New to BYC, but have been referencing it for a long time

[mesalina87]

Hello and welcome to the flock of crazy chicken people. Pull up a chair and sit a spell and enjoy all things chicken!

 

[CarpCharacin]

Welcome to BYC! We're glad you decided to join our wonderful community!

 

[James4455]

Hello, James, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Get some reinforced clear heavy duty vinyl to wrap all but the top 2 feet of your run with, add some additional perches and you will be ready for winter.

What’s your opinion on a heat lamp in the henhouse ? Folks around here have recommended it to maintain some egg production, and it does get below zero sometimes in the winter, so I don’t want them to freeze - my main concern is fire, plus the pain of running an extension cord, but I’ll probably have to do that anyway because I’m thinking of getting one of those heated waterers

 

[DobieLover]

What’s your opinion on a heat lamp in the henhouse ? Folks around here have recommended it to maintain some egg production, and it does get below zero sometimes in the winter, so I don’t want them to freeze - my main concern is fire, plus the pain of running an extension cord, but I’ll probably have to do that anyway because I’m thinking of getting one of those heated waterers

Absolutely no need to heat the coop. You need to think DRY not warm. The chickens generate a lot of heat that is kept in with all the insulating feathers. You want LOTS of ventilation and no draft directly on the birds when they roost for the night.
I had lots of eggs from my pullets last winter and I am north of you. We had lows around -17F and days that barely broke 20F. The eggs will freeze! The girls won't.
How far away from the house is the coop? Do you know how to run electrical circuits? If you can, I'd wire up the run with a GFCI receptacle in a weatherproof box so you can avoid the extension cord.

 

[fldiver97]

Welcome! Agree with DobieLover.... no heat needed, let the chickens acclimate. Plastic sheeting (I’ve started using shower curtain liners and zip tie them to the hardware cloth, weigh the bottom down with some bricks) Lets light in, keeps wind and snow out. I also rake my dry fall leaves in the run, several inches deep. By spring it’s all broken down. I also use a bit more bedding in the coop in winter and a solar LED light so I can check on them early evening. Young hens will likely lay moderately their first winter, maybe 2 winters. I don’t have electricity in the coop and used a waterer with a heated base for a few winters. Now I just change water bowls as needed (working from home)

 

[N F C]

Hi James, I agree with @DobieLover and @fldiver97 re: no heat in the coop. The heat lamps are a real fire threat and you could lose your entire flock plus coop. As long as your coop has plenty of ventilation and a dry environment, they'll be fine (mine does well in our Wyoming winters).

Best wishes, have fun!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello James and welcome to BYC. I hope that you enjoy your time here.

This is a useful link to take a look at - “How to...” guides. You may wish to consider including your location under your avatar (using the guide in the link above). You can use this link to contact members in your area - U.S. States

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[rjohns39]

Hi James and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[Leahs Coop]

Hello James, and a warm welcome to Backyard Chickens! It's great to have you here with us.