Heating and wiring your coop or barn

[RooFarm]

JHello-I'm new on here,but have been raising chickens for about 40 years now.This time,I will address the topic of heating and wiring in the coop or barn.Where I live,it can get very cold in winter,and no domesticated animal can survive the prolonged bittetr cold for very long.I have in my "barn",which was actually an old semi-trailer,both heat,and electricity.First,I have all wiring inside of conduit,so nothing can chew on the wiring.It is wired for both 120 and 240 volt,the reason for which I will give in a moment.I installed outlets all along the perimiter of the inside,and convenience GFCI outlets on the outside.Every outlet is on it's own breaker,so it's protected from overload.The 120 is used to run the interior lights,,and in summer,multiple fans mounted to bring in fresh air and exhaust out the hot air.In winter,I use a 3-to-5000 watt (switchable) garage electric heater,to warm the barn.This is what the 240 volt outlets are for.Because,forget using light bulbs,heat lamps,,or even-as I tried once-home heaters.They are totally ineffective in keeping up weith cold temps much below 20-30 degrees.I know,because I tried them all. You are merely wasting electricity on a point-source type of heat.What is needed is to heat the WHOLE area,and a garage heater,at 240 bolts,is the ONLY thing that truly works to not only heat the whole space,but keep the water entirely thawed-no need to plug in heated waterers.It is the most efficient means I have found for keeping all my guys and girls comfortable.Most days,on all but the most extreme temps,I can stand in the barn without a coat on.My rule of thumb is-If I am comfortable,then so are they,as our body temp is 98.6,and theirs is 102.So,even though it may feel just a bit chilly to me,they are entirely comfortable,running arond inside like it's summer outsidde,when it's actually 10 below.
P.S.-heat becomes increasingly important as your flock ages-the AVERAGE age of my birds now is about 8-10 years! My opinion is that being kept from excessive stress from temperature extremes may be contributing to their long lifespan.I've had some live to be as old as 15! plus- a little hug now and then doesn't hurt them,either!

 

[FortCluck]

I'm planning on heating my barn with a wood stove or pellet stove.

It's hard to keep up with winter when using heat sources especially if there's no insulation.

 

[RooFarm]

Thank you for the welcome! In reference to your idea of using a wood stove,or pellets to heat with-I would STRONGLY advise against it,for several reasons.First,is the issue of flammability.Yes,wood and pellet burners do put out a lot of heat,but there is the danger of a stray spark,or cinder igniting something in the barn or coop,starting a fire.Second,they use up oxygen,and feplace it with fumes,and/or smoke,and have to be exhausted preferably with a fan to eliminate buildup in an enclosedf area.Particularly with chickens,which are,by the nature of their respiratory systems,particularly intolerant of smoke and/or fumes.Third,they,,being a radiant source of heat,tend to warm only the area fairly close by.the air does not circulate,but only radiates out.By contrast,a barn or garage electric type heater uses a plenum with enclosed,not open, electric coils greatly minimizing the danger of flammability.They use a fan to draw cold air in the back,and over and throuigh the heated plenum,like a forced air furnace.The warm air that comes out,replaces the cold air being sucked in,therefore heating the entire air inside the coop or barn.And being electrically generated,unlike burning,produces no fumes.You also have the advantage of thermostatic control,unlike a wood or pellet burner,for precise temperature regulation.And,you just plug it in,no continuous stoking and refilling.Plus-it takes up little space,particularly if its wallmounted,as mine are.You see the many advantages of an electric barn heater over the other types?

 

[Ratchnick]

Interesting setup, sounds expensive.

As for a pellet stove i think your ok as long as you can keep flamables away from it, like straw, feathers ect. The smoke gets exhausted outside and you can draw your combustion air from outside as well. Of course make sure you can set the temp low enough for your preference, some thermostats only go down to 55F

 

[RooFarm]

You sare correct,in that if one is careful,as you obviously are,that you might be ok-but still,the risk of any flame,or even catalytic heaters or open-element home heaters is too much,in my estimation.Plus,again,a purely radiant heater of ANY type does only so much on extremely cold days.It is the EXCHANGING of cold air for warm of the plenum heater,versus just trying to warm the local air alone,thsat makes it so much more efficient.And the heaters themselves are not (that) expensive-only about 130-150 Bucks one time purchase,and electricity is,dollar for dollar,still one of the cheapest energy sources.

 

[Ratchnick]

The real question is do chickens actualy need extra heat at all. A heavily debated subject for sure but i think most people here would say no.

 

[RooFarm]

• Of course,everyone here is going to have his own opinion,but as for me-I'm NOT going to have my elderly flock freezing their tail feathers off! I know I wouldn't like it,and I don't think they would either.Like I said,I'm only comfortable if I know they are,and watching them run around,and taking dirt baths,,and enjoying the warmth inside when it's bitter cold outside-then I KNOW they are