How do you heat your coops

[Minniechickmama]

No white leghorns here. I have SLW,GLWs, BOs, BRs, EEs, SSs. I like variety too. I don't quite get the production of the summer months in the winter. But, I get plenty of eggs for my family, just don't have a lot of extras to give away to friends.
Jack

I remember you did have variety in the thread pics you posted of your Wood's inspired coop. They were from a different angle, so it took me a couple of looks at your avatar to realize it was you. I actually found that thread the night before they guys I hired started putting my chicken house up and I made them change the original design to suit an open-air one that I have now. I wish I would have done a couple of things different, but I was already ruffling my contractor friend's feathers with the changes I did make. He already had the trusses made, so we went with that as much as possible. The windows work great except with really hard winds from the north in winter the eastern pens get a little dusting of snow. It doesn't really get things wet though, it usually evaporates before it can soak in. I get more snow in through the ridge vent than through the windows.
I also have small pens on the north wall for bantam breeding pens that really expands my space for me.
So, thanks for posting all that information for me to view when I needed it. Although, my brooder house (the smaller building next to the big house) was all my own design based on research I had done for passive solar on a house we are planning to build.

 

[Heddielynn]

I am going to add minimum heat not sure what I am going to use but I was thinking about putting something under the sand in my coop once the sand is warm the chickens will have nice toasty feet! Someone here mention heat mat? what is that? On thanks for posting this it is one of the things I have on my honey do list before winter hits!

I live in Toledo, our coop is built into the garage so they are double insulated. However, when it is cold here, it is cold. You use sand for your coop? Does that work better then pine shavings/straw? I have seen it in coops online. I thought that is pretty smart, you could scoop the poop like a cat box.

 

[pennychaney89]

Tonight is the first night my 3 chicks (4wks and well feathered) are having outside in there coop with no light. They are in a wooden coup lined with newspaper and lots of hay and I have a thick blanket over the open section where breeze can come through. The other half is open for ventilation. It will be about 13-14 degrees Celsius. Hope they will be ok a bit nervous

Checked the babies this morning and they are alive and happy ! So relieved

 

[leilani10]

People from Alaska think we all are silly down here. A well insulated chicken house is all that is needed for chickens to thrive in the bitterest of nights. Infact heat will just throw off their natural molt schedule doing more harm than good.

 

[ellend]

Wish we had the option. Here it is sevin or DE. DE does not work for me in the least.
Again, there are a lot of warnings with Sevin. There are warnings with anything. Tylenol for example. They have to state warnings so they won't be sued. It said to wear a respirator and long sleeves with gloves while dusting. I have got it directly on my skin and didn't wash it off for hours. I have extremely sensitive skin, and it didn't do anything to me at all. Once I used proactive on my face and had a chemical burn for a week. So proactive is more unsafe in my opinion

Please don't think you are safe if you didn't see a skin reaction from a toxin. Toxins are absorbed through the skin, and affect livers and kidneys. Livers have extraordinary powers of regeneration--up to a certain point. Then it's failure, or cancer. Regarding Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.): ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear a mask. DE., like silicates from sandblasting or grinding glass, can cause lung damage that does not manifest immediately. Years later, although often still while young, the lungs become unable to compensate. Fibrotic tissue has replaced normal lung tissue. IF you are extremely lucky, you might get a lung transplant. If you do, your life will center around staying alive--for the next 5 to 7 years, average, before rejection or other complication. Please use a mask.
D.E. didn't do the job when I took in a chicken with mites. I'll still use it to try to prevent, but carefully. I do use it on my vegetable garden, and it helps.

 

[ellend]

Need..? People raise chickens in Alaska without heat. It's a luxury, not really a need.
CT isn't nearly as cold as it is here.

By the way, buying a heated waterer will save you money and safety in the long run instead of the heat lamps.

Cold isn't the same everywhere. In Alaska, when temps drop really low, air is very dry. Not so everywhere. I'm in Ohio by Lake Erie. It's far more pleasant to be outdoors (read: easier to keep warm) when it's really unusually cold, than when it is cold but still damp.

I'm all for heating. We use an indoor remote thermometer, a VERY secure (double-hung, to be safe) hanging heat bulb in a ceramic fixture with either a lamp or a large tin can around it and we keep dust off it to prevent fires.

Many here won't overwinter because of frozen toes and combs. Ever have frostbite? It HURTS! I like knowing my charges can move to areas of different temps as needed. Just because feral cats survive doesn't mean they aren't miserable in the cold; chickens have nerve endings, too. I don't have cows to warm the "barn" so I provide some heat.

 

[PNWGirl]

Yea, I know I know..... But it's my play house too!!!!!!!!! (and we built 80% of it from scrap stuff we found or were given - under $500 total cost.)







