Heat lamps placed outside of enclosed indoor chicken coop?

[sco80]

Hi! I am new to raising chickens, and I am in the process of setting up my first coop enclosure. I live in upstate NY, where temperatures are regularly below freezing this time of year. I am planning to move a half dozen ~7 month old cold hardy pullets into a small enclosed wooden coop with an attached small enclosed run. My plan is to place both the coop and run inside of an uninsulated and unheated but very sturdy cinder block building on my property (at least for the rest of the winter). I may insulate the coop itself with "bubble foil" to keep the heat in. My thought was that I could place a couple of the red heat lamps outside of the coop, one directed onto the run area and one shining on the coop itself. I would probably suspend the lamps from the rafters of the cinder block building by a couple of chains. These heat lamps would be "indoors" to the extent they would be inside the cinder block building and not open to the elements, but they would be outside the coop (not in danger of being knocked over into flammable material by the chickens).

I am a complete novice when it comes to raising chickens, so any advice you all can provide about this set up would be greatly appreciated. Are the heat lamps and/or bubble foil insulation overkill if the coop is already out of the elements?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[21hens-incharge]

They would benefit more from having direct sunlight. If the cinder block building does not have any windows that would shine direct sunlight onto the coop and run area I would not put it in there. Can you post some pictures of the inside of the building as well as the coop you intend to use?

At 7 months they should not require supplemental heat even in freezing temperatures. Here in Colorado we have nights that are between 10 and 20 below zero I do not heat or insulate my coops to try to heat the coop would be pointless with adequate ventilation. I have only ever had one small case of frostbite and that was only the very tips on a leghorn's comb. More important is controlling humidity inside the coop a dry chicken is a warm chicken.

I've been keeping chickens here in Colorado for a total of over 20 years.

 

[sco80]

They would benefit more from having direct sunlight. If the cinder block building does not have any windows that would shine direct sunlight onto the coop and run area I would not put it in there. Can you post some pictures of the inside of the building as well as the coop you intend to use?

At 7 months they should not require supplemental heat even in freezing temperatures. Here in Colorado we have nights that are between 10 and 20 below zero I do not heat or insulate my coops to try to heat the coop would be pointless with adequate ventilation. I have only ever had one small case of frostbite and that was only the very tips on a leghorn's comb. More important is controlling humidity inside the coop a dry chicken is a warm chicken.

I've been keeping chickens here in Colorado for a total of over 20 years.

Thanks for getting back to me. I don't have photos, but I was thinking about placing "natural light" LEDs on timers inside the coop to simulate 12 to 14 hours of daily daylight. The coop itself does not let in much light.

 

[mowin]

Thanks for getting back to me. I don't have photos, but I was thinking about placing "natural light" LEDs on timers inside the coop to simulate 12 to 14 hours of daily daylight. The coop itself does not let in much light.

I'm in upstate NY also. As mentioned, heat is useless in a properly ventilated coop.

Will they have access to outside at all? If not I'd reconsider your plan.

 

[sco80]

I'm in upstate NY also. As mentioned, heat is useless in a properly ventilated coop.

Will they have access to outside at all? If not I'd reconsider your plan.

My plan is to (at first) let them out into a 50' x 25' fenced-in portion of the yard during the day (the fencing is tall enough to keep the chickens in, but wouldn't be effective for overnight predator protection), and try to train them to come inside for dinner around dusk. Depending on how well this works, I may start letting them free range during the day in the Spring.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Something to consider is that chickens love to sunbathe even when it's cold out. I would reconsider the plan of putting them inside the cinder block building and keeping them there until spring.

Free ranging works until you need to keep them locked up. I would recommend building a bigger secure run that they can be safe in in case you get arial predators or lots of raccoons.
Maybe a hoop run would be an option. They are inexpensive as far as runs go and easy to assemble even for beginners.

 

[nuthatched]

Can you get grower plant bulbs?

 

[K0k0shka]

You don't need supplemental heat in upstate NY. People raise chickens in Alaska and Canada without supplemental heat and they do fine, especially fully feathered cold hardy breeds like yours. They'd suffer more from not having natural light than from not having supplemental heat. I agree with others who have said to reconsider the plan to keep them inside all winter (and yes the cinderblock building counts as "inside" if it's a building with solid walls that limit natural light).

 

[Debbie292d]

7 months old, even to me who has only silkies sounds old enough to be outside. I'm in Wisconsin, so somewhat comparable. Ours a month older have been free-ranging when it's 20F.

For the ones barely 3 months old, they've been outside in a covered pen with a 3'x3' hutch that has a cozy coop radiant heater in the back. They venture out, then go back in to warm up.

If you worry, I'd get them one of those cozy coop heaters and they can go lean up to it if they're chilled. They're safe, cost little to run, and for us have come in handy so many times.

 

[Tahai]

I am in agreement with everyone else - no supplemental heat.

Make sure they have shelter from the wind and weather, but make sure there is enough ventilation that moisture doesn't build up in the coop. Dry is better than warm for chickens! Venitllation should be toward the top of the coop, a good foot or two above the heads of your chickens when they are on the roosting bar.

You should also add a thick bedding of straw or large pine shavings on the ground of your coop to help with insulation against cold radiating up from the ground.

Without pics of your building, I'm having a difficult time envisioning what you are planning, but these are my thoughts:

1. cinder blocks act as heat sinks - once they get cold, they radiate that cold for hours/days. It takes A LOT to heat them back up. so your cinder block house will keep your chickens cold, even on a warmer day. ie it may be 40 and dry sunny out, but you hens will still be in 30 cold and damp.
2. If the cinder block house does not have windows that open, you will not have adequate ventilation - so moisture will build up and you will have issues with ammonia and with frost bite
3. If the cinder block house does have adequate ventilation, then all the heat from your heat lamps will be wasted, as it goes right out those windows

Heat lamps are expensive to run. A 250 watt bulb, run for 24 hours a day = 6000 watt hours = 6 Kwh/day * .23 (average kwh cost in usa 2023) = $1.38 * 30 days in a month = $41.40 per bulb. If you plan to run 2 heat lamps, that's an exta $80 per month in your electricity bill. You will need to assess if it is worth it to your budget, but I personally would hate to spend that kind of money, just to have it escape out the window.

Best wishes,
Tahai