How do you heat the laying boxes?

[RonP]

Last year we had some unusually cold weather for our area, many days never reaching above freezing.

Although the birds and my cookie tin water heater did just fine, I froze quite a few eggs.

My work schedule allows me only to collect at 8am and 8pm. I lost dozens due to them freezing solid.

I have decided to heat the laying boxes.

My plan is to use seed heat mats on the bottom of the nests, covered with a heavy paper leaf bag . I use shredded junk mail as nesting material. I have been using the leaf bags and shredded paper for many years now it works very well for my needs.

The heat pads claim to raise the temperature 10 to 20 degrees.

The power will come from the light timer, on at 5:30am off at 9pm, then through a thermo cube, on at 35F off at 45F.

I would love your ideas or thoughts on this.

 

[RonP]

Update!

Last night the temps dropped to 30F in the coop (thermometer that offers 24 hour high and low temperatures, and humidity %).

By 9am (It's a Saturday and I'm not going out early) I'm in the coop and the thermo cube powering the nest boxes is lit.

Ambient temperature (pitchfork on wall) reads 34.1F infrared thermometer, wall thermometer 34F.

Nest box 1 with 2 ceramic eggs, 53.3F.

Nest box 2 with 2 ceramic eggs and 4 real eggs, 53.5F

Nest box 3 with 2 ceramic eggs, 3 real eggs, and 1 angry chicken, 98.9F.


This Tuesday, we are predicting a high of 33F with a low of 22F.

As my birds can start laying as early as 5:30am, I have to consider night time lows as a freezing threat.

I will be taking temps at 8am and 8-9pm.


I made an interesting observation I thought I would share.

The outer layer feathers of an angry chicken in 34F ambient temperatures were within 1 tenth of a degree of the ambient temperature.

The inner layers were very close to 100 degrees, 66 degrees warmer.

Nice jacket!!

 

[RonP]

Funny story,

When testing the heated nest box temperatures, I used an unheated box as my control sample.

One day while taking temperatures my results were:

Ambient temperature....47F
Heated nest box............65F
Control nest box............78F

I repeated the measurements 3 times before I realized there was a REAL egg in the box...

 

[RonP]

This is my first winter, so I haven't experienced frozen eggs. Do they crack or are there visible signs? Mine are always cold (its around 30* in the coop), but they seem normal otherwise.

They can freeze in the egg without cracking.

When they fully freeze, they will crack open, these are exposed to the environment and questionable.

 

[aart]

You might want to test it out somehow so you know they aren't getting really warm, tho I guess they probably wouldn't depending on how cold the ambient temps and if the hens scratch down so the egg are touching the pad or maybe I just think too much

How big are your nests? Will the pad lay flat or fold up along the sides?

It will certainly be nice for you to come home to not frozen eggs, that is always so disappointing.

 

[RonP]

Watering
For along time I used heater tape around a bucket with chicken watering nipples. It worked excellent.It could maybe also be used for heating a nest box (never did it personally).

I thought about that.

The pad seems like an easier installation and better distribution of heat.

 

[aart]

Ambient temperature with the thermo cube should always be below 45F.

Even if all shredded paper were gone, there will still be the leaf bag, several layers of thick paper, separating the egg and the pad, diffusing the heat.
The bags are disposable. I change them out about once a year even though they might still be good.
Every once in a while I'll get a broken egg in the nests, the bag saves me the trouble of cleaning the wooden box.

I'm more concerned that there will not be enough heat for those days below 0 like we received last year.

The pad is bendable and will cover the length of the box and ~ 3" to 4" up the back.
I haven't received them yet, but if they aren't flexible, I can be in the final design.

There ya go....can't wait to see this implemented....real curious what the temp will be, at the pad and at the egg.

 

[RonP]

I paid $19.99 at Harbor Frieght on sale.

Great entertainment!

http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contact-infrared-thermometer-with-laser-targeting-69465-8905.html

 

[RonP]

Wow!

Do you have the same 17 Watt mat I'm using?

What was the ambient temperature outside the box?

How did you measure the temps??

I never used wood shavings, but I can't imagine it makes that big a difference.

My daytime temps are in the twenties, eggs are still in the forties at 8pm.

 

[RonP]

Last night at 8pm, my coop temperatures were 16F.

I removed the late layers eggs, they felt cool to the touch.

Once inside, I took their temps.

38 to 42F...

Well above the 28F freezing point.


My birds wake up at 5:30am.

This morning 7:45am, coop temps were 14F, and had been 14F since 10:30 last night.

Once inside, I took the eggs temps.

44 to 51F... probably still retaining some heat from the hens.


Unlike last year, we had a relatively warm December, and this is the first week with daytime temps much below freezing.