I have 13 6 month old Buff Orpingtons and Brahmas and its been in the mid 30s and high 20s the past few days.......with lots and lots of snow!!!!! Should I wait till it gets in the teens to put a heat lamp in there.....or below zero????? What temp. do you put a heat lamp in your coop???
I dont ever heat my coop as long as they are fully feathered birds. Juveniles get heat only when its teens and lower for more that 2 days in a row.
Never. Heating can, by far, cause more problems than it can avert. Unless your chickens require heat to survive, I wouldn't recommend it. And your's shouldn't. Buff Orps and Brahmas are both winter hardy breeds.
30 below. 20 to 30 above is beach weather for my birds--as long as there is no snow, that sticks to their feet and they don't like it.
I don't heat my coops, either. The only birds who get any heat are special needs types, like my crippled rooster, Zane, who has no breast meat and can't snuggle with any other birds, or my five-year-old BR, Lexie, who has seriously gnarly arthritic feet and the cold is torturous for her. If many are really bare from molting, I can see adding a "heat station" for them to get under in one corner or something, but a fully feathered healthy adult chicken shouldn't need any heat. Feathers are fabulous insulation!
You don't have to add artificial heat and if you are getting consistent egg numbers, there is really no need. That being said, I use a 150 watt heat bulb on a thermostat. It comes on below 35 degrees and helps to keep my egg production consistent.
I yield to the experts above... But I have to admit, I put on the 125w red heat lamp @ night when it was -4 and 65mph gusts.
Your brahmas are loving the cold weather, trust me. My brahmas have been out in ice storms, with wicked winds, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Brahmas are made for cold weather--mine do very, very well. They have just enough leg feathers to provide some minor warmth, pea combs that don't frostbite easily and are chunky, loosely feathered girls.
