Do You Heat Your Coop? (Poll) LATEST UPDATE PG 15

[greenmulberry]

No heater here. Been getting into the single digits at night.

I do have a water heater base to keep the water thawed.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Hi Caran, at the risk of starting of a whole 'nother discussion on what's really cold, I wanted to give you my view on the adding heat.
The main risk I see in adding heat is that you are acclimating your birds to a "false" temperature range. They will get less in the way of winter down. If and when you lose power they will be poorly equipped to deal with the cold until the power's back on. Chilled birds can become sick birds really quickly.
I see this every day in other creatures. My outside dog has a nice full winter coat and with his dog house does just fine in the wintertime. Our inside dog never develops a winter coat and she can't stand to be out in the cold for very long.
I base my view on what I've learned from the old time chicken experts on this board (excuse me Miss P, speckled & Mrs. AK for considering you old time

) and what my SO's family has always done in their years of chicken keeping.
Plus, coop fires do happen. Just do a search here on BYC.

Which is EXACTLY WHY I ABSOLUTELY HAVE A HEATER IN OUR COOP!

Up here the temps can change as much as 80 degrees during a 24 hour period-not much time to acclimate there!!!! If I lived in a different area, things might be different, but the variables are too great here. The electricity very rarely goes out in the winter here, and storms in the winter time are extremely rare. When the electricity does go out, it is usually for less than a half an hour, and even that is very rare. The wild birds up here dive into the snow to keep themselves warm here, and burrow under for warmth-ever seen a chicken do that?

If you have, I'd for sure like to see a picture of one!

There is a major difference in temps. even in Alaska. What is fine for one person may not be for the next in a different area.

As for me, I still don't plan on bringing my chickens in to sleep with in the winter!!

(much as I love the girls!)

As far as the coop fires are concerned, you haven't tried the electric oil filled radiator style heater obviously!

I can touch the heater with my hand, in fact actually leave it set on it, and it doesn't burn my hand! I guess there are heaters and there are heaters!! If someone decides to use a heater in their coop, I would highly recommend this type. And besides, they are only $37.00 at Lowes! And because they are sealed with oil running through them they are very economical to use!

OMG! And so you should! No one, not even birds, should have to endure -80F without heat!

I think most people in the lower 48 will agree to disagree, though, when it comes to heating coops, only because conditions are very different all over. People who live above or near the Arctic Circle DO have to condend with temperatures far below freezing, and we are really not the "norm" when it comes to the US. We will most likely have to add heat eventually, though I haven't so far down to -10F this year. I hope I never see -80F, but I have heard stories that even temps here on the Peninsula in South-Central AK have reached -60F. It's rare, yes, and -30 to -40F is more common for Jan/Feb. I envy you, that you don't have power outages.

The last one we had was 7 hours, in the middle of the night, and I had eggs incubating.

If I may add my 2 cents, I believe that the heating of coops is really only necessary for those of us who DO get down that low. Anyone that lives in a warmer climate that only dips below freezing occasionally is more likely to do their birds a disservice, because IF they do have a power outage, their birds are less likely to adapt. I'm sure your birds have some serious down pantaloons going on, LuvmygirlsinAK,

as do mine. And I think the point is, too, that if our birds can acclimate to sub-freezing temperatures, so can birds in Florida, without heat. I, for one, do not EVER want to see a $400 electric bill, which is what we had when we tried to keep the coop above freezing in Jan/Feb last year.

I will have to go check out those heaters at Lowe's as a backup cuz I'm seriously doubting this whole global warming thing!

I think the take-home message is that if you plan it right, a solid coop design that allows the birds to get out of the elements when they decide it's too cold for them will keep them safe even on some of the coldest nights. Plenty of food so they can keep up their energy and body heat, and clean water. It also makes a difference as to how many birds there are, and how much free space there is in the coop. More birds, low ceiling = trapped heat = lower electric bill. I'm all for that!

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

The electric sealed oil filled radiator style heaters really are the way to go if you decide to go with heat, given the coldness of the area you are in. They are extremely economical, and I don't have to worry about our little flock at all. I guess it really does hinge on the variables you have, how often the electricity goes off, for how long, etc. If I were in a different situation, I am quite sure I would have to make the decision based on the area I was in. We used to live in Arlington, WA, I am sure I wouldn't bother with a heater there, particularly since it is well known for power outages in the winter.

Just to help clarify, Tori, I said it can change 80 degrees in a 24 hour period, not giving any time for acclamating, although I have seen -80 degree weather temps. here in the winter twice. I definitely do feel it is to my benefit to use heat, but once again, it is everybody's decision to make based on the area they live in.

I'm sure you (Tori) are looking forward to spring just as much as I am, although winter is always absolutely gorgeous-but not so when you can't go out and enjoy it when it is just too cold to enjoy it!!!

So really, everybody, I would just go with my instincts given all variables for my area (coop size, and amount of chickens for body heat) that would be most comfortable for my sweetie pies!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Oops... I must have misread that! LOL! But still, even if there's a chance you'll see -80F ....brrrr... that just makes me shiver thinking about it!

Yeah, the Interior gets those major temp swings because your landlocked, eh? I used to feel that when I was in CO. WA was just wet and bone-chilling cold, but the girls never had any problems with it.

I am SO looking forward to spring... only 5 months to go! Weee!

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Nope!

 

[All about the EGG]

No.

 

[gritsar]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Oops... I must have misread that! LOL! But still, even if there's a chance you'll see -80F ....brrrr... that just makes me shiver thinking about it!

Yeah, the Interior gets those major temp swings because your landlocked, eh? I used to feel that when I was in CO. WA was just wet and bone-chilling cold, but the girls never had any problems with it.

I am SO looking forward to spring... only 5 months to go! Weee!

Thanks for the clarification!

Remember how I said I was in a t-shirt this morning? Yeah well, went to the grocery store in that t-shirt @ 3 PM. Came out of the store @ 5:15 and it was freakin' snowing!

Don't think we'll see any accumalation though.
Re: the power going out. There's a reason we heat with wood and propane and have what must be the largest collection of oil lamps in Arkansas. I swear I could toss a stone at the power lines and the power would go out.

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

How do you get that to do that..come on and off with the temp change..thanks

Quote:

 

[Mrs MIA]

There are thermostats that look like plug multipliers... Thermocubes, I think they're called. You plug it in, and then there are two more sockets for lamps, heaters, what have you... it kicks on at 35°F and turns off at 45°F.

Work great!

 

[bluey]

Quote:
Love that avatar! It was...it was....soap poisoning....!!!!