Coop heating

[Chickidee26]

Please let me know your favorite ways to heat your coop.

 

[DobieLover]

With chickens!! Actually, they just heat themselves...

You live near me. You DON'T need to heat your coop.
You need to have your coop DRY and very well ventilated.

 

[Chickidee26]

With chickens!! Actually, they just heat themselves...

You live near me. You DON'T need to heat your coop.
You need to have your coop DRY and very well ventilated.

In winter? Not now necessarily...looking ahead.

 

[DobieLover]

In winter? Not now necessarily...looking ahead.

No heat. Period.
A properly ventilated coop that is kept dry will allow the birds to keep themselves warm. Open water in the coop or overcrowding will cause more issues in winter than just nasty behavioral ones.

 

[SilkieNation]

I think it depends on how many chickens you have, your coop's construction and size, and what breed your chickens are, because some are more cold hardy than others. I've always had a small flock of silkies - in a big coop - really a room off of my garage. It's totally dry and solidly built with a concrete floor. I sealed all of the cracks, and use a lot of straw. I hang 'curtains', which are old blankets, over the windows at night and keep two Cozy Coop Chicken Coop Heaters going - low level radiant heat - you keep them close to where your chickens hang out and where they sleep. It's still cold when it's cold, but it's warmer inside than out, and the water usually doesn't freeze. I know that many veteran chicken owners say no heat. For me, I'm more comfortable taking the edge off of the winter cold, especially when my flock starts to get up there in age (7+ years).

 

[DobieLover]

I think it depends on how many chickens you have, your coop's construction and size, and what breed your chickens are, because some are more cold hardy than others. I've always had a small flock of silkies - in a big coop - really a room off of my garage. It's totally dry and solidly built with a concrete floor. I sealed all of the cracks, and use a lot of straw. I hang 'curtains', which are old blankets, over the windows at night and keep two Cozy Coop Chicken Coop Heaters going - low level radiant heat - you keep them close to where your chickens hang out and where they sleep. It's still cold when it's cold, but it's warmer inside than out, and the water usually doesn't freeze. I know that many veteran chicken owners say no heat. For me, I'm more comfortable taking the edge off of the winter cold, especially when my flock starts to get up there in age (7+ years).

This is true for these special circumstances. But I personally wouldn't keep chickens that were not suited to the climate I live in.
If memory serves me correctly from the New Member introduction thread, the OP had 5 LF chicks so we aren't talking fragile Seramas or Silkies here.
Another new member recently revealed the reason her original 9 chicks dropped to four after her first winter. The coop caught on fire and killed 7 of them and she got two more chicks to bring her numbers back up to 4.

 

[Cazook]

only silkies and some quail need supplemental heating... unless you are in deep siberia or something i guess.

 

[SilkieNation]

I did note that it depends on the coop's construction and size, and the breed. I agree that heating can pose a severe danger, that's why I use the coop heaters. IMO they are very safe, unlike heat lamps and most other sources. Insulating, if you can, sealing cracks, straw for extra insulation are good practices. Like you said, proper ventilation and keeping the coop dry, which can be affected by cleanliness, are very important.

 

[DragonGirls]

I agree with DobieLover, especially for your area.
I live in WNY with 15 older girls and 5 chicks in a 23' x11' coop and I never heat my coop, it is well ventilated and dry,not insulated as it is very very old and just the original wooden walls, and have never had any frostbite problems.

 

[chixrus2013]

I did note that it depends on the coop's construction and size, and the breed. I agree that heating can pose a severe danger, that's why I use the coop heaters. IMO they are very safe, unlike heat lamps and most other sources. Insulating, if you can, sealing cracks, straw for extra insulation are good practices. Like you said, proper ventilation and keeping the coop dry, which can be affected by cleanliness, are very important.

I have read that sealing everything off in a coop is not healthy. There needs to be ventilation. When my husband built our coop he put a vent into the roof as well as the 4 corner eaves. I read that condensation from the humidity given off from chickens themselves is worse in the cold than the cold itself. I live in New Hampshire and we have really cold winters. Even this spring has been pretty cold, especially at night and last week we even had snow and hail. I only get cold hardy chickens because I don't want to have to worry about heating my coop. (except I do use a warming lamp at night for my 3 week old chicks right now, because it's still too cold at night for them) I have never had an issue with the cold with my chickens and there have been days and weeks with it in the teens during the day and then zero or below at night. When it's that cold the only thing I have done is cover their wattles and combs with vaseline to help protect them from frostbite and that seems to work fine. Also, my husband used 2x4's for their roosts so that they always sit on their feet at night and that helps prevent frostbite in the feet.