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- #21
- Jul 20, 2014
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Well it has been brutally cold for the last few days and a couple more cold ones to go.Rite now it is -5 with wind gusts to around 30 MPH. I have not opened the run door for a couple of days nor do I expect to for a few more. About a month ago I hard wired a heat lamp so that it shines on a good portion of the roosting area because I was starting to see a little frostbite on some combs.
I hear lots of arguments against this practice so I will make a few for. Yes it could burn the coop down but I am not worried about it as my coop has a high ceiling and the bulb is protected also the coop is well away from other buildings. My birds were toughened to the cold and I do not run the heat unless it dips below 0 outside. They just plain seem more comfortable and spend a lot of time on my very spacious roost well separated and not bothering each other. without the light they are apt to huddle together and this leads to jockeying for position and minor squabbling.I was just out feeding and watering when I opened the door 6 birds were spread out on the 18' of roost space, one was in the nest, one was pecking at the feed, and the others two were just wandering around the floor. This is pretty typical for cold days when I am running the heat. The down side is it costs around thirty cents/24 hr day to run it with my average being 9 eggs/day it is a significant portion of the cost, but if I wanted to make money I would not keep hens,I give my surplus to friend and family anyway.
So anyway it is almost Feb and they are not eating each other and are making do with the space.
I hear lots of arguments against this practice so I will make a few for. Yes it could burn the coop down but I am not worried about it as my coop has a high ceiling and the bulb is protected also the coop is well away from other buildings. My birds were toughened to the cold and I do not run the heat unless it dips below 0 outside. They just plain seem more comfortable and spend a lot of time on my very spacious roost well separated and not bothering each other. without the light they are apt to huddle together and this leads to jockeying for position and minor squabbling.I was just out feeding and watering when I opened the door 6 birds were spread out on the 18' of roost space, one was in the nest, one was pecking at the feed, and the others two were just wandering around the floor. This is pretty typical for cold days when I am running the heat. The down side is it costs around thirty cents/24 hr day to run it with my average being 9 eggs/day it is a significant portion of the cost, but if I wanted to make money I would not keep hens,I give my surplus to friend and family anyway.
So anyway it is almost Feb and they are not eating each other and are making do with the space.
