Heat lamps... You got it or no?

[ColoradoChicks]

It's five below here right now, and yes, I do heat my non-insulated coop. Actually went to home depot and got a second heat lamp tonight. I strive to keep the temperature in the coop above 10 degrees and knew one lamp wouldn't do it. My easter egger laid her very first egg (green) at about 5pm and I don't want her getting too chilly tonight!

We've had winds over 70mph in the past two weeks. My windows and doors in the coop have weatherproofing, but when the wind is blowing that hard I have no idea what a "draft-free" coop is if the vents are still open...

That being said, we have a neighborhood chicken lady who swears her chickens are fine to 27 below. Not 26 or 28. 27 below!

I'm guessing my chickens would be fine, but I wouldn't be able to sleep from all the worry. So those lamps are more for me than them!

 

[goldies99]

i do not heat....and its cold!...but the chickens seem fine!...if the heat lamp should ever go out for some reason, the chickens would suffer far more from the
quick temp drop, then they would from the cold....(which they are adjusted too!!!!).......it may kill them......so no heat for my chickens!

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I don't heat but my coop is insulated because of the heat. It keeps my coop a good 15 degrees cooler in the summer.

 

[JackE]

No added heat, The chickens supply their own heat. No insulation either. I do have a cookie tin heater for the water though. The front of the coop is open year round. No frozen chicken or frostbite in this coop.
Jack

 

[Delilah1337]

It has been about 15 as the low and I do keep a heat lamp over my waterer. I built a coop with pallets and covered it with a tarp to keep it dry. All my girls seem to be doing just perfect as all 7 of them are laying everyday. This is my first year to chickens and I have them more for pets than anything else. Maybe Im spoiling them but they are my babies so Im ok with it

 

[johnsons-r-us]

Nope, no heat or insulation. It was 17 degrees when I left for work this morning

And mine free range.

 

[Chickenaddict]

My coop is insulated with R-13 but the pop door and one of the big doors are not. I have a flock that consists of very small bantams and the winters here in MN are BRUTAL so Yes I provide a heat lamp for my birds and straw bales for climbing on since they will be lcoked in the coop for the next 6 months per their choice. With just 1 250 watt infared heat lamp it has yet to dip below freezing in there, in fact this morning it was just under 40 degrees inside. When the temps get into the -20's and colder I will be adding another heat lamp.

 

[elmo]

Heat lamps scare me. I almost started a fire indoors with one of them while I was cleaning out a reptile tank.

We have Serama mix bantams (not known for cold hardiness), so I do provide a bit of supplemental heat on freezing nights with an oil filled radiator, set on low. The radiator never gets so hot that you can't put your hand right on it, so there's very little chance that a stray pine shaving could ignite even if it made direct contact with the radiator.

I set it on cement blocks inside an old bird cage, and there are tiles on the top of the cage to make sure poop doesn't drop down onto the radiator.

We got down to freezing last night, and this radiator kept our 8 x 8 insulated coop at a toasty 49 degrees all night.

 

[somissemilyy]

Thanks for all your posts guys!

I had a heat lamp in the past and it burnt my whole coop down in January of this year. But we still haven't figured if it was the heat lamp or not, but still, I'm kinda scared! So I think I'm just gonna fix the drafts and things. I'm gonna work on it this weekend! But thanks so much for all of your wonderful posts

God bless you all, and Merry CHRISTmas

[it's kinda early, but still

]

 

[kcwazzu]

Quote:
I don't but we rarely get bitterly cold around here. Its been in 28-40 here the past week and it doesn't bother my flock any. I've got power to the coop from my nearby greenhouse so I can swap my daylight extender for a heat lamp if necessary.
Keith