Maybe if I had more girls they could huddle more and keep more heat inside without the lamp? oh oh OHHH!!!! excuse for more babies....

You guys did an AMAZING job!!!! This is gorgeous!!!

Sheila

 

[smoothmule]

There were a lot of posts so I just skimmed through most of them, I wish I had time to read every post but alas, I do not

I have one coop, in the barn, open to the outside on one side, 2 sides are solid and one side open to the barn. All wire, no heat. The girls were laying eggs in -13 (minus 13) degrees and if I was off work and could get to them before they froze solid, I could hatch them in the incubator. I made sure they had fresh, clean water daily. They need that particularly in the evening before they go to roost. Increasing the fats in the diet in the fall helped to put a decent coat of fat on them all (I didn't see anything mentioned here about nutrition to prepare for winter). I also give a bit of cracked corn in addition to their routine pellet diet and scraps of course.

Something else I didn't see here was any discussion on breeds. Some breeds handle the winter better and some do better in hotter climates in general. Those breeds with the huge combs are really going to need a good place to keep out of drafts and possibly, a heat source. My Serama's are tiny and originated in Malaysia so enough said, they have a heated building for temps below freezing and outside in warmer times. My Araucana's are those that are super fine in the cold and tolerate the heat okay too.

Fluffy chicken breeds, like cochins etc. I would "guess" that the fluff could help or not with cold. I could see that fluff blowing in a draft or the wind exposing the skin to cold. A really tight feathered breed may have opposite issues. It's a neat thread to read through and probably everyone here is doing the right things for their area and their breeds or else there would be more deaths. I feel that nutrition and planning for their winter months is a good idea. Allowing them adequate rest after molt in the fall, worming them before winter to decrease the stress on the body in the cold, considering a draft free area with plenty of room for them to line up close to roost and stay warmer together, maybe a lower ceiling over the roost to trap some heat. A light source "may" increase stress to their body by making them lay when they might otherwise be resting. speeding the loss of stored fat, etc. If someone is thinking hens are healthy and happy if they are laying all winter, they may find themselves replacing hens much sooner than planned. They can be used up (burned out) pretty quickly if cared for like battery hens.

I know my routine isn't right for every one else but here it is.
My routine here is in the fall is to remove the roosters from any breeding pens about October. I worm them orally with fenbendazole twice, a week before then the day I turn them out. I look for mites/lice but in general, I go ahead and treat with a couple drops of Ivermectin 1% topically. I let them free range (I have dogs to protect them so I am able to pull this one off). The roosters all get along fine (all Araucana's) and they all roost together on the lower beams of a wire pen. They are relieved of their duties, they get to forage, they get fed as well. When they forage, there are many benefits to the rooster. They increase muscle size from being able to run about and fly etc. They eat a lot more bugs that way, there is less stress because no hens. It's like sending a bunch of bachelors to the gym and I feed them very well.

The Araucana hens get their time off too. When the roosters are free ranging, all the hens are cooped together. I briefly drop the quality of feed to help them all go into molt together. Before molt, I worm them, treat for mice/lice as I do the roosters then when they have finished filling the entire coop with feathers, lol, I slowly bring the nutrition back up and take this time to clean out the coops, laying down a layer of powdered lime then bedding. In the winter I use straw and pine shavings to give them something to scratch around but also the heat from the poop in the winter over this bedding is somewhat helpful since it's all dirt flooring. For a while, I give the eggs to the dogs to eat then we eat them when the wormer is out of their system. I don't use any lights and try not to disturb them too much with the outside lights unless I have to. They have fresh water and decent feed along with occasional scraps and greens when I have them. They get a bit of corn in the winter for heat but no other heat source. I want them to "rest" and they need the winter cold and change in feeding patterns to put their bodies into that mode. About Dec to Jan I begin to bring them back into breeding condition with better quality feed, increasing calcium and adding a vitamin A/D/E granules in soft feed. After a couple of weeks to a month, depending on how they look and act, I'll begin sorting them into breeding groups so they can get their pecking order figured out. Then, in go the roosters. Generally 1 or 2 per pen depending on the number of hens and I usually have a few trio's and quads or so with a single rooster then 2 roosters in with the remaining, larger flock of hens. I generally have a few roosters that will remain free ranging to swap in and out of the pens later on. I like keeping the roosters happy as the hens.

With a good plan to keep them happy and healthy, I have not seen a need for heat other than for my tiny Serama's and any chicks that will need it till spring.
I know this thread was about what type of heat do we use but my answer, in a nutshell, is the best health possible and a draft free place to roost.

 

[PurplePoppiPpl]

If anyone uses a light to keep the chickens laying what time do you set it for??

