Ceramic Heat

[turbo13]

Hi All, Forgive Me For Being Redudant, This Is My 3rd Post Today, Just Didnt Know Where To Post It. I Am New At This. My Name Is Jim.i Live In Coeur D Alene Idaho. I Am Retired, Have A Cat And A Dog. Now Is Have 3 Great 3 Week Old Chicks,1ee 1buff Orpington 1 Barr Rock.all Are Standard Size,however The Br.may Be A Banti. She Is Much Smaller Then The Others.they Are Now Living In The Garage.in A Wading Pool,they Have A 250 Watt Red Bulb On 24/7.this Scares Me To Death.i Have Read Those Horror Stories, Re. Fires,hard To Sleep At Nite.i Use Two Auto Hose Clamps To Secure The Lite So Its Better.when The Kids Are Old Enough,i Will Move Them To A Converted Shed,i Just Installed A 4x3 Window On The East Side, I Will Insulate The Walls And Roof.the Size Is 6x12.my Question Is Can I Use A Reptile Ceramic Heat Eimtter Say A 60 Watt Safely When Winter Arrives? It Can Get Very Cold In The Panhandle Of Id. I Have A Remote Thermomter In The Pool So I Can Watch The Heat Thanks For Any Help PS WILL BE MAKING AN HOOP RUN FOR THE GIRLS

 

[thechickenchick]

Hi turbo and welcome to BYC!

I use the reptile ceramic emitter you are referring to in my guinea house. I had originally bought it for the dog house, however the dog stopped using it so it went in the new G house. Now that we know how well they work we will be putting one in the chicken coop this winter. I worry about fire too and as you said we go to great measures to secure the bulb. Still though I would feel better with this screwed directly into the light socket. My coop is not tiny though so I am not sure if it will be enough heat. However my theory is they roost high, closer to the heat emitter , at night so it should work. I also have a temp sensor that I can keep an eye on from the house. It can be 13 degrees in my coop and they do fine. My chickens are all over 2.

Hope this helps!

 

[Schroeder]

Last winter I went through 2 of the 100 watt bulbs. I used them with one of those plugs that comes on at about 35 degrees and goes off at 45 degrees. With both, after a couple of weeks they broke at the stem. Fortunately the wiring inside prevented them from falling to the floor of the coop. They were too high for the chickens to reach and they were in a heavy duty metal heat lamp shade. I can't explain why they broke, but they are too expensive to keep replacing. Next winter I think I will try one of those flat panel oil filled heaters.

 

[elmo]

Those bulbs need special ceramic sockets, but if you have one of those and secure the lamp well (two ways, just in case one method fails), you should be fine. They also sell safety covers that go over the lamp to make sure none of your chickens fly up and get burned on the hot bulb, well worth the couple of bucks, in my opinion.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCEQ8wIwAA#

Just so you know... I have a 60 watt and a 150 watt ceramic bulb, and neither one of them throws off that much heat if you're trying to heat something as big as a coop. I used them during the daytime in my small winter coop last winter here in North Texas on cold days. At night, I brought my bantams into our attached garage and for really cold nights (below freezing) used a DeLonghi radiator.

Your best bet might be to insulate your coop and make sure that you have adequate ventilation. Unless you have breeds of chickens that are not cold hardy, they should probably be fine with simply a nice, draft free coop to snuggle up in come winter.

 

[turbo13]

Hi. Thank You For Answers, Re. Ceramic Heater, Let You Know Coming Winter, Jim Turbo13

 

[xyresicchick]

i used 2 60 watt ceramic bulbs and a reptile temp control (http://www.amazon.com/ReptTemp-Ther...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1276276168&sr=1-1) for my incubator and it worked great. i am planning on using either a 100 or 150 watt in the coop about 5 feet up from the floor with the same temp control dial. the only concern with this is if the lamps fall. make sure its secure enough and viola! that's what i plan on doing! my winters don't get TOOO arcticly cold (i'm in RI). but for the days when its negative farenheit i can imagine the egg laying will be better... and the chickens happier if they're actually warm.