Cold Weather *****WARNING****** please Read

[snowydiamonds]

Only had chickens for three years but learned something new today! If you do use a red heat lamp please make sure your roo's cannot get beneath it where their feathers will burn!?! Thank God my banty roo and my RIR/BOx roo did not catch on fire and burn up their coop along with my only Silkie roo! I took away the red lamp and replaced it with a cooler white one. Its to keep their water from freezing and in 3 years, this has never happened and Thank God, too, I was on my day off instead of at work or I'd have another story to tell:/

 

[WisconsinGardenChick]

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My chickens love to eat snow (thought they won't walk on it!) They just like to eat it off my boots. I always bring them water, though.

 

[Wildsky]

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My chickens love to eat snow (thought they won't walk on it!) They just like to eat it off my boots. I always bring them water, though.

My chickens and ducks like nibbling on the ice I take out of the water bucket! Funny girls.

I'd also like to add that not all folks need added heat (along with the fire danger) We live in a very cold area and don't take that risk, my chickens are fine without it. Build a good strong coop and not have that worry!

 

[patandchickens]

Oooh, good thread Omran!

I would add three things:

-- 250w heatlamp bulbs must be AT LEAST 18" from any combustibles, including walls, floor, bedding and chickens.

-- any lamp, but esp. a 125-250w heatlamp, needs to have its SAFETY GUARD ON. First, because if it should heaven
forbid fall onto the floor you want it propped up over the bedding somewhat, to slow the onset of fire;
and second because without a guard (and you may need to make one out of large-mesh wire, the two
crossed bails are not necessarily enough for this) chickens can burn their combs on a lamp, or fly into it
and break the bulb (or break it out of the socket) and cause burns or fires..

-- there is less fire risk involved in using several smaller-wattage bulbs than one high-wattage one. For instance,
four 60-watt bulbs give virtually the same coop heating as one 250w one, but are much less likely to
cause burns or fires.

Y'all be safe and sensible,

Pat

 

[catnip]

This morning, one of my co-workers called in saying she'd be late today. Their chicken coop burned down last night. All the chickens were killed. The cause was, more than likely, the heat lamp they had running. She's devastated and sick that her chickens died that way.

Always make sure the heat lamps are secure and remove any with frayed wiring. I feel for her today. It was a very harsh lesson her family.

 

[NGT ANGL]

Wonderful thread! Thanks for all the tips - great help and advice for a lot of us newbies. I have a question - my husband ran electricity to my coops. Each one has one of the porcelain light fixtures with the outlet in it (for the heated waterers) on the wall away from bedding and the chickens themselves. My question is if it gets cold and I wanted to leave a light on in the coops for a little extra warmth (?), do I use a regular light bulb or a red bulb? I think I read somewhere that colors in the red/orange spectrum wouldn't keep them awake but a regular white/yellow spectrum bulb would? I may have this all wrong and really sound dumb.........

 

[chookchick]

NGT ANGL--a red or black light bulb will not keep them awake as much as a white bulb. Even red may disturb them a bit till they get used to it. You can find lower wattage bulbs (75-100 watts) in the reptile section of pet stores. These lower wattage bulbs are much less likely to start a fire, and you can use 2 if necessary.

That said, I don't think it gets that cold in Virginia? If it is only in the 20s or teens I wouldn't worry about them being too cold, just make sure their coop is dry and well ventilated.

 

[snowydiamonds]

I had my three extra roo's I want to use this Spring/Summer in a coop without heat until we had -40 windchill factor and -17/-20 weather, then added that lamp for the roo's water. My coops are built to last any storm and insulated, have adjustable airflow and deep clean straw. We are having a long cold snap right now and its supposed to warm up a tiny bit by Saturday.

 

[gsim]

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One issue I have with GTF (or GFI) is that it will trip at possibly the worst time. For instance, no one should ever run a refrigerator or freezer on GFI/GTF for obvious reasons. I would add that no one should ever run an automatic pop door opener/closer on a GFI/GTF supply for fear that it would not close or open due to being tripped by something. You could wake up some morning to find your flock had been slaughtered during the night because the GFI/GTF had tripped and allowed the door to remain open all night.

GTF/GFI is for shock protection in proximity to grounded objects such as faucets, etc. Fire protection is achieved by having the correct sized wire and circuit breaker for the load/drain on the circuit. Keeping flammable objects away from electrically powered things is mandatory and just good sense. GFI/GTF will not prevent a fire if something hot tips over or is broken while in dry litter. GFi/.GTF will protect both you and chickens from a shock if there is something like a metal water pipe near to the outlet or device, or if the device or outlet is outside.

 

[Omran]

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Thank you Pat, that is very good advise.
and I thank all of you friends of BYC keep this thread alive.