Yes ! Sunday it will be 18 degrees at night here with a high of 35-37. We use the 250 watt heat lamps. Today it was 63 and we had ice last week with the temps in the 20's!!! I long for spring !!!!
Do You Heat Your Coop? (Poll) LATEST UPDATE PG 15
- Thread starter bluey
- Start date
I have a heat lamp is that considered heating?
Quote:
Yes, it helps to have birds with rose or pea combs, Beekissed,
but the light Brahma rooster that I took in and am "babysitting" (until spring shows it's bright smiley face), is one of the one's that has frostbite on his comb and wattle. This had to have happened shortly before he came to us last saturday, because it was white when we got him and has now turned black, and the temps. were above zero for the most part, getting up to 18 degrees sometimes during the day and usually only down to zero at night. (highly unusual for this time of year), and he lived without heat in his coop, so he would have had plenty of time to acclimate up here. It is so painful for him, I really have to fight crying everytime I pick him up to cuddle him, I feel so sorry for him!
(he's just a big ole baby anyway, although a giant "baby" if you ask me!
) So we know that it doesn't always make a difference having a small comb or not, although I'm sure it does help.
The other rooster came to us with frostbite as well. He is a beautiful black sexlink, and does have a bigger comb, but he actually got by with far less frostbite. He also is from the area, with the same temperatures and from an unheated coop.
I guess I would just really caution everyone to watch your chickens for signs of coldness, especially at night with all of the cold weather reports across the country-really we've had it pretty easy up here in the "frozen north" for the past few weeks, compared to what people in the lower 48 are reporting. I'd say "so much for the prediction of a much harsher winter that we were supposed to get this year, except that winter ain't over yet!!!"
Not by a long shot! (Guess we could always hope so!
)
Yes, it helps to have birds with rose or pea combs, Beekissed,
The other rooster came to us with frostbite as well. He is a beautiful black sexlink, and does have a bigger comb, but he actually got by with far less frostbite. He also is from the area, with the same temperatures and from an unheated coop.
I guess I would just really caution everyone to watch your chickens for signs of coldness, especially at night with all of the cold weather reports across the country-really we've had it pretty easy up here in the "frozen north" for the past few weeks, compared to what people in the lower 48 are reporting. I'd say "so much for the prediction of a much harsher winter that we were supposed to get this year, except that winter ain't over yet!!!"
no here too. They do just fine. If it is too cold outside for them during the day they choose to stay in and they keep eachother warm at night and i do the deep litter method. ErinM
Nope
my coop is insalated and i have 1 infrared light and another heating lamp
I'm with you. I'm still pretty new to this Chicken Farming. I am in West Va and the temps don't usually go below 20 degrees but I prefer to keep my chicken comfortable... why make them suffer if they don't need to. I have one 250 watt heat lamp in our coop, which is 10 x 10, however I won't turn it on until under 40 degrees. 12 chickens plus a rooster put off quite a bit of heat themselves. And I HOPE I'm doing things right cuz I love my chickens!
Welcome to the forum, Lydia. Looks like you are doing your research reading a thread as old as this one.
Chickens wear a down coat. They really can handle pretty cold temperatures, just like all the wild birds you see outside. The danger to chickens from cold is frostbite, not them freezing to death.
Many of us keep chickens in temperatures well below zero with no issues, frostbite or anything else other than keeping them unfrozen water. One thing that contributes to frostbite is high humidity in the coop. Many people on here have reported stopping frostbite problems by increasing the ventilation in their coop so the extra moisture from their poop and breathing can escape. You don’t want them in a closed up claustrophobic coop. They need some fresh air.
That ventilation should be over their heads when they are sleeping for a couple of reasons. If the openings are over their heads any breezes will not hit them directly so they won’t have wind chill problems and the higher openings helps get rid of the bad air.
I’ve seen chickens sleep in trees at below zero Fahrenheit. They were not perched on the limb of a dead tree at the top of a bluff squawking defiantly into the teeth of a blizzard. That would be a Disney cartoon. They were in a protected valley in a thicket where they could move around the tree trunk to get out of a direct breeze. Those chickens did not freeze to death and they did not get frostbite. They had regular single combs and wattles.
Chickens wear a down coat. They really can handle pretty cold temperatures, just like all the wild birds you see outside. The danger to chickens from cold is frostbite, not them freezing to death.
Many of us keep chickens in temperatures well below zero with no issues, frostbite or anything else other than keeping them unfrozen water. One thing that contributes to frostbite is high humidity in the coop. Many people on here have reported stopping frostbite problems by increasing the ventilation in their coop so the extra moisture from their poop and breathing can escape. You don’t want them in a closed up claustrophobic coop. They need some fresh air.
That ventilation should be over their heads when they are sleeping for a couple of reasons. If the openings are over their heads any breezes will not hit them directly so they won’t have wind chill problems and the higher openings helps get rid of the bad air.
I’ve seen chickens sleep in trees at below zero Fahrenheit. They were not perched on the limb of a dead tree at the top of a bluff squawking defiantly into the teeth of a blizzard. That would be a Disney cartoon. They were in a protected valley in a thicket where they could move around the tree trunk to get out of a direct breeze. Those chickens did not freeze to death and they did not get frostbite. They had regular single combs and wattles.
In reality, you are not doing those chickens any favors. You are making them DEPENDANT on artificial added heat. You are not letting them get their winter feathers and properly acclimatize to the colder weather naturally. If, in the coldest part of winter, the bulb burns out, or you lose power, then those birds ARE going to suffer, and that will be on you.
Not to mention the possibility of burning your coop down with that dangerous heatlamp. I've read hear about more than a couple of coop fires. And usually it's because of some misguided attempt to "Keep them warm". Do your chickens a favor, and get rid of the heatlamp.
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