Cold Winters and Hot Summers

[asokatonu]

Ya it gets a bit chilly around here in the winter sometimes it will even say it is 20 below but it will be super windy so the actual temp is more near 25 to 30 below. So I will defiantly need some kind of heater or heat lamp for the chicks come winter? and what would you suggest just a heat lamp or a heater?

 

[asokatonu]

So our budget is 300$ to 400$ because of serious predator problems we can not free range our chicks so I want to get this run so they have a lot of space.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ALEKO-Meta...t-with-Cover/192558111939?hash=item2cd55b9cc3
But it is super hard to find a coop that is cheap enough to fit our budget but well built and durable enough to stand up to our weather so I was thinking of getting something like this dog house and then working on it to make it chicken safe and comfy for my babies
https://www.amazon.com/Shelter-Kenn...rd_wg=Fb6lu&psc=1&refRID=NHHW8F521XX335BV67XK
My only worry is wether it will keep the warm in the winter.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Ya it gets a bit chilly around here in the winter sometimes it will even say it is 20 below but it will be super windy so the actual temp is more near 25 to 30 below. So I will defiantly need some kind of heater or heat lamp for the chicks come winter? and what would you suggest just a heat lamp or a heater?

It got to negative 36° last winter, I did use a heat lamp.

To be brutally honest, every time I don't use heat lamps, I lose chickens. Last winter I took advice and tried no heat lamp, just ventilation and heated waterer, and I lost more chickens than I care to admit right out of the gate. When I broke down and used a heat lamp, I didn't lose any more the rest of the winter. I placed it pretty high up so it can't touch anything.
But, like a lot of people say, they have better luck without heat lamps since there's a fire risk and some chickens don't handle heat lamps well. I think you'll have to figure out what works best for you, when it's cold go peek on your chickens and see what they're doing and how they're handling it.

Roosts are very important! It's how they keep their toes warm. I have pretty wide ladders so more chickens can be next to eachother and keep warmer.
And I always made sure the nesting boxes were full of bedding, some hens kick it out.

Good luck with your chickens!!

 

[Blooie]

I’m in Northwestern Wyoming not too far from Yellowstone Park. We’ve been known to get snow in June. And we get cold - sometimes 2 weeks in a row where we never get above 10 to 30 below zero with winds that can hit 50-60 mph and sideways falling snow. (Why do I LIVE here? )

My coop is neither heated nor insulated. Even my Silkies did great as long as they were allowed to acclimate slowly and naturally to falling temps and short days. When we did chores, we left the coop door open. If they wanted to go out in the snow, they simply did. I had a mixed flock of Bantams, Standards, and of course the Silkies, all living together and they didn’t mind being outside. I have photos of my Silkies out in the snow when it was only 9 degrees.

If you want to add a little heat to keep water from freezing, there are all kinds of ways to do that from cookie tin heaters to small, plastic rated stock tank heaters in a bucket, which is what we did.

There are two keys here - the first is to remember is that you’re there, I’m not. So a lot depends on your own personal comfort zone. I’m much more relaxed about chicken raising than most folks - I don’t stress and they do great. I even raise chicks outside in springtime temps that are in the 20s, sometimes dipping into the teens, without a heat lamp. That’s my comfort zone for raising them and Mama Heating Pad provides all they need. The other key is to allow them to gradually acclimate. Going from a 70 degree house with a heat lamp to winter-like temperatures with nothing is risky. I did it with 5.5 week old chicks, it worked perfectly for me, but I’m smarter now. Now since mine never have a lamp or heat lamp, I don’t have that transition.

So look over all the options and choose what you think will work for you and your flock. Disclaimer: I’m on a one-woman crusade to rid the chicken world of heat lamps.

 

[jreardon1918]

I don't think that dog house is going to do it. It calculates out to 4.5 square feet. That is indoor space for just over 1 full size chicken. For five you will need an indoor well ventilated coop of roughly 20 square feet. Say 4'x5'. And enough height to allow the chickens to roost. There are some excellent articles in the learning center that can guide you. Good luck.

