Heating a coop

[aart]

Read this about heat lamps, best concise discussion on heating I've seen!!

 

[RoseZubal]

Thank you! Helpful reading that. So question do they need light in the coop?

 

[aart]

Thank you! Helpful reading that. So question do they need light in the coop?

If you want eggs in the winter, yes, they need 14 hours minimum of light a day.
I time mine to come on early morning, allowing natural sunset to make them go to roost.

Edited 11-15 to change hours needed to 14 hours minimum, thanks for the correction WOS!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I strongly, strongly, strongly, suggest not using a heat lamp. I used a heat lamp last year and I nearly lost some chickens because the electricity went out. The chickens, who were used to heat, were suddenly thrust into cold conditions. They wouldn't go outside because they were used to warm and outside was cold. Several got frost bite because the heat lamp evaported the water and poop and made it humid. And, like JackE said, you run the all to real risk of a coop fire. This year, I am NOT using a heat lamp, and my chickens are doing SO much better. They are actually going outside because they are acclimated to the cold. No frost bite, even on my rooster. And, it was -9! And, even during molting and no extra lighting, I am getting 8-9 eggs out of 16 hens. Which is really good.


Bottom line is: no heat lamp unless it is -20 or -30!

Sorry, but this is wrong. Temperature doesn't effect egg production, at least as far as cold. It's the length of daylight hours that cue a hen to lay or not, not the temperature. My first year hens always lay right through the first winter with no supplemental lighting, and after that I let them take the winter off. They don't need supplemental heat--folks in your area successfully raise chickens with no heat and they do just fine. Even Canada and Alaska folks have birds in unheated coops. IMO the risk of fire is just too great. Plus, the birds are designed to tolerate the cold, and I think it's good for them to get acclimated to it. What if you're always heating the coop and the power goes out? Then you have wimpy birds that aren't used to the cold that can get pretty shocked!

If the coop is dry and out of the wind, your birds will be fine.

STRONGLY agree with the above posts. Chickens have built-in down winter coats. They are harmed more by heat than cold. I do supplement light, however. My birds have to pay for their feed, and I have seen no research based articles that suggest supplementary lighting hurts chickens. My light is a standard 100 watt bulb in a standard light socket set 12' high in the wall above the perches, and I do not worry about fire with this light.

If you want eggs in the winter, yes, they need 12-14 hours of light a day.
I time mine to come on early morning, allowing natural sunset to make them go to roost.

12 hours of light is not enough. 14 hours is the minimum needed to stimulate the pineal gland. Also, you can't just go from 10 hours of light to 14. It needs to be increased slowly, or you'll get no benefit from it. Here are two research-based fact sheets from universities and an article with an interview with an avian vet:
http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~mdarre/poultrypages/light_inset.html
http://umaine.edu/publications/2227e/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/supplemental-light-in-coop-why-how.html

 

[TwoCrows]

Adding heat to the coop can cause your chickens to get sick. Nature provides for them and allows them to adjust to all temperatures, if given the time. You may go outside and feel very cold, but chickens aren't human. Their bodies adapt to the cold and are perfectly comfortable in it. Adding heat doesn't allow them to adjust themselves and when they do go out into the cold, they will chill. They also need fresh air and should not be forced to remain inside a coop all winter. Many people from Alaska keep chickens here on BYC in uninsulated coops with temps well below zero. The chickens all survive. We here up at 7,000 ft regularly get down to minus 10 degrees at night and my chickens all do fine. Yes, it is cold, and yes, they may sit on their feet much of the day, but everybody is healthy, happy and yes, still laying eggs.

As long as they are out of all wind, snow and rain while roosting at night, they can survive brutally cold temps during the winter.