electricity??

[kryptoniteqhs]

i want to get a light bulb and heater to my chicken coops, but i would have to run an extention cord through the paddock where the horses are and i dont want them to get hurt. also i dont want to dig and burry it bc its too cold for any of that nonesense.....also cant put it up high, nothing to hang it on....AND if i put a heater in there, whats to say it wont catch the coop and hay on fire?? wheeeewww....animals are tuff

 

[Trollkiller]

Run the cord through a pipe attached to the wall.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

so regular extension cord thru pvc?? not far underground i hope or im not doing it lol

 

[Trollkiller]

What I was thinking is run a regular extension cord through a PVC or metal pipe in any area that the horses can get to. Personally I would rather run it along the wall than dig a trench.

If the pipe were exposed to the horses, would they chew on it? If so go with a metal pipe.

 

[KrisRose]

Make sure you use a heavy duty extenstion cord rated for use outside. Trollkiller idea of using a PVC pipe and running it along your barn is a good idea.
The heat lamp won't set anything on fire as long as you secure it really well. If it gets knocked down on your bedding you could have a problem. Most heat lamps are metal and get real hot. I got my heat lamps fron Premier supplies and they are heavy duty plastic that dos'nt melt or get as hot as the metal ones.

 

[cmom]

My lamps clamp but I put an extra clamp on to make sure they are up good.

 

[sunnydee]

I have two outdoor rated extention cords (warning...they are VERY expensive) running out my my coop. I have them up in the air coming from house, to storage shed then to the coop. I just put the two together using electrical tape to cover the connection. Working great so far even in rain and snow.

 

[patandchickens]

If this coop is fixed not moveable, and in the center of the horse paddock not along a fence, you may be scr*wed. I would honestly not trust PVC or conduit at ALL if they're just laid on the surface of the ground where horses can walk and trip on it. Anything I can think of that you could run the wire through is just not hoof-proof enough to not be trenched well in. Hooves can mash/rip through heavy duty garden hose and pvc, I wouldn't put conduit past 'em either. Also of course bored horses sometimes chew things that are not in their best interests...

Given a choice between a very real risk of electrocuting your horses vs having cold chickens, I'd personally take the cold chickens every single time. You can just bring them a fresh bucket of water a coupla times a day.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[LynneP]

Pat is right, just bring them warm water and replace it on your next trip to the coop. Not worth fire hazard or risk to your horses.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I've done JUST THAT, not the PVC... I ran a heavy duty construction grade extension cord from my house (the coop sits infront to the left of the house), through the wall in the coop (there was a fan in the wall waybackwhen, which had been removed before we moved in, but left a gigantic hole, I filled it in and covered it with insulation and siding but left the hole on the inside for future use), so yeah ran it through the wall at that hole after cutting a neat little hole through the siding there, sprayfoamed the cord in place, and hung the cord off hooks inside the coop, and lastly added the outdoor lighting cord kit and a 100W bulb. I don't need heating because the bulb keeps it at least 1 C in there for the waterer, so far nothing has caught on fire, and I don't put hay in the coop it goes out in the run (not that they want to go out there anyway with the 5 inches of snow ha ha), and they have shavings in their nest boxes.