Birds dying...extreme cold! **UPDATE** 12/23 PG 10

[ams3651]

these are the oil filled heaters several have mentioned, my gram uses one in the house and they sound good because they are totally sealed and many have an automatic shut off is there would be a problem.

http://www.nextag.com/electric-oil-heater/search-html

Do you use the deep litter method in the coop? That is supposed to help with the heat as well. Would it be possible to put the birds in all together or make their pens smaller? Good luck, the lowest its been here so far is the teens here. I wrapped one wall completley in plastic because it was letting in a draft and it helped tremendously.

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

When I recently cleaned out our coop, I noticed that even with an electric oil filled heater keeping the temperatures at 55 degrees or thereabouts (we have doves that are supposed to be kept at 70 degrees in the coop as well, so have to keep temps. up there) that even though the floor and sides are well insulated, when I put my hand on that bare floor while cleaning it out, it was quite cold. We use the deep bedding method, with pine shavings from Wal-Mart. We started out with straw, but when I read that the little buggies like to hang out in the hollow straw, I switched to pine shavings, and there is nothing like it for keeping those sweet little feet warm!!! I put quite a lot (about 4 to 5 inches) on the floor, and add DE to it which helps absorb moisture as well as keep the chickies bug free. It also helps to keep down the smell far better than straw. I've read postings where people have said after trying straw "never again!" I agree! The straw seems to mat and get wet and stay wet, it was a real pain! This has worked out far better for me!

So sorry for your loss, my heart aches for you, I know how I would feel if I lost any of my babies!

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Quote:
a 200 sq ft space is about as big as a 6x6x6 area. This is pretty small. I have a 8x10x7=560 sq ft area that I heat with a quartz heater. It keeps the area at about 50 degrees F with outside temps below 20 degrees F.

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

I have one of the heaters from shop the coop.com, and this is our second winter with it. We love it! It is perfectly designed for a coop, and I cant reccomend it highly enuff. Ours is run off of an extension cord with a circuit breaker at the end, that also allows us to plug in a heat light. We got one of the thermo cubes that turns the heater on at 35, and off at 45. worth every penny!

I watched our electric bill very closely when we first installed it, and I saw no appreciable change what-so-ever! However, our coop is insulated, so I am sure in an uninsulated situation, it will use more energy....

I am so sorry for your lose, and I hope you can find a solution.
Good Luck!

 

[the1much]

Quote:
I asked my MIL about that--she's had chickens in this climate for 20 years--and she said the roosts are fine because the heat rises? And so if the roosts are higher in the coop, they are up to a warmer part??

but if you take the roosts out,, they huddle together on the floor/ straw

edit: ta add,,,,, the "heat" is comming from them, and rising above them to the peak of the roof, and then absorbed by the wood, and dispersed,,,so them being up on a roost, in a big area dont help much,, specially when theres so much "cold" area,, a dog kennel with 3 or 4 birds in it ( a big kennel) would heat up good and fast.

 

[purr]

Quote:
I have too many chickens for that...but maybe I can get straw to line the inside of the coop?? I'm not sure....I'm going to the feedstore (leaving work early) and then to Home Depot to see what I can get figured out...

I've lined my coop with hay as it breaks down it supposedly throws off heat and it helps insulate the coop although mine is insulated with R-15

 

[pips&peeps]

I have to agree with some of the other posters. There may be something else going on. I have 15 cockerels outside in cubby type set up with no heat and we have had 20 + mph winds here on top of the cold and they are all ok.

It was 0 this morning. I even had a really small cockerel, about 12 weeks old, get under one of my coops for three days without food and water and got him out this morning. He is doing fine.

You might want to get a necropsy done on one of them.

 

[hcammack]

I agree I have had it down to 0 and have young birds and a silkie out in a chicken tractor with one 250 watt bulb with the wire sides just covered in plastic. They are all fine and huddle together for warmth it may be something else.

Henry

 

[agnes_day]

if you have an atwoods near by, we bought this really great 20 dollar electric heater for them..we have an old crate that we turned into a little house and my husband nailed a piece of board on the inside and hung this little heater in there using a bungee cord. we then nailed an old power strip to the wall of the thing and ran an extension cord back into the house. we also have a heat lamp in there..and its warmer out there than it is in the house! we also have straw in the bottom too. the wind chill was 5 below zero this morning and they are all great!

 

[crazyhen]

I know there are a lot of options but if you are like me money may be short now. I lined the inside of my coop with free cardboard from boxes. That cut the drafts out and then I put in shavings. Then hang the lights. Mine seem to be about 20 degrees warmer than the outside temp. The cardboard really helped a lot. jean