Heat in the Coop

[carhartcrazy]

I am a new chicken owner and live in Montana. We get very cold temps and wind ...10-20 below is not uncommon. I have a small insulated coop with ventilation up high for my 10 chickens and the run extends under the coop. I plan to use the deep litter method to create additional heat in the winter but haven't started the layers just yet. So I have set up a heat lamp in the coop because we are due to get an arctic front in the next few days. The door is kept open during the day and I still want to let the chickens in their run so how do I keep the heat from escaping through the open door?
Thank You.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally wouldn't use a heat lamp. They are a fire hazard. We get that cold here too during the winter. My birds do fine. Some may get a bit of frostbite, but otherwise they are fine, and they go outside on nice days.

This time a year it's best to let birds acclimate to the falling temperatures. Their coat will thicken up naturally. If you add heat you will interfere with that process. Down the road if you still are concerned heated wall panels, or roosts are a safer alternative.

 

[vantain]

Same here..I'm in Minnesota. No heat. It is a bit concerning that it is getting to be so cold at night, so soon in the season, but what can one do? Frostbite at extreme temperatures is a sure thing, but they do ok with it. Just keep the wind off them.

 

[dct10]

respectfully: If your chickens are getting frostbitten, then it's too cold in the coop. Some supplemental heating, like the ceramic panels, are a good idea for cold nights. I found that one wasn't enough to keep my interior above freezing on 20 degree nights so I added a 2nd. I try to keep the coop no lower than 35 degrees. I wrapped the outside of the coop with plastic to seal it up and protect them from any drafts I wasn't aware of. The ventilation needs to stay open though. High humidity is bad for them. I also placed the heat panels low rather than high so they can huddle next to them if they are cold. I noticed that when the temp was about 35 degrees inside the coop they are happy and comfortable and not huddled togather...when it was 30 degrees, they were massed up near the heaters and their feathers wer puffed up. So they are telling me they like it about 35.

 

[Mrs. K]

Frostbite is a sign that things are not dry enough, not about the cold.

To the original poster, do not add heat. Western SD here, and same temperatures, we are blessed with more arid air which helps.

Do not add heat! Instead do these things to keep it dry.

• Deep bedding with no piles of manure
• Toss scratch on top of the bedding once a week. Chickens will break up the manure and it will dry out
• Do keep above their heads ventilation on the lee side (away from the prevailing wind) open all the time

Do not think warm, THINK DRY
Mrs K

 

[cstronks]

Supplemental insulation can help here. Ventilation is really important, but I have noticed that really limiting it to a slot or two on frigid nights helps to add a few degrees to the coop.

Frostbite isn't a great thing for hens. Firstly, it's not a great sign for their health and likely painful. I do what I can to prevent it. Moisture is one of the issues, so keeping a dry coop helps.

Adding additional flooring / bedding actually does well in trapping heat. I would really fluff up your coop floor with sawdust, hay, wood-shavings to keep it warmer. This serves as a natural insulation (cheap) and can be removed at the end of the winter no problem.

Heat lamp to me....bad very bad. My birds hated it and the fire risk is overwhelming.

 

[Mrs. K]

When I was in an old coop, and the depth of winter, a long cold spell, everything frozen solid, manure pile up. Then we had a glorious chinook from the south, everything melted, and the humidity soared, and cause we were still in winter, with the night, the temperatures dropped, not near where they were, but below 32 degrees, and that is when I got frost bite.

Dry cold, not a problem, humid cold is, KEEP THINGS DRY, NOT WARM.

Mrs K