How do you heat your coops

[vickiw]

Really wish mine were out of the wind too

. 13o when I got up this morning. My girls (just 3 hens and a pullet right now) are in a nice insulated coop but not enough of them to keep it warm so I am having to run an oil-filled electric heater at night. Nice thing is it has a setting to hold everything just around 42o. A little warmer than I would like but not too bad. No snow on the ground here but as you can see, we are cold! My shipment from tarpaflex should be here today so I can get them up on the run fences (roughly 20x15) to block the wind. Still working on a way to put a cover over it to keep the snow out.
KarlaMaria~what kind(s) of chickens do you have?

 

[karlamaria]

Really wish mine were out of the wind too   .  13o when I got up this morning.  My girls (just 3 hens and a pullet right now) are in a nice insulated coop but not enough of them to keep it warm so I am having to run an oil-filled electric heater at night.  Nice thing is it has a setting to hold everything just around 42o.  A little warmer than I would like but not too bad.  No snow on the ground here but as you can see, we are cold!  My shipment from tarpaflex should be here today so I can get them up on the run fences (roughly 20x15) to block the wind.  Still working on a way to put a cover over it to keep the snow out.  
KarlaMaria~what kind(s) of chickens do you have?

I have 2 rhode island reds, a rhode island red and Easter egger mix ( blue eggs) and 2 buff orphingtons , 1 light brahama 1 austerlorps.and a coco maran. Also have 2 Easter egger chicks 4 weeks old. I will take pictures of my pen today . You could put a giant tarp over the top like we did last year, but you will have to knock snow off the top every time. We did this and used heavy duty zip ties to hold it Down .

 

[karlamaria]

I had the pen made with an over hang... this w2ay we could tuck the plastic up and under to help when the winds become terrible. we have more slats to add to top and bottom, but its working wonderfully so far. and its nice and light inside the pen for them..

 

[vickiw]

wow that looks nice!!!! Great job!!!! I wish I had thought a bit further ahead. Just in too much of a hurry to get my girls into their first taste of fresh air I guess (did I mention they were rescues?). We'll get thru the winter this year and do a re-do in the spring. My tarps from Tarpflex arrived right on time and I have them up and the girls seem to like the protection but I still don't have anything over the top yet. We had our first "sticking" snow yesterday, sigh.

 

[karlamaria]

Vicki, how wide is your pen? Can you throw over some 2x4s and the a real heavy tarp over that and held down by zip ties ? We did this last year, had to jump up and knock snow off but it lasted. We used a 10x10x10 dog kennel, and just added a heavy duty tarp that was 2 feet longer all the way around, then used heavy duty zip ties to hold it in place.
The way mine is done, it's pretty warm in there coop since no wind .

 

[karlamaria]

Ok I saw you have a 20x15 pen, you can do a few things now to block snow, add hard wire to the top then tarp over that. Ir just chicken wire on top Then a heavy duty tarp held down with real heavy duty zip ties. Is your pen wood or metal?

 

[leilani10]

You sound like your more on the order of what I have. 1 rooster and 5 hens. coop with no heat is actually good for them. I insulated and make sure there is ventilation. heat their water with a homemade water heater made out of large oval cookie gift giving tin (yardsale 50 cent) Ran an extension cord to the coop and the water is changed out with a old ice cream container. Pick it up put the clean one in its place easy peasy. Direction for this are on this web site. The cold is taken into account as they grow their different layers of feathers. They laugh at us down here in the lower 48. Think Alaska brrrr. Minnesota brrrr. Chickens survive and to much LOVE will kill them. Have a good new year, Leilani

 

[CapnCanard]

Curious, I am down in MN, but I was wondering about your heater. You say Orek heater, eh? What model/size is it? The other day I noticed my roo had some hint of frostbite after a night of negative temps, of course I got my birds in a coop but not sophisticated at all, sand floor, heated waterer, protected from fierce winds, with an infrared lamp for heat and I am considering tightening up the coop. I noticed that many people seem to think water vapor is a major problem, I seriously doubt that humidity could be a major concern unless the coop is air tight with a massive amount of vapor barrier. The better rationale is that the chicken's extremities(waddles, combs and feet) are most prone to lose heat. Having never had live chickens beyond October, this is all new to me... so I stumble along trying to find the best way to keep the layers in good condition. Thanks for your time.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Now that the temps here have dipped below zero, I have checked the temp in the coop that is heated by the SUN. It stays about 10 degrees warmer inside, even with 4-foot by 5-foot windows that are covered by only 1/2" hardware cloth. I also have about 18 eggs per day coming in the house and I am getting more every couple of days now. My birds are much happier now than they were in July when they stood around panting and stopped laying.
Just sayin'.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Chickens in Canada!
NO Heat, NO Light, NO insulation, NO moisture plenty of ventilation, NO PROBLEMS. Last night temperatures were -13 Celsius not factoring wind chill; less than 3 inch drop to poop board for egg survival; 6 Golden Comet hens over 3 years old; 3 eggs a day regular as below zero temperatures. NO COMPLAINTS FROM SPCA FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY!
I was not aware I was so cruel until reading these post.





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