Heater or heat panel -10

[Ponypoor]

Yes!! when I was in my 20s I just bought the cheapest extension cord i could find for stuff and had no idea how much danger I was in constantly I'm in the same boat as you fire safety is huge for me because it's one of my biggest sources of anxiety when I tell you I now have the most expensive lowest gauge highest wattage and amperage extension cords I can find worth every penny to me makes me sleep easier at night haha

I go around daily ‘feeling’ my powder cables, outlets and other electrical items to feel how warm they get, make sure I know what feels normal, most are ice cold but I do have a fan in the summer that gets quite warm - I am extremely wary of it and keep it on the brick pavers in the aisle way at all times. Just in case some dingaling hops up on it and tips it over. I have a couple pavers holding the base down so it fairly stable - but we all know Murphy….

The IR panels’ cables are all cool to the touch, it’s good to know the normal working conditions of your electronics. When I feel uncomfortable about anything I unplug it and get someone to look at it for me.

I bought two heating panels from « Ma poule express » and installed them on the wall on either sides of the roosting bars inside the coop. They are controlled by a thermostat and start heating up when it’s -2 degrees Celsius. The chickens huddle close to them when they need the extra heat and I don’t need to worry about fire hazards. The surface gets hot, but not enough to cause injury. As mentioned, it doesn’t prevent them from going out to eat and scratch around. It works great for my setup.

I love mine - I was huddled by one today with the chooks warming up hahahaha - they kept trying to shove me out of the way

Seriously though, they are very handy and help not only to keep the chooks warmed on cold days, but help with keeping the air dry in the hen houses.

 

[Ponypoor]

This is the heater: https://a.co/d/fP86k2T

It is in a water proof “tool box” I set it up on the outside of the coop so the exhaust will not get in the coop. I found this neat thermostat for it. It controls it wirelessly via the same signal the remote that came with the heater. I have it hanging up in the coop. The heater also has a removable wired control panel with a temp probe in it that can be put in the coop . The wireless thermostat was easier and in my opinion better than the manufacture one.
https://bureck.company.site/

The coop is insulated with no drafts. Is 8 X 12 with about an 11 foot pitched roof. It heats it up fairly quickly.

My home is off grid so I was looking for a non-electric heater when I stumbled across this. It uses about 100 watts a think during start up for about 30 seconds or so then drops it about 1 or 2 watts. I forget the actual consumption.

I have 2 smaller non insulated coops that I just starting using to isolate some new roosters. They have the radiant heaters in them. Draw 100 watts a piece. That extra 200 watts puts my load at the max I would like. Anymore more power usage means more generator usage, so the diesel heater was a perfect fit.

One of those would be perfect for a coop - keep it at a nice temp to control how cold it is and help prevent too much moisture with the use of a simple exhaust fan to remove air.

I would be worried about exhaust though, even with it being located outside, it should be a minimum of 3’ from a structure. Add to this the fact most peoples’ coops are no air tight - I would worry about exhaust leeching in.

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

- I would worry about exhaust leeching in.

You could always run stack up in the air to get the exhaust up and away from the coop. Be sure to put a rain/snow deflector on the end to prevent moisture from running down the stack pipe.

 

[cski]

I would be worried about exhaust though

I would record a CO2 alarm or monitoring device inside.