Heat Lamp?? Yes or No

[love4mychickens]

Hi, I live in Massachusetts and it gets below zero here at night. My girls are all huddled up and shivering. Would it be okay to put a heat lamp in their coop. I have heard people say yes and no. And if no why? Thank you!

 

[Welshies]

It is your decision. It has been -40° here and my birds have done well with minimal heating.

 

[love4mychickens]

Okay. I'm going to wait until tomorrow. Thanks. They just seem so cold.

 

[George McLaughlin Jr.]

Most chickens really don't need a heat lamp, as long as they are protected from the wind and wetness. They fluff their feathers and cover their feet while sleeping. Using a heat lamp also introduces some risk of fire. So, if you do use one, be very careful that you set it up in a way that it won't get knocked down and start a fire.

 

[love4mychickens]

Okay I think they will be okay. I'm not going to put a heat lamp in there. I don't want to start a fire.

 

[nightowl223]

I would say a strong, resounding
Not just no, but *bleep* no!
There's a post in emergencies right now about some chickens suffering from smoke inhalation where they almost had the coop burn down around them. Pure luck saved them. THAT is why I say NO quite vehemently.
As long as there's no buildup of ammonia or high humidity inside the coop, and there's no wind blowing through it, they will be fine. And much safer than in a coop that is on fire.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Another reason, besides not burning the place down would be if they get used to the heat, then the power goes out while you are gone....

G

 

[Samannemm]

I’m newer to chickens so I’m just responding from my research, not personal experience. It definitely seems like its personal choice more than anything. For me, I think it depends on the size of your coop, how many birds you have, and outside temp. I don’t think I’d ever use a heating lamp because of fire risk and it being difficult for them to acclimate to the cold weather once they leave the coop. From the various posts out here it seems that ventilation is the most important factor in protecting your chickens from the cold. I was nervous about frostbite because it seems two of my three hens have the slightest of frostbite. Once I took out their top roost and opened up more ventilation on top it seems they have been doing better. Mine have been shivering as well but from I’ve read that is there way of warming their bodies. I have no insulation besides lots of bedding and cardboard boxes leaning on each side of the large bottom portion of my coop to help protect against the wind. I did finally cave and get a flat heating panel today. It’s called “cozy coop” and has 200 watts with zero clearance. We’ll see how it works, but I think I bought more for my sanity. It’s going to be -10 tonight (not factoring in windchill) and it’s supposed to be frigid cold for another week so that would be two full weeks of them out in the freezing cold and I’m not comfortable with that. I’m going to try to replace roosting bars tomorrow with some 2x4’s instead of my skinny bars because I can tell their feet are getting cold. I’ll see if I can find some links to post here for you of articles and blog posts I’ve felt were helpful.

 

[love4mychickens]

Okay I think I decided not to. Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[nightowl223]

I’m going to try to replace roosting bars tomorrow with some 2x4’s instead of my skinny bars because I can tell their feet are getting cold.

Yes, get them 2 x 4's, and install them with the 4" flat, not the 2". That lets them cover their feet much better.