How do you heat your coops

[blondiebee181]

I have a heat lamp hung high in the coop on a timer. That way they stay warm, don't eat excessively because that's what they do to stay warm and it keeps up the egg production. Layers need 16 hours of light to lay daily. More is fine if you don't have a timer but nothing less. I also have an insulated coop. Layer feed is not cheap!

Carefull about winter lighting....see above posts...

 

[blondiebee181]

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

See above posts on lighting....but I personally opt not to light in winter....it's natural for chickens to rest.

 

[fishnet1971]

Not sure if this was answered yet, but I heard somewhere that the infared lamps with the red glow were not considered enough light to keep them in the 'hours needed' to lay. I want to give my girls a break from the light this winter, but still want to provide heat (not a lot, just to keep it above freezing). I also heard that the red light can make the rooster mean. Are these just old wives tales or true?

 

[chazen328]

We are from Nebraska. There was a coop on our farm that hadn't been used for 60+ years. I thought we could get away with a new roof and electrical. Boy was I wrong! We ended up remodeling the entire thing...cost about $2k. But it is insulated. We have red heat lamps and white lights that are run off timers to supplement day light. The first pic is what the coop looked like before we started and the second two pics are the laying room and the nesting room after we got done.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

I use a small electric heater, like this. I hang it so the chickens cannot mess with it.

Heating your coop is your choice, and you should take into account your chickens, coop, individual situation etc.

Imp

Thanks., Imp. I finally came to that. A friend's chickens just froze to death here a few years ago. She was from Texas and did not know what a quick drop from 10 above to 20 degrees below can do. I will use common sense and listen to the OT's from here. Wide fluctutions in temperatures in the matter of a half day happen here. I will heat only if necessary but I sure do want to harden them somewhat against the cold so they will naturally get some good downy feathers growing.

We should not fight about this. Kentucky and NC are not the north.

 

[snowflake]

We are from Nebraska. There was a coop on our farm that hadn't been used for 60+ years. I thought we could get away with a new roof and electrical. Boy was I wrong! We ended up remodeling the entire thing...cost about $2k. But it is insulated. We have red heat lamps and white lights that are run off timers to supplement day light. The first pic is what the coop looked like before we started and the second two pics are the laying room and the nesting room after we got done.

very nice coop,,, I only supplement a couple hrs. light in the morning. enough to get a few eggs in winter. I do not heat as my birds have access to outside all winter in a covered run I think it is not good for them to go in and out of heat. I also keep heated waterer and food outside, it encourages them to go out and keeps the coop cleaner in the winter....do not extend light at night or the chickens could get stranded in the dark and unable to find their perch

 

[Bogart]

I have a green house thermometer in mine. It reads the lowest and highest temperature the coop gets after it is reset. You just push down on a little button till the mercury resets.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

very nice coop,,, I only supplement a couple hrs. light in the morning. enough to get a few eggs in winter. I do not heat as my birds have access to outside all winter in a covered run I think it is not good for them to go in and out of heat. I also keep heated waterer and food outside, it encourages them to go out and keeps the coop cleaner in the winter....do not extend light at night or the chickens could get stranded in the dark and unable to find their perch

Just curious, Snowflake. How cold does it get where you live in Michigan ?Does it ever get so really cold that yo ? just keep them in the coop for the day? It will be my first winter with my birds. I have heard that a colder winter is expected.

 

[Jeepman]

I have 18 chickens with one sick rooster in my chicken hospital getting spoiled. The other 17 are in a well ventilated, uninsulated 12x18 coop.

I have an outdoor wood boiler that sends 180F water into the hot water heater, furnace, in-floor heating, and garage all through 1" piping which happens to be right on the other side of the wall of my chicken coop.

I was going to setup two roosts that are the same height but 2 feet apart both out of 2x4. One of them I will have the return line for my wood boiler under which will be wrapped. On average the returning water is 146-159F. I did a test and because wood is terrible heat conductor the top of the 2x4 was 112 degrees on the top when it was exposed to an air temperature of 55 degrees. I will have a bypass for the line also. The other roost will not be heated. I will not put an artificial light on although I do have electric in there. I do have a 5 gallon metal watering can with a plug in heater stand for it.

Keep in mind this is my first winter with this large of a coop or this far north with a flock.

I average a 30"+ snow pack that comes the first week of December and does not melt til March. I've had 23" snowfalls and had drifts over 8 feet on the roads here. Winters are generally cold and damp. When it does get sub zero it can stay that way for a few weeks.

I realize not many people heat their coops, but you can't tell me a warm blooded animal like a chicken would not like it a bit warmer than -15 every morning. Otherwise they would not want to huddle by the sun light first thing in the morning when it's been 27 degrees.

 

[aceintoledo]

I do have a 75 watt light bulb going to extend the daylight but I only plan on running a red heat bulb on the nights when the temps are going to be teens and below, just enough heat to take the edge off. I do have a question for anyone who wants to respond. I keep hearing everyone talking about keeping the coop draft free in the winter, how do I do that when the door from the coop to the run needs to be open?