heating a 4x4x4 coop in the winter

[BJnMe]

I live in West MI, Your chickens will be fine. They put off more heat and humidity than you think.

Just make sure your perches are wide and flat(2x4 with the wide side up) so the chickens can sit on their feet to keep them warm.

 

[sneaton1]

i swithched the bulb to a 75 w reptile light and plan on using it on really cold nights. the perch i have is round thats 2 1/2 inches in diameter and when they are on it i cant see their toes so i assume its fine. i am still on the search for a high low thermometer to see how low the temp gets at night. thanks for all your help

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I have a dumb question to ask. If the birds are already roosting (it's dark) and they get cold will they move to a different spot or move closer together? From everything I've read, once it gets dark they don't budge.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

They move around a lot if they feel the need.

 

[sneaton1]

at what temp should i put the heat lamp on? below freezing?

 

[sneaton1]

its getting down to 21 degrees f tonight and i was wondering if i should put my 75w reptile light on in a 4x4x4 coop

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
It's getting down to 3 F tonight here. My birds have no heat. They get plenty of food, plenty of water and scratch before they go to bed. It's been cold here for a few weeks now with about 14 inches of snow and no one is hurting. They are all doing great. I do have cold hardy chickens(EE's), but I also have peafowl and they are doing as good as the chickens if not better. It might get up to 21 F with 20 mile per hour winds tomorrow if we are lucky. They may get a heat light when it gets below -20 F this winter, but not before that. Actually today it may have gotten up to 15 F here at my house, but the birds were all out a good part of the day. My turkeys were out all day. You do not need heat unless it gets below -20 F and there are a lot of folks that don't use heat no matter how cold it gets. My coop is well ventilated and I using the deep litter method. I do have a water heater, but it doesn't contribute to the warmth in the 8'X12'x7' coop as far as I can tell.