free range in winter?

[Gloria]

So, are you guys saying " no heatlamp"?

 

[patandchickens]

You're very unlikely to need one, assuming intelligent coop design. Unless you live far, far north of the vast majority of BYC

And there are people with winter temps regularly down to -30, -40 Farenheit who don't use heat lamps. So, you know

Also note that if you do, on some nights, genuinely need a bit of extra 'top warmth' (e.g. because of having bantams or small breeds with huge combs, or such) you still probably do not need a HEAT lamp -- a regular ole lightbulb (can be red) hung over the roost is likely to be quite adequate to your needs and FAR less fire risk.

If you use a bulb or whatever for warmth on more than rare occasinal nights, though, you need to think about what happens when the power is out.

JMO,

Pat

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I have a heatlamp that hangs down securely from the rafters in the henhouse and only use it when temps dip way down below zero with windchills....maybe twice last year.....best not to have them rely on a heat lamp or any heat incase of a power failure...

I also when the weather is blizzard like do not open the run doors for the chickens...any other time they have free access to the outside if they want...

A treat of cracked corn or scratch on cold winter evenings given helps keep their body temps warmer....my opinions....

 

[Gloria]

Ok Pat, I guess I'm a little stupid here. So if they don't really need the heat lamp here in Michigan. And I do use one, what 's going to happen if the power happens to go out? Do you mean that they won't be used to it being out?

We do end up with the occasional comb frostbite even with the heat lamp. And it seems to be dry in there. Wouldn't it be worse if I didn't use the heat lamp in the winter?

 

[FisherMOM]

I only used a heat lamp last winter trying to keep the water thawed... didn't work great. I need to get a warming bowl this year.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Thank you Pat, for giving information on the heat tape idea and the various reasons that's a problem. I, too, would suggest a 2x4 for a roost.

I'm one of the people that has a heat lamp available to be chained to the rafters, for the bitterest nights. We don't use it all winter and we don't use it during the day. We use it for bitter cold spells, that come on suddenly. It's reserved for nights where the temperature would suddenly jump from a low of say, -10 one night, to -30 the next. That's pretty cold and a pretty big jump. In a big coop, the heat lamp just buffers the cold, it doesn't make it toasty warm. We are lightly stocked.

Do we have to use the heat lamp? No. It's just our choice. We could also enclose the roosts, to keep in more body heat while they are roosting. DH didn't want to do that. We could also do nothing. Of course, then I'd see them hunched up, looking cold on the coop cam and I'd feel bad.

I can see where it's much more of a management problem for people that have chosen chicken breeds with larger combs and have roosters, too, in the bitterly cold areas.

We use a combination of snow blowing, shoveling and a run cover to deal with snow. DH snow blows paths for the dogs and chickens. I do a little touch-up shoveling around the run gate or in the uncovered portion of the run. Next to the coop, the run is covered, so I don't have to dig the chickens out in the morning anymore!

We had over 100" of snow last winter, so had to do a little more snow management than usual.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Thank you all for such great answers! Now I have even more questions.

My sumatra rooster has a small comb but I aquired a brahma "pullet" who is now a rooster and his comb is enormous in comparison. Do I do anything different for him? What does frostbite look like? The 2 brahmas also have very feathery feet. Lake effect snow will certainly pack onto them, won't it?

The insulation I was thinking of is more like pool swim noodles. Still bad though, huh? silly me.

I don't have a run for my chickens, they just wander in the woods. I do leave for work before light in winter and return after dark.

My kids are all gone to college and this is how I dealt with empty nest syndrome!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Yes.

We do end up with the occasional comb frostbite even with the heat lamp. And it seems to be dry in there. Wouldn't it be worse if I didn't use the heat lamp in the winter?

Well, if your coop is designed thusly and your chickens' combs are thusly, then that would seem to fall into the category of 'use a lamp on those cold nights', as I'd mentioned.

<shrug>

Pat​

 

[Gloria]

Ok, thank you Pat for the info. Sorry if I was starting to annoy you with all my questions. Inquiring minds need to know. I just never realized people didn't leave a heat lamp on in the winter. Being from Canada I guessing you would know. Thanks for the enlightenment.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I've heard everyone saying that their coops are insulated. Mine is just a very solidly built prefab Amish shedrow horse barn. The one that they're in now does not have open eaves and the only vent would be the window which is at roost level. It's actually the tack room. I have another similar barn (a run in with a tack room) that does have open eves and no window. It has a metal roof where as the shedrow is thicker and shingled. I thought the more airtight one was best and they'd get heat from the horses (there's a pass through window into the stalls). I can set them up in either one. Do I need to insulate one? They're board and batton. There was moisture on the inside of the walls last winter in the form of ice crystals. Putting holes in the walls (for vents)would freak out my husband (that's why no little chicken sized door yet). Winter is coming fast and I'm starting to get stressed now. There's sooo much to know about doing this right!