HEAT LAMP QUESTIONS!!

[gluckgluck9000]

Hi,

I have been using a heat lamp in my little coop for a little over a year (only in winter) I live in Colorado, the winters aren't horrible here but they can be very long and can get pretty cold with the snow. I really want some outside opinions on the use of a heat lamp.

I know they are a huge fire hazard and I do use bedding in my chickens coop (on the top level where the heat lamp is).

I find it nice that the heat lamp keeps the water from freezing which happens nearly every cold day, but I know there are heated watering stations as well.

Any thoughts on if my chickens need a heat lamp here in Colorado in the winter time?
If I suddenly take it out, will that put them into shock and cause issues?
Should I keep the heat lamp in?

I can attach an image of my coop tomorrow, it is late and dark here.
For reference I attached some images from google that are very similar to my coop (the heat lamp is in the top right corner of the upper section in the coop).

 

[cavemanrich]

Here are some of my thoughts.
First.... for including your location in your profile. Makes things much easier to give advice, based on climate.

Some information needed, is;;; the numbers of chickens, the breed, (if cold hardy) size of your coop, and ventilation. Your actual pictures will be very helpful.
To have good winter ventilation, generally you need the openings well above the chickens' heads, so not to cause drafts.
To have chickens acclimate to cold, they need to gradually experience the lowering temps. This way they grow necessary feathers and down. In simple terms, you don't get a chicken from Florida, and rehome to Colorado, and expect chicken to be feathered for cold.
If you have been supplementing heat for a while, then chickens are not COLD weather ready.
I don't know for sure, but think that your winter lows are not as extreme, as areas in higher elevations, and west of there.
If your ventilation is not sufficient, the combs and wattles on some of your chickens can get frostbite. The best option is to have coop, dry, and well ventilated.
Even under the best conditions, extreme colds will still cause frostbite on chickens with large combs, and long wattles.
Adding supplemental heat at such times does prevent that. The key is to make the interior of coop just slightly warmer, and NOT TOO WARM.
2 ways of doing that. Have different size heaters, or a variable control of the one you have. Ask if you need clarification on this. (basically a dimmer switch)
If this was my coop, I would aim to have the temps inside on those very cold nights when ambient outdoor is in the single digits, coop interior at 32°F or so. During day, turn off and resume when chickens go back to roost. You will need thermometers to track the temps, in and out.
When temps are in the high teens, overnight, I would also not add heat.

If you are going to add heat because of your circumstances,, (we each have things differently) I suggest using these type of bulbs.

Much safer and risk of fire minimized. Of course use an appropriate lamp holder.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[DobieLover]

I would never use a heat lamp in a coop. IMO, the fire danger is much too great. And it's just too much heat. If you suddenly lose power, the birds will be subjected to much lower temperatures very quickly and that could kill them.

You have a BA and BO. Both are cold hardy breeds. As already stated, keeping the coop very dry is far more important than keeping it warm. Chickens are very good at keeping themselves warm by fluffing up their feathers to trap body heat. And they generate a lot of body heat.

If it is going to be brutally cold for sustained periods you can help them through by supplementing them with electrolytes and perhaps a radiant heat plate but only to take the edge off. The intent is not to try to heat the coop to any significant degree.

To keep the water from freezing, I use a thermostatically controlled birdbath deicer in the bucket waterer with horizontal nipples and it works well. I'll likely insulated the bucket this year. I also keep a heated base fount waterer in the run for the flock.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am just south of you in Loveland.

Take that lamp out! That coop pictured is WAY to small to safely have heat without overheating the birds.

This next week is going to be plenty warm and is a great time to get rid of that heat lamp.

I have been keeping chickens many many many years here in Colorado and even at minus 16 degrees they did fine with no added heat.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know they are a huge fire hazard and I do use bedding in my chickens coop (on the top level where the heat lamp is).

Any time you use electricity for heat or light you have risks, shock and fire being the two main ones. You mitigate that by hooking them up correctly, using the right materials, and keeping water away. To me the biggest danger from heat lamps is that clamp. Throw it away so you are not tempted to use it. Instead, use wire to hold it into place. Not string or plastic that can burn or melt, but wire fixed so there is no way that lamp can fall or be knocked down.

