Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[brandislee]

I already have a water heater- same as yours- kicks on under 35 and turns off over 45... so in other words it will be on pretty much from now until March... on a side note, to coop is "wired" to the garage outlet, and suddenly last week the breakers kept flipping when I would blow dry my hair, then just for no reason. I had put a heater in the kids' play room, which turns out to be on the same circuit as the garage, which ALL the outside Christmas lights are plugged into as well.... Ah old houses.

I don't want their coop to be anywhere near 45. I think that would be too warm and cause issues. What type of heater is it that you installed- like is it wall mounted, does it blow air or just radiate, etc? I don't know if I would want to run it all the time, but it may be a good idea to have something installed for the sub zero nights.

Anyone know about the frostbite thing though?

 

[tiki244]

From what I have read, the frostbite happens when there is dampness in the coop. So there must be a certain amount of ventilation. I am experimenting with that myself this year.


FT I never realized pigs were so nasty.

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

Quote:
Pigs will eat you faster than the chickens if you fall and knock yourself out. Lol

 

[Celtic Chick]

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brandislee! We always welcome new people, no matter where you're from.

You'll get no end to the opinions of what to do about your chickens in the winter. There are a number of factors to take into account, however. How well ventilated is your coop? Any drafts? How much sun does your coop get during the day? How many birds do you have in your 60 sq. ft. coop? The more birds, the more body heat=more warmth in the coop. A combination of cold & humidity usually causes frostbite on the combs, and their respiration can also cause humidity. It can be a trial & error thing depending on your specific conditions, unfortunately.

If you keep blowing your breakers, please note that every time you blow a breaker & reset it, it becomes weaker. So every time it blows, it will take less & less to make it blow out again. You might have to replace it with a new one.

Some people have ceramic heaters, other use heat lamps, the options are numerous. I have a heat bulb hanging from the rafters above the roost in an (uninsulated) coop & a heater for keeping the water from freezing. As far as frostbite goes, I have a roo with a rose comb that had frostbite on his comb prior to me owning him, and I do know that once they have frostbite once, they are prone to it in the future. I have no first-hand experience in this matter, but I have heard & read that bag balm is more healing & protective than Vaseline, but that is just what I have read. So far, my roo's comb has been ok in my setup. Hopefully it continues.

HTH.

 

[brandislee]

Duh. Sorry- I thought I mentioned how many birds I had. I didn't- I have 22 in that 60 foot coop, and the point I was getting at is that, although it was accidental, I like my setup- they have plenty of sheltered space during the day, but at night they're in a more confined space= more concentrated warmth. It's not bad in there at night, I have to say. And my ventilation is good, at least I think it is- I have 6 inch high under eave vents along both long walls (18 foot total=9 sq feet) plus a 2x4 window that I open when it's "nice" out (aka not windy and frigid out) during the day... That's not 1 square foot per bird, but it's as close as I could get. Other than at the vents there are no drafts- it's a very tight coop (although not insulated). I do worry a little about the chickens who insist on roosting in the rafters while ignoring the roosts I built them (of which there are PLENTY) since they are just above the vents, BUT when I put my hand up there it felt alright, and I figure they know better what feels okay to them. My coop is positioned where it is out of almost all direct winds (tree lines on three sides, garage on the fourth side) BUT it doesn't get much direct sun, mostly in the afternoon, and since the sun goes down at 4:30 it gets like 4 hours of sun. I thought about building a passive solar heater, but I don't think either of their windows get enough direct sunlight AND it would block the light from the window, at least the way I'm thinking of. Maybe if I have one that pipes the warm air in...

I just told my best friend I wasn't going to start any more big projects for a while. I'm going to have to repeat that a few times before I believe it

 

[tiki244]

Quote:
Pigs will eat you faster than the chickens if you fall and knock yourself out. Lol

CHICKENS!

 

[Linn Bee]

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I just got my chicks in May and my coop in September, but. . .

I raised chickens here about 25 years ago. I kept them in part of a drafty storage shed - no doors or window glass. I did sort of cover the wire enclosure with plastic to stop the wind as much as possible. The only time I had a problem with frostbite was when we had temps of close to -30 degrees (F). A few of the chickens had a problem with the tips of their combs. (Hey, I didn't know better back then.)

My new coop is smaller (8 X 8) as befits a smaller (12 dual-purpose) flock. It is also insulated and vented. I do have e- for 13 hours of light using an incandescent (60 watt) bulb and I just added a heated waterer. I don't intend to heat the coop above that.

Love, Linn B (aka Smart Red) Gardening zone 5a - 4b in south-est, central-est Wisconsin

 

[Dr HaHa]

Good Morning Everybody! 10* here this AM. Brr. Speaking of heaters someone forgot to plug in the heat tape for the well the other day even though they had thought about it a week ago.

whistle whistle. Figure about an hour from now it will let loose. Idiot! I'm not using any heat in the coop until it gets to 0 then I'll either put that oil filled heater in there or use a heat lamp. Just for frostbite. Closing off the fan really made a difference in there. No word yet on Laura's G son. FT don't encourage that pig that's just mean!

CC just say what your thinking, some people are a little thin skinned but that's their problem not yours. You can't protect them from everything! brandislee sounds like your set up is just fine. Cind didn't mean to put you on the spot I'm not going to drag Peatwo all that way. It was just a thought of the moment. The kids got fresh bedding and really enjoyed scratching for the seeds. Peatwo looked confused last night. With all the fresh straw in the nest boxes he couldn't decide where he was going to sleep.

Stay warm!

 

[brandislee]

Thanks guys! I feel a little better now. And it is a lot more comfortable in there than outside, at least. I stupidly went out with knee length sweats on and my calves were freezing- the coop was a relief to my cold legs. Makes me wish I would have stuck to pea combed chickens, though, because honestly the only things I'm worried about are combs freezing and drafts on my 3 bantams (which I check every night).

Is it March yet?

And yeah, they're gross, and any poo that isn't in the bedding (on the roosts, etc) is FROZEN ON SOLID so I can't scrape it until it warms up. Gross. As soon as it warms up I'm going to have to do a serious coop refresh already (totally cleaned the coop in October, deep litter). And I'm going to need to put bedding of some sort into their outdoor structure- I didn't think about that when I built it (it's on dirt), although I did throw some partially broken down compost out there for them to scratch in, and it's getting obvious it will get gross if I don't.

 

[jvls1942]

good morining again, I have been up since 3:3oAM.. I am about ready for my mid-day nap.. the kitchen drain pipe was frozen so I disconnected it and ran an alternate..

the waterers were frozen in the coops, but not real solid.. the air temps in the coops was comfortable, though.. well, compared to outside,,

Annie went to Menard's at 7AM.. she bought me two 18V drills they had on sale,, $9.99 after a rebate.. the reason I got two of them is mainly for the extra battery pack.. You cannot buy battery packs for that price.. and they came with drill bits and driver bits .. basically the drill was free.. Now we will have to see how long the Chinese made drill lasts.. I don't expect much from them..

My brother is coming out later to help me change an outside outlet.. I could have done it anytime last summer while it was warm, but where is the challenge in that ??

I just got a notification that I got a mesage from BYC.. I am typing , so it must be TerriO..
I cannot check it out without losing this post, so I will just send it ..