cold temperatures

[mergatroid]

Now that the temps are getting into the 30s and 40s here on Cape Cod I am wondering if I should turn the heat lamp on .... should I be keeping the heat lamp on throughout the winter? It raises the temp in the house to about 70 degrees. On another note.... I am trying to cut electricity bills... but would hate for my girls to be miserable.

 

[Lollipop]

I have a friend in Iowa. No heat at all in his barn and his birds do fine. I wouldn`t worry unless the temps get into the teens for a while.......Pop

 

[SimplyForties]

What kind of chickens do you have? I can't imagine you would need to heat their coop to 70 degrees. Are they not cold hardy at all?

 

[CMV]

70 degrees seems a bit excessive. Trying to maintain that temp during the dead of winter is going to be difficult and expensive. Chickens are tough little creatures and as long as they are fully feathered they can handle temps much colder than that. SimplyForties is right in asking what breeds you have. Some are tougher than others.

Check out patandchickens pages. There is a ton of great info there, including how to manage chickens during the winter.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642

 

[patandchickens]

See my "Cold Coop" page, link below in my .sig, for a lot more on the subject...

but, Reader's Digest version, for heaven's sake DON'T DO IT. Don't even think of it, it's insane and not good for your chickens anyhow

Sensibly-chosen breeds in a well-managed coop (i.e. well ventilated, for *dry* not humid air) are generally good well towards 0 F, many are fine much colder than that. And that's *indoor* temps I'm talking about, which will generally be warmer than outdoor temps anyhow.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Momo]

Yep. Don't do it. Lots of posts about this lately; check 'em out...