Heating a coop in the winter?

[Buck Creek Chickens]

the draft and high humidty in the coop, thats what you need to watch, my serama's stay in an unheated coop all winter without any problem, most of them are 1/2 lb or less

 

[MnM Farm]

Ok I feel goofy about giving you heating advice seeing as I live in Georgia, but we must spoil or chicks or something!

NEWAY
This winter we had some nights under freezing and only had 3 birds so my hubby built them a "3rd hen" Take a flower pot, flip it over to make a container like (pot on to of the saucer), inside put a light outlet with what ever bulb size you think you will need, then tape it up with masking tape (incliding the hole that is now in the top) and voila something warm to cuddle up to.
Hope I explained it ok. We got the idea of the net just google it if you need more info.

 

[team_realtree]

Quote:
good idea although like I said I can't get electricity out to the coop..............

 

[CityChook]

I have Buff Orps and they did well in the MN winter last year. It was a very very cold winter. My coop is insulated and had a 250 watt ceramic heat emitter 24/7. The average temp was 12F inside, but it got as cold as -5 at times, even with the heat on.

If electricity is not a possibility, my personal opinion is that you really should insulate. Walls and ceiling. And make sure that all drafts are eliminated. Even below 0, it felt quite comfortable inside my coop where the air was still.

It's never a bad idea to give your birds some extra square footage when you live in a cold climate and they will have to stay inside at times. It reduces the possibility of boredom and aggression. However, it does make it more difficult to keep the coop warm using only body heat.

Use the search function (in the blue bar above) to look up insulation/ventilation for lots and lots of information. Remember, if you insulate you will also need to put up an interior wall or the chickens will try to eat the insulation. Dumb, but they will.

I have heard that rubber water bowls will freeze more slowly than metal. My water will get a skim of ice on top in less than 10 minutes, so having a heated water dish is a necessity.

 

[team_realtree]

Will the chickens peck through or eat through vapor barrier?

 

[CityChook]

Isn't vapor barrier made of that heavy fiberous plastic-y paper? I put it on the outside of the insulation/framing, under the siding. Tyvek. Maybe I'm misunderstanding...

I used fiberglass insulation (it has paper outside of the fiberglass) and put up plywood for the interior walls.

 

[team_realtree]

I believe there are differnet types but im talking about the plastic that goes over the studs and insulation. Its a thick clear plastic.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Quote:
Chanteclers were specifically bred to withstand harsh Canadian winters & climate.

 

[patandchickens]

I am really, really not convinced that it is beneficial to use a vapor barrier in a chicken coop (unless, *perhaps* if you are using a batt type insulation - but even then I dunno bout the function. Coops don't work like houses).

Chickens *will* peck through 6 or 8-mil plastic used as a vapor barrier; dunno whether they'd peck thru tyvek housewrap but they certainly might. Thin plywood or panelling is better, for covering insulation.

To reconcile "ample space for to be indoors during nasty weather" and "need to concentrate body heat" it is easy to knock together a temporary coop-within-the-coop type thing (drop ceiling, insulated hover, partitioning of coop, etc) to give you the best of both worlds in a larger coop. Thus, I will always argue for providing as large a coop as feasible, in nasty-winter areas.

Pat

 

[masschix]

I live in New England, where the weather can get quite cold, but not as cols as Canada. My coop is not insulated, but I was able to provide a heat lamp for the chickens to stay warm. However, a local farmer was telling me that as long as the drafts are eliminated and you provide a perch for all the birds to sit on at the highest point in the coop, they should be fine. As my husband says, heat rises, so keeping the resting chickens at the highest possible point in the coop will keep them in a warm section.

Hope all works out well for you.