Heat lamp or not?

[picklestheduck]

Its supposed to be like -10 today and later tonight. My fam is worried about the chickens. I personally think they will be ok. They have a coop to go in and straw in the run and really really deep shavings inside. We added some more ventilation, and although its not like a huge amount its much more than before. There are 19 birds so they can huddle together to stay warm if needed. Should we put a heat lamp in there? I think they'll be fine, and I'm afraid that if they are exposed to heat for a while, that when we go to take it out when it's not so cold, that they will be even more cold than before. I don't know though. Thoughts?

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Its supposed to be like -10 today and later tonight. My fam is worried about the chickens. I personally think they will be ok. They have a coop to go in and straw in the run and really really deep shavings inside. We added some more ventilation, and although its not like a huge amount its much more than before. There are 19 birds so they can huddle together to stay warm if needed. Should we put a heat lamp in there? I think they'll be fine, and I'm afraid that if they are exposed to heat for a while, that when we go to take it out when it's not so cold, that they will be even more cold than before. I don't know though. Thoughts?

I was worried to. It reached about - 15 -20 last night and this morning. My chickens didnt have straw or a heat lamp. And i only have 3 birds so yours should do just fine as long as they are cold hardy.

 

[WIchickMama]

No heat lamp. Depending on how much ventilation you have will determine if they will get any frostbite or not. How big of a coop do you have? Roosts large enough for them to cover their feet with their bodies?

 

[WIchickMama]

I was worried to. It reached about - 15 -20 last night and this morning. My chickens didnt have straw or a heat lamp. And i only have 3 birds so yours should do just fine as long as they are cold hardy.

Cold hardy is a plus but those that are not as cold hard, like Polish, can still do fine in the colder temps if they have a dry, draft free, ventilated area with a spot to cover their feet and snuggle up. We were down to a feels like temp of -36 deg F last night and my Polish were just as content as my hardier breeds.

 

[NatJ]

Its supposed to be like -10 today and later tonight. My fam is worried about the chickens. I personally think they will be ok. They have a coop to go in and straw in the run and really really deep shavings inside. We added some more ventilation, and although its not like a huge amount its much more than before. There are 19 birds so they can huddle together to stay warm if needed. Should we put a heat lamp in there? I think they'll be fine, and I'm afraid that if they are exposed to heat for a while, that when we go to take it out when it's not so cold, that they will be even more cold than before. I don't know though. Thoughts?

Maybe you can put a thermometer in the coop and read that. The coop is probably warmer than outdoors, so that might reassure your family a bit.

You can also check what that temperature forecast is for: some forecasts give a lower temperature because they are allowing for wind chill, which should not be an issue inside your chicken coop!

I'm guessing they will be fine with no heat lamp.

 

[picklestheduck]

No heat lamp. Depending on how much ventilation you have will determine if they will get any frostbite or not. How big of a coop do you have? Roosts large enough for them to cover their feet with their bodies?

Our coop isn't huge, but it works for now. I don't know the dimensions sadly. They can totally cover their feet if needed. We plan to build a bigger, better coop in the spring, but we can't right now. Everything is deep under snow. The picture shown is before we added more ventilation, it was taken this summer. We have holes drilled along the top in the front now, and we opened up the tops of the sides all the way around.

 

[WIchickMama]

if you have added enough ventilation and there is no water in the coop they should be ok for the night

 

[adstowe]

I cant tell how wide it is, but at least on the picture that looks awfully small for 19 chickens.