Coop Heating Alternatives?

[foxinachickenhouse]

Has anyone mentioned the ceramic heat bulbs that go into a standard heat lamp? Here they are in the feed stores. I sometimes heat a medium sized rock, or fire bricks in the oven and wrap in a towel and put it in the shavings under the roost. It gives off heat and stays warm for about 4 hours. In that deep cold I doubt it would be very effective but I think it holds heat longer than a water jug. Alcohol fueled marine heaters are safe and let off no carbon monoxide. I used one to brood our chicks in the garage. More bedding material as insulation too.

 

[farmer_lew]

I saw a guy that took a bunch of soda cans, cut the ends off and painted them flat black, put them in a wooden case (end to end) with a plexiglass top, and pushed air through a 4" pipe through the cans and into his greenhouse. During the day the sun heats the black cans inside their little box and the forced air blows through getting warmed along the way. Might work for a coop, at least during a sunny day.