Cold chickens.....when to use heat lamp?

Don't you have trouble with rain and snow blowing inside? Are there removable panels?
Nowhere near enough to worry about. In the warmer months, the two side windows and the upper monitor windows are opened up, and the door is usually hooked open. During summer rain storms, some rain may blow in, but not enough to flood the place. The screening seems to block most of it. So any resulting dampness, doesn't really matter, as the coop drys out quick, with all that air flowing through.
Jack
 
i have a 8' x8' coop not very well insulated it has tin all around one
side will a 250 watt red heat lamp b suffecient for that space the temps
dont go below 35 degrees right now and i have one side of coop a 4' opening
to go inside with no door would one light b enough for 8-4week old chicks
 
i have a 8' x8' coop not very well insulated it has tin all around one
side will a 250 watt red heat lamp b suffecient for that space the temps
dont go below 35 degrees right now and i have one side of coop a 4' opening
to go inside with no door would one light b enough for 8-4week old chicks
We brood chicks in the garage where we can control the temperatures (4x5 ft. area). In the wild, hens know instinctively how much warmth to give. Without a mother, the chicks will need your help! The first week chicks need 90 deg (F) second 85 third 80 fourth 75 and the fifth week 70 degrees. We incorporate chicks into the coop after the 6th week. If the night temps get below 50 degrees then we add a brooder lamp in their area. We isolate them from the full grown chickens for another few weeks before they can run with the flock. Hope this helps!

 
Last edited:
I wondered if geothermal type options would be better and I thought about what chicken might do if they were out in the wild. Then it hit me after seeing that geothermal options were pricey, put the Coop, mostly underground!! Cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter! Then I started looking in google for people who have already past my thought process and BAM! It was HERE ALL ALONG! Hahaha!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/oblio13s-underground-chicken-coop

This is SO COOL!
 
I just got chickens this year, and I have been having the same problem. I don't know if I should put the lamps inside or outside of our 4 foot x 4 foot coop.
 
Put the heatlamp away in your house and forget it.  The chickens don't need it. 


X 2. Chickens have nice feather coats that they wear to stay warm. I have mentioned this before, but last year when it was about -5 F I went out to check on the chickens before going to bed. They were all bunched together on the roosts. I took off my glove and put my hand down between the chickens in the center. It was VERY warm. They don't need a heat lamp or any other supplimental heat. If the power goes out and your chickens are used to having another heat source, they may suffer needlessly. Let them do what comes naturally, and they will adjust nicely. During the daytime last winter my chickens would frequently seek out the shade because 25 F in the nice sunshine was too warm......
 
I think it is a personal preference. I have an 8' x 10' coop that is insulated and I have a 250 watt heat lamp in there. I do find they like the heat at night especially if they have gotten wet. Also the red light helps if they have a bit of a pecking issue with another hen. My hens are out all day and can go into the coop during the day if they want as well. I live in Hagersville, Ontario, Canada. I also have heated water as well. I do get eggs all winter long. The interior light is on a timer so that they still get a full 13 hours of day light. Charlotte
 
Sorry, I doubt you will be able to 'butcher' any of your babies. They will see you coming, and you will not be able to get that picture out of your head.
Please don't butcher them. :( Breaks my heart, 'the audacity of God and some of His ideas for 'the animal kingdom'.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom