If you have those little cup hooks you can just hand screw them into the corners of window frame. I doubled up an old woven throw and hooked it over the the cup hooks.
Coop Heating Alternatives?
- Thread starter Laurajean
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- Thread starter
- #22
Quote:
oooh, you're good. Or I could just use a screw gun, they'll hear me no matter what, I can never sneak out there, they always here me open the run door before I even get to the coop. But I think I will go put a throw over it for now at least; thanks.
Still need a good heating option though....
oooh, you're good. Or I could just use a screw gun, they'll hear me no matter what, I can never sneak out there, they always here me open the run door before I even get to the coop. But I think I will go put a throw over it for now at least; thanks.
Still need a good heating option though....
A friend of mine here in CT has a microwaveable pillow that has some kind of gel inside. It is made for puppies. She nukes it for 5 minutes and it stays warm for about 9 hours. She wraps it in an old towel and hides it under the hay. It gives off just enough heat without being too warm and there is no electricity to worry about. Unfortunately, when I asked her if she could get one for me, she said it was no longer being manufactured. So.. not sure how to get my hands on one, but I really liked the idea.
- Thread starter
- #24
Luke13:34 :
A friend of mine here in CT has a microwaveable pillow that has some kind of gel inside. It is made for puppies. She nukes it for 5 minutes and it stays warm for about 9 hours. She wraps it in an old towel and hides it under the hay. It gives off just enough heat without being too warm and there is no electricity to worry about. Unfortunately, when I asked her if she could get one for me, she said it was no longer being manufactured. So.. not sure how to get my hands on one, but I really liked the idea.
Wow, love the no electricity idea. I've seen pillows with herbs and beads inside them, but figured the chickens would peck them apart.
A friend of mine here in CT has a microwaveable pillow that has some kind of gel inside. It is made for puppies. She nukes it for 5 minutes and it stays warm for about 9 hours. She wraps it in an old towel and hides it under the hay. It gives off just enough heat without being too warm and there is no electricity to worry about. Unfortunately, when I asked her if she could get one for me, she said it was no longer being manufactured. So.. not sure how to get my hands on one, but I really liked the idea.
Wow, love the no electricity idea. I've seen pillows with herbs and beads inside them, but figured the chickens would peck them apart.
What about hot water bottles- we use them in bed ourselves as we turn down the heat at night, and under the blanket the hottie stays warm till morning - if you wrap them in a towel or two they should generate enough warmth- and if the chickens are really cold they might huddle over the hotties ...just a thought. You can get them at any pharmacy for under $8 .
I know allot of people are against heat but here is what we did. We installed reptile heat rope as a radiant heat floor. We wound it back and forth on the floor, poured sand around it for thermal mass and covered it with a thin plywood floor on top. it only uses the energy of a 75 watt bulb but seems to get me about 10-15° warmer than outside temps. It's just enough that I don't freak out generally (Although, the past couple of nights I also gave them hot water bottles too).
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes
Bubblewrap over the windows (taped on with doublesided tape for the winter, same as you would use for that plastic film you can put on the insdie of your house's windows) will help a bit with heat loss and frosting-up. It is only R1 or a little better but compared to the bare windowglass it does help.
Fire-hazard-wise, remember that the biggest problem with heat lamps is their high wattage and you quite often really needn't use that big a bulb. Quite often, a regular ol' 100w bulb (or even smaller) hung above the roost can give the chickens a nice little pool of warmth without being an egregiously large fire risk (still, make sure the bulbs have a guard over them so chickens can't whop into 'em, and dust them off before turning on). If you need a larger area, mount several bulbs a coupla feet adjacent to each other. Several small is safer than one large!
If you want a bulb without light, either rig a barrier in front of it to cast 'shade' on the chickens and most of the coop (metal is good b/c it will still radiate heat in the chicknes' direction but whatever you do you need to be very thoughtful and cautious about things getting hot or falling down or etc), or try one of those ceramic infrared heat emitters they sell for reptiles (kept well-dusted, and in a ceramic heat-lamp fitting not a regular lightbubl socket)
If you want something electric but safer, those oil-filled radiators are pretty coop-safe at least for temporary use. Although, they are high wattage (most of the ones I've seen are like 700-1500w) and you would need to make REAL SURE your coop wiring, or whatever else you're plugging into, and the rest of its circuit in the house, can handle that load. Ahem, seriously.
If you want smaller electric appliances, some people buy those flat panel heaters for just a few chickens in a small coop (I have no personal experience of them and am skeptical, but some like them) or use WELL PROTECTED pet heating pads (ditto, and be careful of safety).
