Heater Or No Heater, That Is the question

[Mrs MIA]

People in Fairbanks and the Interior Alaska are experiencing sub-zero temps already, and I know of two people that have not added any heat. Yet. They might when it gets to -60, -80, but there are so many factors to be taken into consideration when talking about heating your flock...
1) number of birds
2) breeds (someone mentioned frizzles above?)
3) size of the coop
4) insulated or not
5) age of the birds
6) size of the birds
7) ambient temperatures, humidity, snowfall... you get the picture.

I personally do not heat, but my energy source is a boat-load of birds.
We had a wind storm come through yesterday... 25°F, blowing up to 50mph gusts (some places were shut down with 100+ mph winds) and it was quite toasty in the coop. It's insulated, but well ventilated. I used clear corrugated plastic along the north side of the run, that attaches to the coop, and it created a very effective wind-block. If we had lost power yesterday, I was going to go hang out with the chicks where it was warm! LOL!

3 silkies in an open coop in Florida will do fine all winter. 3 silkies in a small insulated coop in Alaska will likely do just fine. I know for me, personally, I wasn't going to be able to afford the $600 electric bill each month just to keep the birds above freezing.

Here's the link to a thread I started last year... lots of people have put in their 2 cents... good reading!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=421122

 

[JackE]

Quote:
OK. umm, How Cold Does it Have to Be For Buff Orpingtons To Freeze To Death, Or Get Frostbite?

Alot colder than it will probably EVER get in N.C. Your kidding right? Freeze to death? I just told you what I have. I'm not making it up. I even have pictures below for proof. If it will make you feel better to heat your coop, Knock yourself out. It's your time and money.
Jack

 

[yankeedoodle300]

answers To the Info YOU Need:

1. I Have 3
2. Buff Orps
3. I'm Not sure, But 4 Square feet Per Bird, At least!
4. Not Insulated ( We Are working On Getting Another coop, Maybe Built By Spring. )
5. I Don't Know the Age... A Year And a half, At Least! They ARE Molting Now, If that Helps Determine the age )
6. 8-10 Pounds
7. We live in The Foothills Of NC

 

[yankeedoodle300]

Quote:
OK. umm, How Cold Does it Have to Be For Buff Orpingtons To Freeze To Death, Or Get Frostbite?

Alot colder than it will probably EVER get in N.C. Your kidding right? Freeze to death? I just told you what I have. I'm not making it up. I even have pictures below for proof. If it will make you feel better to heat your coop, Knock yourself out. It's your time and money.
Jack

Yeah, But My Grandpa Had Chickens Once, on the Coast of NC , And they Froze to Death. They Were Show Chickens... Maybe that has Something to do with it...

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I can understand you worrying, after what happened to your grandpa's chickens. I don't know why that happened. I do know that's not a typical thing to have happen. Full grown chickens that are fully feathered routinely go through winters without heat in areas that have temperatures down to -20F or -30F. Mine have.

You have a breed of chicken that's known for being cold hardy. If you give them a dry, well ventilated coop, where they can roost in one end away from drafts, they should do well for you. Send them to roost with a crop full of food and they'll produce plenty of body heat. They'll cover their toes with their feathers, to keep them warm while roosting.

Frostbite seems to be more of a problem in coops that are very humid, from not having enough ventilation. Freezing temperatures without the excess humidity doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Since you have hens, which have smaller combs than roosters, they should have even less to worry about. Plus, they're a cold hardy breed.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
What is the coldest temp you see each year where you live?
If your coop is ventilated, but fairly draft free, stays dry (that's the critical part) and the girls are healthy and have clean fresh food and water then they should be fine. Buff Orpingtons are known for their cold-hardiness, and if allowed to acclimate naturally, they will grow more than enough feathers to ward off the cold in the winter.

But if you want to add heat, go for it.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
You are so right, WlW... humidity is a killer in the winter. When I heated my coop to ~ 40F (when I first had chickens), I had more losses from frostbite than now when I don't add heat at all.

 

[LindenLiving]

Instead of a heater, feed them scratch or corn just before they bed down for the night and they will burn this feed for additional warmth through the night. Also, bring them warm water before they bed down and their tummies will be nice and warm as well. Make your coop weather tight, but not too tight as they do need air circulating through, and a nice bed of straw and they will be happy chickeroos!

 

[Nicole01]

We have a heater. Our plans are using it on the lowest setting under our roost where they sleep. We are placing the waterer under the other roost, which is not too far from the heater. Our roosts are acutally shelves vs poles. Our heater is to keep the waterer from freezing and was given to us for free. It gets -22F actual temps here, sometimes for days at a time. Our coop is insulated very well.

 

[yankeedoodle300]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Quote:
What is the coldest temp you see each year where you live?
If your coop is ventilated, but fairly draft free, stays dry (that's the critical part) and the girls are healthy and have clean fresh food and water then they should be fine. Buff Orpingtons are known for their cold-hardiness, and if allowed to acclimate naturally, they will grow more than enough feathers to ward off the cold in the winter.

But if you want to add heat, go for it.

The Coldest.. Probably 0​