Heat lamp or no heat lamp for cold weather?

[smilingcat]

To help with the extreme winter cold, we install foam insulation with 1/4" wood paneling inside the coop. wood paneling is facing the chicken side. This is to keep the chicken from pecking and eating the foam insulation. No heat lamp.

We also increase the amount of carb in their diet, more soy and corn.

You also need to winterize the waterer so it doesn't freeze.

Close off any draft and make sure that the litter is dry!!

Our chicken do quite fine.

----IF YOU DECIDE TO USE A HEAT LAMP----

1. DO NOT USE THE ELECTRICAL CORD TO HANG THE LAMP.
2. DO NOT USE A SPRING CLAMP THAT COMES WITH THE CHEAP LAMP TO INSTALL THE LAMP.

1. Heat lamp must be hung with minimum of two cable/chain. This is in case one of them break or gets loose. Each chain must have its own anchor on the ceiling.
2. Electrical cord from the lamp MUST BE SHORTER than the length of chain and must have a plug on the end.
3. Electrical power coming down from the ceiling must be attached at the ceiling with a strain relief and a the plug on the end must not touch the floor.
4. the total length of the electrical cord from the lamp and the length of cord hanging from the ceiling must be less than the height of the ceiling.

The whole set up is a fail safe mechanism so that in case both chain fails and the lamp does fall to the ground, the lamp will unplug itself as it is falling to the floor.

 

[galefrances]

I'm new to keeping chickens, but I've read on the old timer thread that it isn't a good idea to heat the coop. The chickens will adapt to the changes in temperature, but if your coop is heated they will not have been able to do this. Then, if the power goes out and you lose heat in the coop, they have a good chance of dying. I have also read about using vaseline on their crowns, but some say not to worry about it.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I was leaning more towards not using a heat lamp and with all the great advise i believe thats the right way to go. But since you have cold winters like i do here do you do anything for the chickens crowns to protect them from frost bite. Ive read horror stories of peoples chickens who have lost part of their crown due to below zero temperatures. Ive read putting petroleum jelly on them to prevent frost bite. Do you do anything to prevent frost bite or im i over thinking it? Because i definitely may be!

You can coat the combs and wattles in vasoline that is a good protector from frostbite.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I'm new to keeping chickens, but I've read on the old timer thread that it isn't a good idea to heat the coop. The chickens will adapt to the changes in temperature, but if your coop is heated they will not have been able to do this. Then, if the power goes out and you lose heat in the coop, they have a good chance of dying. I have also read about using vaseline on their crowns, but some say not to worry about it.

That is a great point... I think putting deep straw in the coop to help with keeping in the warmth, a higher carb diet, no drafts, clean dry straw, unfrozen water, and maybe even some warm oatmeal on really cold days

yea my birds are spoiled rotten, and we should be ok! thanks everyone for all the great advice ( even though this wasnt my thread)

 

[Missa Chickabee]

Just got to peep in here. There is a VAST difference between 30 degrees above zero and 30 degrees below zero. A friend visit us from the south was in shock when she experienced what is the norm for us in winter. She justt couldn't stand it, would run from the car to the house screaming...literally. (if you ever get to watch the movie "New in Town", take the time to watch the add-on about the cold they experienced in Winnipeg where they filmed what was supposedly portraying the small Minnesota town of (I think) New Ulm. What a hoot!

Just to say...people can lose ears here if they don't take care.

So I'll be putting vaseline on Boaz's comb.

I'm not saying that the birds couldn't survive thirty or forty below because the wild birds here in northern MN do survive...not all though. (They go through a ton of our sunflower seeds to get their little metabolic rates up) However, I don't know the limits of my birds yet. They are the smaller production Buff Orpingtons. They could very well survive 30 below but I sure would be letting outdoor dogs come inside to spend the night when its that cold. Oh they would make it outside alright but there would be later consequences in their joints unless they are real winter breeds.

What I'm saying is this: Let common sense rule rather than hold onto inflexible rules about this issue.Don't spoil the chickens to their hurt but once it gets below zero degrees I think I just might put up a 150 light bulb. (My coop is 12 X 12 with a 9 foot high ceiling so it's already going to be stealing some (a lot) of their body heat (19 of them) and I don't use straw. If it hits fifteen or twenty below, I'm getting the red 250 watt one out. I know some will disagree. But like I said, I don't want to learn the limits of my birds the hard way.

If anyone hasn't seen "THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHICKEN" please watch this amusing documentary. There is a story in there about a hen frozen stiff (not in the coop) The film is on Netflix Instant Watch. Several true stories. Loved this little film..

Birds aren't people, but I think with the excellent precautions mentioned they could benefit from some help from us caretakers when the temps plummet to the extremes we can experience up here. Hmm. I wonder how the chickens would vote on the issue if we polled them...
They might say

to just a little help staying warm. Just MO...fer wut it's worth! Have a blessed night all.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

But...on the other hand....I'm a newbie and what the heck, haven't even gone through one winter with my babies yet !

I just don't do well in life in general when I live on;y by hard and fast rules
and don't yield to those "gut" instincts or nudges in the moment.

 

[HEChicken]

Ive read putting petroleum jelly on them to prevent frost bite. Do you do anything to prevent frost bite or im i over thinking it? Because i definitely may be!

Frost bite on combs is almost always the result of poor ventilation in the coop. Even in a dry climate, a coop can be a humid space as all the exhalations from breathing, add humidity to the air. If the coop is not well ventilated, that excess humidity condenses, and when it condenses on the comb, you end up with frost bite. Ventilate the coop well enough, and you won't have issues with frost bite.

