Heating the Chicken coop in Winter.. Any suggestions

[Mahtowagal]

No heat here either. I agree with those who promote allowing mother nature to do the job. I also have had horses for 25 yrs and I cringe when I see people blanketing them. Horses do wonderfully even down to 50 below 0 as long as you provide free choice grass hay and plenty of water. They have a very cool system of insulation that is as close to perfection as they could want. If you blanket them and mess with things, you not only throw their thermoregulation off, but you actually effect their entire body in a negative way. I am betting chickens are the same way when you add heat to the environment. Of course unlike a blanketed horse, they can choose to move away from a lamp etc...but still, does not feel right to me to be adding heat. We live in northern Minnesota and this will be our first winter with chickens. Looking forward to a winter of healthy hardy Cochins!! I will give extra cracked corn at night. With horses, the digestion of the hay is literally what warms them. I am betting chickens are similar with the corn.

 

[Hokum Coco]

What is the best way to heat the chicken coop with a portable heater, Electric no gas. What is best radiant, Wall.. ext... I don't want propane or gas, Any suggestions on what will keep the chickens warm in the winter? now winter is far a for me but I want to stay on the Bright side!

Heat if you like.
Just saying Canada (think north pole) No light, No heat, No problems.

Feed extra corn

Do not use candles could be dangerous.

 

[Heidi Tooker]

Hi All ~ I've been reading the posts related to coop heating. I live in Colorado at 7,250 feet and have tried not heating my coop for the past 2 years. During the 2013 winter we had several days of 0° and a couple that went down to -21°! There is no way my girls would have survived if I hadn't gone out and brought them into my basement! As it was, one lost a toe, and the other had frostbite to her comb. I felt awful!

IMHO, I think everyone should have an emergency plan for heating their coops. This year I'm going to have something in place in case we get more cold weather like last winter! Keeping the girls in my half finished basement for a couple of days was no big deal, but I did find eggs in the oddest places for several days!

 

[mtchickengal]

This is my now double decker coop. Hopefully we will make it through our mt winter ok. There is a strip of hardware cloth along the top of the front of the coop, and many holes in the sides of the top floor away from the roosting bars. The chickens seem to prefer the edge of the 2nd floor to the bars for roosting. I did put a 2x2 along that edge. Some of the Dom hens sleep on the higher up bar. Some of the less aggressive birds sleep down below. I replaced my smaller roosting bars with 2x3's. These girls don't really seem to like change. I have been giving them scratch & corn. Also quite a few meal worms & regular layer feed....of course. Some fresh greens pretty frequently. Hope everyone has a great winter!!! We have at least a 10 day cold stretch started today.

 

[SRob]

Has anyone ever used "Snuggle Safe" heat pads in the chicken coop for warmth in winter? If so, where do you place them inside the coop, and how many would you recommend for an insulated, draft-free 5 x 6 coop? Thanks!

 

[mtchickengal]

Hi. I have heard of those, but I don't actually know what they are. I did put a heat lamp in the plastic covered run area when it was so cold a few weeks ago. The girls have been ranging in the yard during the day for about the last week. When it was super cold (-21), they stayed in the run area near the heat lamp. They all did well. It still got to -16 in the coop over night. I did get a thermometer in it. This weekend there will be 1 or 2 nights that cold again. I am actually still considering mounting some metal plates of some sort with plumbing heat tape in the coop that is thermostatically controlled to come on around 34ish degrees. Just haven't fully decided on it yet. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

 

[ms-lilly]

I have 30 hens of mixed breeds, including silkies, in an insulated 20 x 16 ft insulated coop. Our weather in this are of Wisconsin has been -18 degrees during some nights. My Silkies and molting hens would not do well without supplemental heat. I have mounted a DeLonghi SafeHeat ceramic electric flat panel heater on the wall of the coop opposite the roosting bars (following the manufacturer's instructions not to plug into an extension cord, etc.) This heater has a thermostat and 2 heat settings, overheat and tip-over shutoff, and it is cool to touch. It does not have a fan so does not blow dust around. It heats the coop in below zero temps to the low 20s - enough heat for the Silkies and molting hens but not so balmy that the hens will not go out into the run during the day when the temps warm up. I used to hang several 250W heat lamps at night, but I got tired of changing burned out bulbs, running the cords, positioning the lamps, etc. This was truly an affordable solution (under $90) and less worry than with the heat lamps. Oh, and I do use two large 5-qt heated water bowls (the large blue pet bowls) that have the thermostats. Easy to quickly change the water and clean the bowl each day even when temps are freezing.

 

[Mahtowagal]

I use a heated dog dish also but have it right outside the door to keep down humidity in the coop under 70%. I am going to invest in a flat wall heater also.... as I'm tired of dealing with positioning the heat lamp. I just have mine hanging and the cord is out of the chicken's reach but it's so far away from them, I'm not sure how much help it offers. What do you mean about not using an extension cord on the panel heater? That is the only way we could use one.....

 

[GingerTreacle]

I live in freezing NH, where some nights have been around -15'F. My four hardy Plimoth Barred Rocks have got frost bitten combs from an unheated coop, despite open windows high up. I could see it creeping down the combs more each day. It might be because they are in a converted shed so the have plenty of room, but probably less warmth. A few nights ago, on the advice of my vet, I gave in and began heating my coop with a plug in, oil filled radiator. It keeps the coop dryer, at around 60% humidity, and around 30-35'F, of course the girls seem altogether much happier! (not that they ever stopped laying, bless them.) I have some 1 inch hardware cloth covering the radiator and they don't seem to mess with it at all. I also put down a half bale of straw and their feet are doing ok thanks to this I believe. I do dust off the radiator and plugs daily, but I was just too nervous of fires to use a heat lamp, knowing how much they kick the bedding around. The radiator is on low.
My vet also recommended an antibiotic cream for their combs, but as it said, "Not suitable for food producing animals- against State Law" on the tube I decided to buy some Bag Balm instead. It's wonderful and they are getting used to having it slathered on thickly each day, (except for GLORIA, who shakes her head fast to try to avoid it!).
Bag Balm and temperatures around freezing point have brought back the bright red coloring on their combs, beneath the blackened, frost bitten areas, and we are waiting for those bits to fall off now. (BTW, this is my first winter of chickens, quite a learning experience.)
Of course we haven't had the electricity bill yet...

 

[GingerTreacle]

pS so glad I bought a bird bath defroster for the bucket of water. One nipple froze for the first time this morning, but it has been a God send.