Heat source. Too many opinions. Gotta quit FB.

[M_Struna]

It’s 20° and dropping here and I have two chickens sleeping in trees. Well…one is in a tree. By choice. The other (a naked neck) is somewhere else. Also by choice. I’m not worried about them or the crows or the little cardinals I saw yesterday in the chicken tree. Of course mine are acclimated and the whole flock has been sleeping out up until a week ago. I have been locking them up for reasons unrelated to the cold this past week and their coop has ventilation all along the top (2” wide” and I’ve left one side of the coop open to the covered run. All that is to say, FB is dumb and the chicken people on I’ve seen on there are more likely to tuck a chicken into their bed than to let it live in it’s natural environment.

Hahaha!!! Well-stated!

 

[M_Struna]

Keeping the temp at 40-50 is a virtual guarantee that, as soon as
the electric goes out for a couple of days in an ice storm or blizzard, you'll lose half your flock and every single comb and wattle in the coop! The "FB poultry doc" doesn't know what they're talking about.

I've recently quit FB entirely. Now that it's online monitoring of everything on our devices (not just FB posts) for illegal status and "seditious" behavior is "legal," I have no desire to use it any longer. I'm "legal" and "clean," but Big Brother can take a hike!

I hear you in every way.

 

[RoyalChick]

Keeping the temp at 40-50 is a virtual guarantee that, as soon as
the electric goes out for a couple of days in an ice storm or blizzard, you'll lose half your flock and every single comb and wattle in the coop! The "FB poultry doc" doesn't know what they're talking about.

I've recently quit FB entirely. Now that it's online monitoring of everything on our devices (not just FB posts) for illegal status and "seditious" behavior is "legal," I have no desire to use it any longer. I'm "legal" and "clean," but Big Brother can take a hike!

How do you handle the issue that some, particularly small businesses, no longer have websites and only have FB?
Almost all the smaller local chicken hatcheries near me are FB only. Otherwise I would have quit a while back.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

How do you handle the issue that some, particularly small businesses, no longer have websites and only have FB?
Almost all the smaller local chicken hatcheries near me are FB only. Otherwise I would have quit a while back.

That’s a struggle for me as well, although many also have a presence on IG.

 

[RoyalChick]

That’s a struggle for me as well, although many also have a presence on IG.

I never had IG so that doesn’t help.
Sigh.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I was also going to say that if the native wild birds can survive sleeping outside, then your chickens can certainly thrive insidr a nice comfy building. Get rid of the heater, it's not needed unless it gets down to ridiculous temps like 50 below zero. Have no water in the coop, either, as moisture in the coop is a good way to cause frostbite on combs and wattle. If your rooster has to drink out of a bucket or bowl and his wattles get wet, he'll most likely get frostbite on his wattles.

 

[Laurasb65]

I have ten cold-tolerant hens born 6/14/25, fully feathered. We are in NE Ohio where temperatures are threatening to dip to single digits. Coop is draft-free and ventilated and I’ve got a 40” radiant heater near the top roost bar. FB is scaring the bejeezus out of me. Isn’t this enough? At the crack of dawn they head out to the wrapped run and spend the entire day out there. I never shut the heater off so if they were too cold wouldn’t they intuitively head back to the coop? There’s a “poultry doc” on FB claiming that the coop should be kept at 40-50 degrees for their comfort and a lot of talk about “cold stress.” Six of mine are now laying every day. The other four haven’t started. I just don’t see any signs of distress or illness. I feed them Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve, have been giving them a couple handfuls of high protein treats and a scoop of cracked corn before bedtime and ordered vitamins for their water, which haven’t arrived yet. I’m just looking for a little reassurance that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing because some of these online characters have me second guessing myself.

I hear you about FB, there's some wild stuff on there, I'm always suggesting to people to come on here.

 

[M_Struna]

I hear you about FB, there's some wild stuff on there, I'm always suggesting to people to come on here.

Same! Especially when I see someone presenting a serious issue and needing timely, sound advice. The answer of “chicken soup” to any question just isn’t helpful. Or funny.

 

[saysfaa]

How do you handle the issue that some, particularly small businesses, no longer have websites and only have FB?
Almost all the smaller local chicken hatcheries near me are FB only. Otherwise I would have quit a while back.

I quit some years ago for similar reasons.

I handle that issue by using the telephone, mostly. Even if they don't have a website, I can usually find a phone number or can see enough of their page to get that much. Sometimes, such a place just doesn't get my business.

I will go further and/or pay more and/or wait longer and/or find I don't need the whatever-it-is. When necessary; thankfully, often, none of those things are needed.

 

[Demarvell]

I have ten cold-tolerant hens born 6/14/25, fully feathered. We are in NE Ohio where temperatures are threatening to dip to single digits. Coop is draft-free and ventilated and I’ve got a 40” radiant heater near the top roost bar. FB is scaring the bejeezus out of me. Isn’t this enough? At the crack of dawn they head out to the wrapped run and spend the entire day out there. I never shut the heater off so if they were too cold wouldn’t they intuitively head back to the coop? There’s a “poultry doc” on FB claiming that the coop should be kept at 40-50 degrees for their comfort and a lot of talk about “cold stress.” Six of mine are now laying every day. The other four haven’t started. I just don’t see any signs of distress or illness. I feed them Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve, have been giving them a couple handfuls of high protein treats and a scoop of cracked corn before bedtime and ordered vitamins for their water, which haven’t arrived yet. I’m just looking for a little reassurance that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing because some of these online characters have me second guessing myself.

That's a nice coop. Here in Idaho, I just have an enclosed, insulated coop. No heat. I do heat the water to keep it from freezing. Never had a problem with freezing chickens. (Knock on wood). We get our chicks in April and by the time they are fully feathered they just naturally acclimate as the fall and winter comes. As long as they are dry and out of the wind, you should have no reason to heat the coop. My coop is 10 by 10 and 7 feet tall, just for reference. Wood shaving on a linoleum floor.