Large covered buckets of hot water brought from the house every evening, e.g. those buckets cat litter comes in that have the nifty lids that snap back on
, are a good no-electricity solution. You can pile shavings against the wall side and the top, so that only the 'chicken side' is exposed if it is a smallish coop with fewish chickens, and they can snuggle against it if they wish.
W/r/t running a car-heater accessory off a battery, it is of course a free country and if some people are happy doing it then that is fine, but I would point out that running something with a bare-wire type heat source is rather dicey in a dusty coop as is running something all night that is not really intended for constant use. I would not do it myself, in a million years.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Fire-hazard-wise, remember that the biggest problem with heat lamps is their high wattage and you quite often really needn't use that big a bulb. Quite often, a regular ol' 100w bulb (or even smaller) hung above the roost can give the chickens a nice little pool of warmth without being an egregiously large fire risk (still, make sure the bulbs have a guard over them so chickens can't whop into 'em, and dust them off before turning on). If you need a larger area, mount several bulbs a coupla feet adjacent to each other. Several small is safer than one large!
If you want a bulb without light, either rig a barrier in front of it to cast 'shade' on the chickens and most of the coop (metal is good b/c it will still radiate heat in the chicknes' direction but whatever you do you need to be very thoughtful and cautious about things getting hot or falling down or etc), or try one of those ceramic infrared heat emitters they sell for reptiles (kept well-dusted, and in a ceramic heat-lamp fitting not a regular lightbubl socket)
If you want something electric but safer, those oil-filled radiators are pretty coop-safe at least for temporary use. Although, they are high wattage (most of the ones I've seen are like 700-1500w) and you would need to make REAL SURE your coop wiring, or whatever else you're plugging into, and the rest of its circuit in the house, can handle that load. Ahem, seriously.
If you want smaller electric appliances, some people buy those flat panel heaters for just a few chickens in a small coop (I have no personal experience of them and am skeptical, but some like them) or use WELL PROTECTED pet heating pads (ditto, and be careful of safety).
Large covered buckets of hot water brought from the house every evening, e.g. those buckets cat litter comes in that have the nifty lids that snap back on
W/r/t running a car-heater accessory off a battery, it is of course a free country and if some people are happy doing it then that is fine, but I would point out that running something with a bare-wire type heat source is rather dicey in a dusty coop as is running something all night that is not really intended for constant use. I would not do it myself, in a million years.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
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- Thread starter
- #28
Quote:
Thanks for all the input Pat, you always have thorough advice!
Thanks for all the input Pat, you always have thorough advice!
Quote:
The flat panel heater is much cheaper on Ebay. I think I paid 60 for mine but that was about 3 years ago.
Sorry I did not get back to you sooner.
I have 29 hens in a 12x10 coop. The flat panel heater keeps it about 10-15 deg warmer than outside. It is too much for your little coop. My neighbor uses a red 150 watt for her bantams in a 4x6 coop. Keeps it about 25 to 35 deg depending on outside temps.
Sorry to hear about the extreme cold in your area.
Edit to add- If you do use a heat lamp get the ones from Premier1. Very safe and has a guard on it.
Their website is premier1.com.
The flat panel heater is much cheaper on Ebay. I think I paid 60 for mine but that was about 3 years ago.
Sorry I did not get back to you sooner.
I have 29 hens in a 12x10 coop. The flat panel heater keeps it about 10-15 deg warmer than outside. It is too much for your little coop. My neighbor uses a red 150 watt for her bantams in a 4x6 coop. Keeps it about 25 to 35 deg depending on outside temps.
Sorry to hear about the extreme cold in your area.
Edit to add- If you do use a heat lamp get the ones from Premier1. Very safe and has a guard on it.
Their website is premier1.com.
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http://cozywinters.com/shop/kh-3111.html?gclid=CKrQz7v72qYCFYnc4Aod1CFK0Q
This is what my friend has. She wraps it in an old towel to protect it and hides it underneath the hay. It stays warm for a long time. Any rice, buckwheat or corn-filled pillow is not going to stay warm for more than a few minutes.
Just purchased one for myself off ebay for a little bit cheaper. Amazon also has them.
This is what my friend has. She wraps it in an old towel to protect it and hides it underneath the hay. It stays warm for a long time. Any rice, buckwheat or corn-filled pillow is not going to stay warm for more than a few minutes.
Just purchased one for myself off ebay for a little bit cheaper. Amazon also has them.
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