Do I need heat lamp in coop with the cold weather???

[bobbi-j]

I wish it would warm up to -6...

 

[annagarret]

I share your concern and worry? I think we all tend to look at our chickens, who we of course love as pets, like a cat or dog. Birds are so very different. We are in our snuggly home with the pet dog and are other pets are outside in below freezing temps!! It does make me want to bring them in. They of course would not like it. I have read over and over on this site, magazines, books and such and the experts ALWAYS stress a non heated coop/dry bedding/ventilation/fresh water to keep our chickens healthy and thriving through winter.

I actually have noticed my babies have had bonded more.......We had a 45 degree day and let them out....they really stuck together...I think they thought it was a holiday!!!

BTW mine will be 1 in March. Two barred rocks and 1 RIR, all hens. A small flock I know. I worried that they were to young to be out in the cold.....they have proved me otherwise!!

 

[buckabucka]

I'm worried about mine. Expecting 30 below tonight, the first time it's been that cold since I started chicken-keeping.....

 

[annagarret]

How did it go??

 

[haemony]

It's easy for long time and well prepared chicken keepers to say "Oh do not ever heat your birds". or "they'll be fine." While in general I agree that chickens kept in medium to large flocks in a well prepared coop do not need heat, there are times when that advice does not apply. Now we have a lot of brand new chicken keepers with tiny flocks of barely 3 or 4 and not so well prepared coops who are facing record breaking cold with sudden and unprecedented drops in temperature. IN many of these cases, the birds have not had time to acclimate to the cold and there are not enough of them. In a case like that it is possible to lose birds Some of these birds may actually need to be brought in to a garage or basement for the night. I don't like heat lamps due to possibility of coop fre and power outage and at the very least they should be used with extreme caution and as a last resort. Some small flocks really are going to need a little help this week. The weather is bizarre levels of cold in cold places and extreme cold in places where it's never really cold. I'd hate to see anyone lose their birds on a principle.

 

[annagarret]

I know I am struggling I have 3 hens but in a very small coop...

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[buckabucka]

We ending out getting down to -29. One coop I put a small heater, which kept the temperature at zero. They may have been fine without it, but I have some that are molting in there so I was worried. The other coop is a very large hoop coop and there is no way to add heat. Those birds were fine too, albeit with a little frostbite. We've already had -25 this winter, so mine are fairly acclimated. We used to get -40 at least once a winter, but that was before I had chickens, and I wasn't sure what the lowest tolerable temperature is for them. (I still don't know, actually, but -29 is okay).

 

[annagarret]

Glad to report my hens did great!!

No heat,no frostbite and two eggs!!! B-)

 

[karinshuler]

This evening I turned the heat lamp on for my 6 chickens. It supposed to get really cold tonight and tomorrow night (-18 on some reports -30 on others). Then I will turn the heat lamp off. We had one -23F night, the weather report said it should get down to only -10. The chickens did ok but I think some had little frostbite spots on their comb. I leave their little coop door open all year long so they get fresh (cold) air.

 

[grumpma1]

Thanks for the information. I was so worried because it got down to 7 last night with -8 wind chill. My little girls are in an old coop that has alot of places where wind can get in. I was going to set up a heater today but after reading the comments and them doing just fine this morning I might not. It isn't suppose to get as cold for awhile. I have Road Island Reds. This is my first year and I am loving it. They are so much fun to watch.