Coop Fire - New shed - extremely cold - seramas

[Aleelupton]

So sorry about your coop. That's looks like a fabulous replacement building though!

I'm less than 3 hours south of you, so very similar weather. The problem I see is that you have accustomed them to warmth already, so that makes it a bit more concerning for this winter. But I would definitely work toward zero heat.

I have 9 pens of chickens (around 100 total birds) - 2 pens being seramas (I have about 50 seramas right now), bantam cochins and cream legbars. The whole deal is open-air, metal roofing with wire around each pen (one side is a barn-type building, my craft shop) I add a tarp to cover 'part' of the ends for wind break during the winter. All the other breeds go inside a coop, but the seramas choose to sleep outside, up on a high roost. I have several roosts, apparently they pay attention to the prevalent wind, because they often shift roosts. But they never sleep inside. Broodies will brood inside and keep their chicks inside for a few weeks, but even the smallest chicks figure out how to get to the highest roosts with momma.

So my thinking is that they are much hardier than we give them credit for. I admit, I have given in, and brought smaller chicks, and even some of my smaller silkied seramas inside my house on the coldest of nights, but I prefer hardy birds, so I let them do as they want.

I'm not saying you won't ever lose any, but it is possible to go without heat, and they do fine. Inside a building like you have, as long as it is properly ventilated and free of drafts, they should be fine!
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Having said all that, since yours are accustomed to heat - I would suggest SweeterHeater https://www.sweeterheater.com/ or Premier1 plates or something similar.

I also just bought one of these, which may work well for you, if you had an area where they could congregate around/under it. It can stand up either direction, or be used horizontally on the floor (adjustable legs) for baby chicks, or be suspended by chains.

I'm so happy you responded since we live close and both have seramas. I will definitely get one of those plates. None of my seramas are silkied or frizzle so hopefully they will do okay.

 

[Notaneggspurt]

Not my video. If you search pullet shut on YouTube you'll find a few more including install and setting instructions.

 

[Better Than Rubies]

Title says it all. We have 10 standard chickens and 6 Class A&B Seramas in a mixed flock. We live in northeastern Ohio and have cold winters. We are first time chicken keepers and are trying our best to do things correctly with researching on the internet. In our coop we had a heat lamp and heat pad. Tragically our coop burnt down Thursday morning. Thankfully all our chickens were out of the coop and unharmed. We have since purchased and placed a new 10'x12' shed. We cut a 9"×11" hole for a chicken door into the run. The shed is completely empty. We placed wooden crates in as nest boxes, put about 7 inches of straw down and pine wood shaves in boxes, and purchased new feeders and waterers. My husband and I both own our own businesses and with the coop fire we are very behind. We want to make the coop perfect and would like to only put in the necessities until spring. The temperatures are dropping very low this week and next week. Our chickens huddled in one corner basically on top of each other this evening. I know we need to find a solution for a roost. What else can we do immediately to help keep them warm? I know everyone has an opinion on heat or no heat, but with seramas and negative temperatures coming I feel like we need something. What supplemental heat options are safe for that big of a space? Is the hole for the chicken door okay uncovered all night or do we have to purchase an automatic door? Our chickens are located at my inlaws so I cant be there morning and night to open and close it. The run has poultry netting over it so the coop and run are enclosed. We are desperate to do the right things. I'm so worried my chickens are freezing. We are pressed for time and need quick solutions/necessities. Pictures of new shed attached. Any and all suggestions appreciated. View attachment 1642612 View attachment 1642613 View attachment 1642614 View attachment 1642615

Not to be harsh or anything, but since your coop burned down because of the heat lamp, I'm a bit amazed you still want to use an electric heat source for them. If that happened to me, I'd probably be somewhat paranoid about running electricity to their coop for anything but their heated waterer, to prevent them from dying of dehydration when the water freezes in the winter. But, I do understand you have very small birds and love them dearly, and want them to be kept comfortable and warm.
Well, personally, I don't think they need any supplemental heat source, even if they are really small. At least they're full grown adults with their adult feathers to trap the heat in their bodies. In the wild, chickens don't get heat from extra sources...God designed them to be able to withstand cold and heat...of course it might be a little hard on them, but I doubt they'll freeze to death. If it makes you feel better, why not apply some petroleum jelly/Vaseline to their combs and legs?
Anyways, I'll end my message here.
~Cara

 

[Kalimak]

Glad all the babies are ok. I really like that shed, would you mind telling me where did you get it from?

 

[Aleelupton]

Not my video. If you search pullet shut on YouTube you'll find a few more including install and setting instructions.

I love it! Thank you!

 

[Aleelupton]

Not to be harsh or anything, but since your coop burned down because of the heat lamp, I'm a bit amazed you still want to use an electric heat source for them. If that happened to me, I'd probably be somewhat paranoid about running electricity to their coop for anything but their heated waterer, to prevent them from dying of dehydration when the water freezes in the winter. But, I do understand you have very small birds and love them dearly, and want them to be kept comfortable and warm.
Well, personally, I don't think they need any supplemental heat source, even if they are really small. At least they're full grown adults with their adult feathers to trap the heat in their bodies. In the wild, chickens don't get heat from extra sources...God designed them to be able to withstand cold and heat...of course it might be a little hard on them, but I doubt they'll freeze to death. If it makes you feel better, why not apply some petroleum jelly/Vaseline to their combs and legs?
Anyways, I'll end my message here.
~Cara

Again, I'm a new chicken keeper and I just want to do what's right. There are so many opinions and options out there and it can be very confusing to a newbie. That's why I made my post... to get suggestions from people who have been keeping chickens longer than I have. My husband and I are animal lovers and care deeply about our pets and just want to ensure we make them as comfortable as possible in the safest way. I've been told before that seramas needed the extra heat which is why we provided it in our last coop which was a prefab unwired coop. This time we bought a building that can be safely wired and built to our exact specifications. In my mind people have been keeping chickens for hundreds of years and with technology always progressing someone had to have made some type of heat source safe for chicken coops so I've come to the experts to help me figure out the best solution.

 

[MadAngler]

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.

I agree with this. I live in Wisconsin. Every winter, we get at least one blast of -20F. Chickens do just fine. They have down coats...

Think about this... We have domesticated chickens for hundreds of years. We've only had electricity for about 50 years.

 

[Aleelupton]

Glad all the babies are ok. I really like that shed, would you mind telling me where did you get it from?

The shed is made by a company called Indian Creek Structures. We are located in northeastern Ohio, but I think they have retailers all over. They make all kinds of structures including chicken coops, sheds, cabins, and rabbit hutches.

 

[Aleelupton]

I agree with this. I live in Wisconsin. Every winter, we get at least one blast of -20F. Chickens do just fine. They have down coats...

Think about this... We have domesticated chickens for hundreds of years. We've only had electricity for about 50 years.

Very true! I will definitely make up some roosts and invest in a chicken door.

 

[WVduckchick]

Yes, chickens have been around for a very long time, longer than electricity. But we have also domesticated them to the point where they depend on us for pretty much everything. The comparison is like saying we don't need protected runs, because they can survive whatever animal tries to eat them. I'm sorry, but they are no longer the dinosaurs that early chickens were. We have to protect and provide for them the best we can.
No, I do not promote heating outside, I think they can handle it. But in specific circumstances, there are safe ways to go about it, if absolutely necessary.