Coop Fire - New shed - extremely cold - seramas

[Shamo Hybrid]

No I don't think we were on the news. My inlaws did say that after the 3 different fire departments responded and left they saw a news station van drive past the house.

Why don't you just use heat lamps again? Just make sure they are well secured, like double or triple secured.... backup's for backup, get what I'm saying? If it's secured correctly there shouldn't be a problem with heat lamps, it only happens to people who doesn't have a secure backup in case it fails.

I don't know, if you've been traumatized and now in fear of heat lamps.... you could possibly drag extention cords in there and put space heaters?

 

[Aleelupton]

Why don't you just use heat lamps again? Just make sure they are well secured, like double or triple secured.... backup's for backup, get what I'm saying? If it's secured correctly there shouldn't be a problem with heat lamps, it only happens to people who doesn't have a secure backup in case it fails.

I don't know, if you've been traumatized and now in fear of heat lamps.... you could possibly drag extention cords in there and put space heaters?

My husband is an electrician and is going to wire the coop. I just know everyone recommends against heat lamps so I'm looking for other safer options.

 

[Kris5902]

Do you have a suggestion for what type of automatic door to get? We are insulating and putting up paneling in the spring. The reason we are waiting is because we want to paint the paneling and in the dead of winter we dont have anywhere to paint the pieces before we install them. The low temps are coming in 6 days so we need to find quick easy solutions for the time being.

I wish I had a door suggestion for you, because then I’d have one and wouldn’t be trying to be in three places at once near sunrise! If you have the paneling for it, tack it up backwards maybe for the time being then take it down, scrape it clean and paint the good side come spring?

As for heating, I’m still Leary if the whole idea, coops are so dusty and exposed. Maybe some sort of huddle box idea over roosts to contain the heat better? make like a little three sided surround with a lower roof, a mini shed within the shed to contain the chickens natural heat better? Roosts can be anything from scrap 2x4’s to tree branches, get creative and I’m sure they will be fine. Milk crates for nesting boxes?

Use what you have... done is better than perfect... and you can always Renovate the coop when it gets warmer!

 

[Trux]

Chickens are very resilient and take cold well. Ventilation is a must so you don't get condensation,a damp coop is way worse for your flock than no heat. I lived on a farm in Minnesota, we kept 100 chickens and never had a heated coop but we did have ventilation and on those -20 mornings you could see the steam roll out the vents.
Roosting bars would be a good start also so they can sit next to one another to keep warm, and you could follow Kris's advice above and build a roof over the roosts to keep the heat closer to them.

 

[Aleelupton]

Chickens are very resilient and take cold well. Ventilation is a must so you don't get condensation,a damp coop is way worse for your flock than no heat. I lived on a farm in Minnesota, we kept 100 chickens and never had a heated coop but we did have ventilation and on those -20 mornings you could see the steam roll out the vents.
Roosting bars would be a good start also so they can sit next to one another to keep warm, and you could follow Kris's advice above and build a roof over the roosts to keep the heat closer to them.

Do you think small Seramas are okay in cold temperatures?

 

[123RedBeard]

Since your husband is an electrician ... I'd suggest he put in "hazard location" receptacles ... as chicken dust can be very flammable ... just like the fine flour in a mill ...

Never had Serama's ... maybe let them snuggle with the dogs?

 

[Trux]

Do you think small Seramas are okay in cold temperatures?

here is a thread for you to check out
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/seramas-in-the-cold.274933/
as long as your birds have full feathering, the body heat (somewhere in the 103-105 range if memory serves me correctly) will be held in quite well. And then you add in the factor of them huddling or sitting next to each other on the roost, this is how they roll.
In the end they are YOUR chickens, and you are responsible for their well being...you did ask for advice and you will get plenty of it here and plenty of varying opinions as well.
My coop is well ventilated and I even run a small fan in the rafters to keep the air moving thru it so I get no condensation

 

[Notaneggspurt]

This is the coop door we got.
https://chickendoors.com/product/right-standard-pullet-shut-door/
With the addition of a solar panel. Our power is notorious for going out and didn't want to deal with having to reset it constantly. I really love this door.

Our rooster does have to duck a little to get through. It swings open and closed slowly so anyone can get out of the way. It also has a short reopen and close time after it closes for the night in case someone is slow to get in for the night. We usually reset the open/close timer each season to allow maximum in/out time. Another thing I recently noticed is something has been digging around the coop. The way the door sits within the frame it wasn't able to get in. Aside from the coop itself it was the most expensive item we added and is well worth it in my opinion.

 

[Redhead Rae]

@WVduckchick How do your seremas do in the cold?

 

[townchicks]

I'd say you need a door before anything else. With only poultry netting over the top, your run may be fine during the day, but is NOT predator proof enough for nighttime.
Frankly, with the chickens huddling in the straw, they should be warmer than on roosts, I think.