I use a heat lamp in my brooder that is built into the coop. That's not to heat the coop but when I am brooding chicks out there, sometimes when outside temperatures are below freezing. People have been using heat lamps for over 100 years. Just like any other heating device they can cause fires. In my opinion, if you use then properly the chance of a fire is fairly low, just like other heating devices.

Any thoughts on if my chickens need a heat lamp here in Colorado in the winter time?

Each coop is different. Each flock is different. We often get different results. My main coop looks nothing like that. My grow-out coop has a lot of similarities. I've kept 5-1/2-week-old chicks in my grow-out coop with no supplemental heat in temperatures down to the mid 20's Fahrenheit. I've kept chickens in my main coop with no supplemental heat with temperatures as low as -8* F. Growing up I remember chickens sleeping in trees in temperatures as low as -10* F. I don't have experience with chickens in temperatures colder than that. Your winter temperatures can get colder than that. I'll include a link to an article by someone who does keep chickens in truly cold temperatures. It might help you. This time of the year I link to it a lot.

Alaskan’s Article

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

If I suddenly take it out, will that put them into shock and cause issues?

I doubt it.

Should I keep the heat lamp in?

Read that article an decide for yourself how important it is.

the heat lamp is in the top right corner of the upper section in the coop

Somebody mentioned it possibly overheating the coop. To me that depends on your ventilation. My brooder is 3' x 6' with good ventilation up high. When it is below freezing outside one end stays toasty. But the other end might have ice in it. You said your heat was on one end but I don't know what your ventilation looks like. Overheating might be an issue, it might not.

Yours is a very common concern but I look at it a lot as the wild birds that overwinter there do not get supplemental heat. Those wild birds are free to choose where to sleep and what to do when it is really cold. They can find sheltered places out of the wind. They can handle it. One big difference is that we keep them in coops which can reduce their options of how to get out of the wind. If we create a wind tunnel they may not be able to get out of a wind.

Another part of that is keeping the air dry. That's where ventilation comes in. They generate a lot of moisture breathing, their poop is wet until it freezes, and waterers can put a lot of water vapor in the air. This is more about frostbite than them freezing to death. Being in Colorado you should understand the frostbite risk of going outside in the cold with wet hands or face as opposed to being dry. Wild birds or chickens sleeping in trees have great ventilation, frostbite is not an issue. In our coops it can be.

 

[gluckgluck9000]

I am just south of you in Loveland.

Take that lamp out! That coop pictured is WAY to small to safely have heat without overheating the birds.

This next week is going to be plenty warm and is a great time to get rid of that heat lamp.

I have been keeping chickens many many many years here in Colorado and even at minus 16 degrees they did fine with no added heat.

I stopped turning it on, thank you for your response I appreciate it

 

[21hens-incharge]

I stopped turning it on, thank you for your response I appreciate it

I am sure the next week or so will be a nail biter for you. Hang tough. They will be fine.

 

[KingD]

Heat lamps can cause fires but they are really handy for winter.
You could even use a reptile heat bulb instead? Less likely to start a fire and not quite as warm.
Idk..

 

[gluckgluck9000]

I would never use a heat lamp in a coop. IMO, the fire danger is much too great. And it's just too much heat. If you suddenly lose power, the birds will be subjected to much lower temperatures very quickly and that could kill them.

You have a BA and BO. Both are cold hardy breeds. As already stated, keeping the coop very dry is far more important than keeping it warm. Chickens are very good at keeping themselves warm by fluffing up their feathers to trap body heat. And they generate a lot of body heat.

If it is going to be brutally cold for sustained periods you can help them through by supplementing them with electrolytes and perhaps a radiant heat plate but only to take the edge off. The intent is not to try to heat the coop to any significant degree.

To keep the water from freezing, I use a thermostatically controlled birdbath deicer in the bucket waterer with horizontal nipples and it works well. I'll likely insulated the bucket this year. I also keep a heated base fount waterer in the run for the flock.

Thank you for your response! I have a pretty small coop, I attached actual images. Do you have any recommended brands of water heaters that may fit?

 

[aart]

I have a pretty small coop, I attached actual images.

You had a heat lamp in there last winter?
What is that white sheeting attached to under side of roof?
How many birds do you keep in there?