No where is it mentioned how many chickens you have. This is the deciding factor in whether you will need to provide additional heat for them during the coldest months.

It's been my experience that a dozen or more chickens will generate enough heat on their own to keep the coop warmer than the outside temp, and they will be able to huddle close together to transfer their heat to one another.

However, under a dozen chickens may not generate enough heat, and a heat lamp, properly hung so no flammable objects come into contact with it, including the mechanism by which it's hung, would be a help to them.

This is a good point although the key piece of information isn't just how many chickens there are but how many in how much space. My first coop was 4x4x4 (A-Frame with a 4x4 footprint). My birds free-ranged all day so only used the coop to sleep in, and my first winter I had 9 birds sleeping in there. The roost was crowded but they all fit. Note: I would not recommend putting this many birds in a coop this size if they spent any time in it during the day; I only got away with it because all they did was line up on the roost and sleep). Those 9 birds in that space generated enough heat that the waterer in the coop never froze, even when the outside temp at night was single digits. However those same 9 birds in a 10x10 coop might have been too cold. So I don't believe it is just the number of birds but how many birds warming up how much space.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

QUOTED:
This is a good point although the key piece of information isn't just how many chickens there are but how many in how much space. My first coop was 4x4x4 (A-Frame with a 4x4 footprint). My birds free-ranged all day so only used the coop to sleep in, and my first winter I had 9 birds sleeping in there. The roost was crowded but they all fit. Note: I would not recommend putting this many birds in a coop this size if they spent any time in it during the day; I only got away with it because all they did was line up on the roost and sleep). Those 9 birds in that space generated enough heat that the waterer in the coop never froze, even when the outside temp at night was single digits. However those same 9 birds in a 10x10 coop might have been too cold. So I don't believe it is just the number of birds but how many birds warming up how much space.

Re above: Exactly. Our coop is 12 X 12 X 9 high. Lots of room to move around for them but too much space for my feathery little heat machines to generate when double digits below zero show up. Lots of vertical height for their body heat to escape up into. This is what I mean by being flexible and using common sense for the conditions. This input has consolidated for me that I will
give them some artificial warmth. The birds need to conserve some of their energy for why I hired them in the first place.

QUOTED:
Frost bite on combs is almost always the result of poor ventilation in the coop. Even in a dry climate, a coop can be a humid space as all the exhalations from breathing, add humidity to the air. If the coop is not well ventilated, that excess humidity condenses, and when it condenses on the comb, you end up with frost bite. Ventilate the coop well enough, and you won't have issues with frost bite.

Re above: Our coop is very well insulated and has a concrete floor. Does this mean I need to have a window open a bit..even while trying to heat a bit? In those temperatures do I still need some cross-ventilation?

Another winter consideration: I would imagine removing the droppings daily from under the roost would considerably knock down the humidity in the air. Also, I think PDZ acts like a kind of a dessicant that absorbs the moisture as well as neutralizing the ammonia which stresses the lungs. If the birds are going to spend a lot of time in there I want to make the air as healthy for them as possible.

 

[galefrances]

Just got to peep in here. There is a VAST difference between 30 degrees above zero and 30 degrees below zero. A friend visit us from the south was in shock when she experienced what is the norm for us in winter. She justt couldn't stand it, would run from the car to the house screaming...literally. (if you ever get to watch the movie "New in Town", take the time to watch the add-on about the cold they experienced in Winnipeg where they filmed what was supposedly portraying the small Minnesota town of (I think) New Ulm. What a hoot!

Just to say...people can lose ears here if they don't take care.

So I'll be putting vaseline on Boaz's comb.

I'm not saying that the birds couldn't survive thirty or forty below because the wild birds here in northern MN do survive...not all though. (They go through a ton of our sunflower seeds to get their little metabolic rates up) However, I don't know the limits of my birds yet. They are the smaller production Buff Orpingtons. They could very well survive 30 below but I sure would be letting outdoor dogs come inside to spend the night when its that cold. Oh they would make it outside alright but there would be later consequences in their joints unless they are real winter breeds.

What I'm saying is this: Let common sense rule rather than hold onto inflexible rules about this issue.Don't spoil the chickens to their hurt but once it gets below zero degrees I think I just might put up a 150 light bulb. (My coop is 12 X 12 with a 9 foot high ceiling so it's already going to be stealing some (a lot) of their body heat (19 of them) and I don't use straw. If it hits fifteen or twenty below, I'm getting the red 250 watt one out. I know some will disagree. But like I said, I don't want to learn the limits of my birds the hard way.

If anyone hasn't seen "THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHICKEN" please watch this amusing documentary. There is a story in there about a hen frozen stiff (not in the coop) The film is on Netflix Instant Watch. Several true stories. Loved this little film..

Birds aren't people, but I think with the excellent precautions mentioned they could benefit from some help from us caretakers when the temps plummet to the extremes we can experience up here. Hmm. I wonder how the chickens would vote on the issue if we polled them...
They might say

to just a little help staying warm. Just MO...fer wut it's worth! Have a blessed night all.

This is really good advice. You're right, you have to first think about what conditions you're dealing with, then use some common sense along with some good advice.

 

[Nicole01]

I use a heater in my coop. If I didn't, their waterer would freeze, even in the day. I use a radiator heater and keep it on the lowest setting once the water starts to freeze. We cover our run in plastic, which creates the greenhouse effect and keeps the ground from freezing. It worked well! If it breaks, I'll go out and buy a new one.

I know it's not necessary, but I spend a lot of time in my coop too visiting my girls, sometimes for hours at a time.