Heat Lamp?? Yes or No

[Newfarmer36]

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!

I was thinking about a heat lamp for my coop but I read that there's no safe way to have a heat lamp in there. I have a bunch of hay in there and it's actually kinda warm when I walk in.

 

[Flock In Texas]

I have a standard outdoor jar light fixture. I use an LED bulb in the summer. For Winter, I took the cover off and put in a 150W heat lamp bulb. The fixture is mounted on the wall above the front door. The coop size is 4x8x 4 high. The closest roost is about 12" away and the nearest bedding is over 2 feet below. For Winter, I put plexiglass over the front door to keep heat in, but left the vents open between the rafters for ventilation. I use the bulb all day until about 2200 each night. They get a break from the light for about 9-10 hours and I turn it on again the next morning when I let them out for the day. I did this with the LED light because I want to keep them laying by extending their daylight hours. I'm thinking about leaving the light on all night for the next couple of nights because temps will be in the teens and is not typical for Texas.

 

[lissalischicks]

If you are going to have heating (in the end it's your choice) I would highly recommend a flat panel heater or a sweeter heater. Make sure you to cover area where drafts can come in, especially if there is a window where they roost can get it. I cover my coop in the winter with plastic sheeting to prevent the cold winds. Having said that I also don't live in a place where it gets cod like you do where you are but understand your concerns. I also have a thermometer in the coop to see how cold it actually gets because it can be colder outside than inside where they are.

 

[love4mychickens]

Okay!c thanks for all the advice guys.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

We don't heat here in the Northeast Kingdom. Daytime high yesterday was -2 F and of course we've been getting near -20 F at night. I park the coop in front of a lean-to structure in fall and cover three sides with plastic, put hay in there. It more than quadrupes the "coop space" for daytime and the coop is locked up nights per usual.

In cold snaps like we are currently in the birds get a lot of sunflower seed. Actually they've eaten more of that than feed in past week. It encourages them to get out of coop, eat and drink more and is around 30% fat content which is great for quick energy needs when keeping warm. Obviously we don't feed them that much seed or corn in normal winter conditions just during these arctic blasts.

 

[Blooie]

I have a standard outdoor jar light fixture. I use an LED bulb in the summer. For Winter, I took the cover off and put in a 150W heat lamp bulb. The fixture is mounted on the wall above the front door. The coop size is 4x8x 4 high. The closest roost is about 12" away and the nearest bedding is over 2 feet below. For Winter, I put plexiglass over the front door to keep heat in, but left the vents open between the rafters for ventilation. I use the bulb all day until about 2200 each night. They get a break from the light for about 9-10 hours and I turn it on again the next morning when I let them out for the day. I did this with the LED light because I want to keep them laying by extending their daylight hours. I'm thinking about leaving the light on all night for the next couple of nights because temps will be in the teens and is not typical for Texas.

Could you explain the part I highlighted in bold a little better? What size LED bulb was in the fixture before? What is a "Standard jar light". My concern is that the fixture might not be rated for a 150W heat lamp - not designed for it - and could begin to overheat. Am I missing something or just not understanding something?

 

[Hokum Coco]

put in a 150W heat lamp bulb. The fixture is mounted on the wall above the front door.

It sounds like this may not apply in your case however when using a heat lamp in a lot of cases after mounting I suggest using a safety chain to help avoid a coop fire.

 

[Flock In Texas]

Good catch. It's only a 100W fixture. I need to change bulbs.