually an old semi-trailer,both heat,and electricity.First,I have all wiring inside of conduit,so nothing can chew on the wiring.It is wired for both 120 and 240 volt,the reason for which I will give in a moment.I installed outlets all along the perimiter of the inside,and convenience GFCI outlets on the outside.Every outlet is on it's own breaker,so it's protected from overload.The 120 is used to run the interior lights,,and in summer,multiple fans mounted to bring in fresh air and exhaust out the hot air.In winter,I use a 3-to-5000 watt (switchable) garage electric heater,to warm the barn.This is what the 240 volt outlets are for.Because,forget using light bulbs,heat lamps,,or even-as I tried once-home heaters.They are totally ineffective in keeping up weith cold temps much below 20-30 degrees.I know,because I tried them all. You are merely wasting electricity on a point-source type of heat.What is needed is to heat the WHOLE area,and a garage heater,at 240 bolts,is the ONLY thing that truly works to not only heat the whole space,but keep the water entirely thawed-no need to plug in heated waterers.It is the most efficient means I have found for keeping all my guys and girls comfortable.Most days,on all but the most extreme temps,I can stand in the barn without a coat on.My rule of thumb is-If I am comfortable,then so are they,as our body temp is 98.6,and theirs is 102.So,even though it may feel just a bit chilly to me,they are entirely comfortable,running arond inside like it's summer outsidde,when it's actually 10 below.
P.S.-heat becomes increasingly important as your flock ages-the AVERAGE age of my birds now is about 8-10 years! My opinion is that being kept from excessive stress from temperature extremes may be contributing to their long lifespan.I've had some live to be as old as 15! plus- a little hug now and then doesn't hurt them,either!
P.S.-heat becomes increasingly important as your flock ages-the AVERAGE age of my birds now is about 8-10 years! My opinion is that being kept from excessive stress from temperature extremes may be contributing to their long lifespan.I've had some live to be as old as 15! plus- a little hug now and then doesn't hurt them,either!
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