 

[karlamaria]

There were a lot of posts so I just skimmed through most of them, I wish I had time to read every post but alas, I do not

I have one coop, in the barn, open to the outside on one side, 2 sides are solid and one side open to the barn. All wire, no heat. The girls were laying eggs in -13 (minus 13) degrees and if I was off work and could get to them before they froze solid, I could hatch them in the incubator. I made sure they had fresh, clean water daily. They need that particularly in the evening before they go to roost. Increasing the fats in the diet in the fall helped to put a decent coat of fat on them all (I didn't see anything mentioned here about nutrition to prepare for winter). I also give a bit of cracked corn in addition to their routine pellet diet and scraps of course.

Something else I didn't see here was any discussion on breeds. Some breeds handle the winter better and some do better in hotter climates in general. Those breeds with the huge combs are really going to need a good place to keep out of drafts and possibly, a heat source. all my chickens but one have huge combs, never had a problem with out heat, and I never use the deep litter method, I change out my litter every two weeks. never had a problem with frozen combs one time.I believe its the moisture from the poop and not enough ventelation that causes combs to freeze. My Serama's are tiny and originated in Malaysia so enough said, they have a heated building for temps below freezing and outside in warmer times. My Araucana's are those that are super fine in the cold and tolerate the heat okay too.

Fluffy chicken breeds, like cochins etc. I would "guess" that the fluff could help or not with cold. I could see that fluff blowing in a draft or the wind exposing the skin to cold. A really tight feathered breed may have opposite issues. It's a neat thread to read through and probably everyone here is doing the right things for their area and their breeds or else there would be more deaths. I feel that nutrition and planning for their winter months is a good idea. Allowing them adequate rest after molt in the fall, worming them before winter to decrease the stress on the body in the cold, considering a draft free area with plenty of room for them to line up close to roost and stay warmer together, maybe a lower ceiling over the roost to trap some heat. A light source "may" increase stress to their body by making them lay when they might otherwise be resting. speeding the loss of stored fat, etc. If someone is thinking hens are healthy and happy if they are laying all winter, they may find themselves replacing hens much sooner than planned. They can be used up (burned out) pretty quickly if cared for like battery hens.

I know my routine isn't right for every one else but here it is.
My routine here is in the fall is to remove the roosters from any breeding pens about October. I worm them orally with fenbendazole twice, a week before then the day I turn them out. I look for mites/lice but in general, I go ahead and treat with a couple drops of Ivermectin 1% topically. I let them free range (I have dogs to protect them so I am able to pull this one off). The roosters all get along fine (all Araucana's) and they all roost together on the lower beams of a wire pen. They are relieved of their duties, they get to forage, they get fed as well. When they forage, there are many benefits to the rooster. They increase muscle size from being able to run about and fly etc. They eat a lot more bugs that way, there is less stress because no hens. It's like sending a bunch of bachelors to the gym and I feed them very well.

The Araucana hens get their time off too. When the roosters are free ranging, all the hens are cooped together. I briefly drop the quality of feed to help them all go into molt together. Before molt, I worm them, treat for mice/lice as I do the roosters then when they have finished filling the entire coop with feathers, lol, I slowly bring the nutrition back up and take this time to clean out the coops, laying down a layer of powdered lime then bedding. In the winter I use straw and pine shavings to give them something to scratch around but also the heat from the poop in the winter over this bedding is somewhat helpful since it's all dirt flooring. For a while, I give the eggs to the dogs to eat then we eat them when the wormer is out of their system. I don't use any lights and try not to disturb them too much with the outside lights unless I have to. They have fresh water and decent feed along with occasional scraps and greens when I have them. They get a bit of corn in the winter for heat but no other heat source. I want them to "rest" and they need the winter cold and change in feeding patterns to put their bodies into that mode. About Dec to Jan I begin to bring them back into breeding condition with better quality feed, increasing calcium and adding a vitamin A/D/E granules in soft feed. After a couple of weeks to a month, depending on how they look and act, I'll begin sorting them into breeding groups so they can get their pecking order figured out. Then, in go the roosters. Generally 1 or 2 per pen depending on the number of hens and I usually have a few trio's and quads or so with a single rooster then 2 roosters in with the remaining, larger flock of hens. I generally have a few roosters that will remain free ranging to swap in and out of the pens later on. I like keeping the roosters happy as the hens.

With a good plan to keep them happy and healthy, I have not seen a need for heat other than for my tiny Serama's and any chicks that will need it till spring.
I know this thread was about what type of heat do we use but my answer, in a nutshell, is the best health possible and a draft free place to roost.

in winter i make hot cereal for them every morning and give pumpkins and squash all through the winter months. love the fall sales on these and it saves me a ton. just crack open a pumpkin and they go nuts.