Heating a chicken coop

[Keelio]

I am new to BYC and new to keeping chickens as well. I adopted a chicken a few weeks ago and I have built her a run and a coop. I put styrofoam insulation in the coop covered by pine boards and I drilled some 1" holes on the front of the coop near the roof for ventilation. My coop is 5' wide by 2.5' deep and about 3' tall. I live in southeastern Washington (Tri Cities) and it is just beginning to get into the 30s(F) at night. Last winter it was in the single digits for several weeks and was below zero at night. Do I need to provide my chicken with a heat source since it's just her in there? Many posts I've read say that chickens will be fine in cold weather, but she doesn't have any other chickens to sit next to so she doesn't get that extra heat from fellow chickens. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rickba]

Well, I'd like to see a pic of the coop. It sounds like a nice one though. 1" holes are too big. All kinds of critters can get through a 1" hole not to mention wind and rain. I put several smaller holes, like 3/8ths for ventilation. It's not safe to heat the coop, it is a fire hazard with the dander, feathers and bedding. Not to mention the gasses that build up in a coop. It would be better to get 1 or 2 more chickens. Not only would they help provide heat but would keep your chicken company. Chickens are social animals. They love company.

 

[Keelio]

Well, I'd like to see a pic of the coop. It sounds like a nice one though. 1" holes are too big. All kinds of critters can get through a 1" hole not to mention wind and rain. I put several smaller holes, like 3/8ths for ventilation. It's not safe to heat the coop, it is a fire hazard with the dander, feathers and bedding. Not to mention the gasses that build up in a coop. It would be better to get 1 or 2 more chickens. Not only would they help provide heat but would keep your chicken company. Chickens are social animals. They love company.

I am hoping to get 1 more chicken in February for just this reason, but until then I was wondering if she would be ok. She's a barred rock and is supposed to be cold hardy, but I don't know what temps she can withstand. Also, some other people were mentioning a flat panel radiant desk leg heater? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FRFFC4...t=&hvlocphy=1027622&hvtargid=pla-275690287431
I'm not sure if this would work temporarily just on the really cold nights. The roof and the floor are insulated as well.

 

[Keelio]

I am hoping to get 1 more chicken in February for just this reason, but until then I was wondering if she would be ok. She's a barred rock and is supposed to be cold hardy, but I don't know what temps she can withstand. Also, some other people were mentioning a flat panel radiant desk leg heater? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FRFFC4...t=&hvlocphy=1027622&hvtargid=pla-275690287431
I'm not sure if this would work temporarily just on the really cold nights. The roof and the floor are insulated as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

As an engineer, 3/8" holes are going to do very little as far as providing ventilation. 1" holes are better but still not great. It's a function of the area of the hole, the circumference around the hole, and the thickness of the material you are going through. You lose a lot of air movement because of the friction along the edges. The larger the hole the better the air movement. The simple way to prevent predators from using your ventilation as an entrance is to cover them with hardware cloth.

I've seen chickens sleep by themselves in trees with temperatures below zero Fahrenheit. They don’t need other chickens to provide warmth, their down coat manages that very well. These chickens were not on a dead branch overlooking a bluff squawking defiantly into the teeth of a blizzard. They were in a sheltered valley and the tree was more of a thicket, they were pretty well protected against wind, yet they had great ventilation. No frostbite and no other problems with cold.

In those temperatures you don’t need to keep the coop warm, you need to provide adequate ventilation and keep wind off of them. They can manage the rest. The easiest way I know to provide good ventilation but keep winds off of them is to have ventilation up high so any breezes pass over their heads.

They are social creatures, they do better with other chickens. That’s for flock behavior and other mental issues, nothing to do with keeping warm.

 

[Keelio]

As an engineer, 3/8" holes are going to do very little as far as providing ventilation. 1" holes are better but still not great. It's a function of the area of the hole, the circumference around the hole, and the thickness of the material you are going through. You lose a lot of air movement because of the friction along the edges. The larger the hole the better the air movement. The simple way to prevent predators from using your ventilation as an entrance is to cover them with hardware cloth.

I've seen chickens sleep by themselves in trees with temperatures below zero Fahrenheit. They don’t need other chickens to provide warmth, their down coat manages that very well. These chickens were not on a dead branch overlooking a bluff squawking defiantly into the teeth of a blizzard. They were in a sheltered valley and the tree was more of a thicket, they were pretty well protected against wind, yet they had great ventilation. No frostbite and no other problems with cold.

In those temperatures you don’t need to keep the coop warm, you need to provide adequate ventilation and keep wind off of them. They can manage the rest. The easiest way I know to provide good ventilation but keep winds off of them is to have ventilation up high so any breezes pass over their heads.

They are social creatures, they do better with other chickens. That’s for flock behavior and other mental issues, nothing to do with keeping warm.

Thank you very much for the reply! Very helpful info. I also have one panel on each side that opens near the roof for ventilation. About a 3"x3" opening.