 

[asokatonu]

I’m in Northwestern Wyoming not too far from Yellowstone Park. We’ve been known to get snow in June. And we get cold - sometimes 2 weeks in a row where we never get above 10 to 30 below zero with winds that can hit 50-60 mph and sideways falling snow. (Why do I LIVE here? )

My coop is neither heated nor insulated. Even my Silkies did great as long as they were allowed to acclimate slowly and naturally to falling temps and short days. When we did chores, we left the coop door open. If they wanted to go out in the snow, they simply did. I had a mixed flock of Bantams, Standards, and of course the Silkies, all living together and they didn’t mind being outside. I have photos of my Silkies out in the snow when it was only 9 degrees.

If you want to add a little heat to keep water from freezing, there are all kinds of ways to do that from cookie tin heaters to small, plastic rated stock tank heaters in a bucket, which is what we did.

There are two keys here - the first is to remember is that you’re there, I’m not. So a lot depends on your own personal comfort zone. I’m much more relaxed about chicken raising than most folks - I don’t stress and they do great. I even raise chicks outside in springtime temps that are in the 20s, sometimes dipping into the teens, without a heat lamp. That’s my comfort zone for raising them and Mama Heating Pad provides all they need. The other key is to allow them to gradually acclimate. Going from a 70 degree house with a heat lamp to winter-like temperatures with nothing is risky. I did it with 5.5 week old chicks, it worked perfectly for me, but I’m smarter now. Now since mine never have a lamp or heat lamp, I don’t have that transition.

So look over all the options and choose what you think will work for you and your flock. Disclaimer: I’m on a one-woman crusade to rid the chicken world of heat lamps.

Thank you both of you for the input. My chicks are 2 1/2 weeks old right now and will be moving outside still with the heat lamp at 4 weeks then we will be removing the heat lamp at 6 weeks which at that point we will be keeping them in a coop so I guess we will see when the time comes but so far it looks like no heat lamp is the way to go

I don't think that dog house is going to do it. It calculates out to 4.5 square feet. That is indoor space for just over 1 full size chicken. For five you will need an indoor well ventilated coop of roughly 20 square feet. Say 4'x5'. And enough height to allow the chickens to roost. There are some excellent articles in the learning center that can guide you. Good luck.

I agree and I am aware that it is a small space we are still looking at different options ill let you guys know what different things I am looking at when I decide on some other things. Thank you for the help you guys!

 

[Blooie]

You are so welcome! I don’t know why I missed the connection between the size of the dog house and how many chickens you have - I think I focused on the measurements given for the run. I am old, and easily confused! Glad that @jreardon1918 oi Ken up on that!

And I also forgot to welcome you to BYC!

 

[asokatonu]

Well thank you everyone has been so nice and helpful. I am just really struggling to find a coop for my chicken because I am not at all handy and my budget is 300$ to 400$ but I want it to be big enough to get more if we wanted. It is just all so confusing frankly I am a bit ovewelmed

 

[JDN]

Thank you both of you for the input. My chicks are 2 1/2 weeks old right now and will be moving outside still with the heat lamp at 4 weeks then we will be removing the heat lamp at 6 weeks which at that point we will be keeping them in a coop so I guess we will see when the time comes but so far it looks like no heat lamp is the way to go

I agree and I am aware that it is a small space we are still looking at different options ill let you guys know what different things I am looking at when I decide on some other things. Thank you for the help you guys!

Look on Craigslist for a dog run...I got a 10x10 new one delivered for under $200. And don't be afraid to get creative for the coop. Summer is coming so you have some time to think about it. And I'd get those birds outside now. You aren't doing any favors keeping them inside so long. The last chicks I had I brooded under a carport (with the heat lamp, at least for a while) at 5 days old.

If you get the coop with the canopy like your link you might start to look for a shipping crate for a Piano, Motorcycle, etc...

 

[asokatonu]

I want them out side but we have been haveing some crazy rain storms and also I have no were to put them. I know I need to get moving and I am trying.