heating chicken coop necessary?

[Kuraski]

We have a red heating lamp hanging from the ceiling of the coop for our six hens and were just told to unplug it immediately as it can pop and start a fire. Is heating the coop necessary? I am in Pa and the winters can get very bitter. If I should heat a bit, how do I do it safely?
Thanks!

 

[venymae]

No, it's absolutely not necessary. Make sure your coop has good ventilation and their roosts are big enough that they can cover their feet. Moisture is a bigger problem in winter than cold, hence good ventilation being important. People in Canada, North Dakota and other cold places (-30 F) have unheated coops and their chickens are quite content.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Is heating the coop necessary?

My method for dealing with winter is quite simple one extra feeder of whole corn. I live in Canada subject to -40º. I have 67 trips around the sun. I have raised various types of chickens and birds for decades.

TLC still has to be provided to birds that may not be adapting well to the diet. For the most part birds are vocal happy and do just fine. NO HEAT NO EXTRA LIGHT please and thank you works fine for me and my flock.

If for any reason you find it necessary to supply electricity to your coop via extension cord.

Please employ a "Ground Fault Outlet" also use a "Safety Chain" in conjunction to any heat lamp or incandescent bulb after mounting.
One coop fire is too many and these precautions could be the difference.

A simple action such as a rodent chewing on your extension cord could be the cause of a coop fire and a ground fault circuit could be the difference in witnessing your coop in tack or a pile of smoldering ash.

P.S. There are now a variety of ground fault extension cords available in major retail centers that also would be a wise investment.

 

[blackdog043]

There is no need to heat your coop, just have it well ventilated. You will need a way to keep your water from freezing, if you don't already.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

The worst part about heating your coop is that when your birds get used to it, and say the power goes out, theyre out of heat... and its quite a shock to their systems. So long as you have cold tolerant breeds, you should do fine.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Unless you have very cold tolerant breeds, yes, I would heat the coop. I only heat our coop if temps get in the teens. If it gets much colder than that, they will get frostbite. I know, because I had it happen! Our coop has two big doors in it. In the winter, we cover the door in the roosting area with heavy plastic. There is also a dividing door that we close, to keep heat in the roosting area. We have a heat lamp that hangs from the ceiling. It isn't a red bulb, just regular. It hangs about two and a half feet above the roost, so that puts it about four and a half or so above the ground, which has some hay on the ground. I suppose it is possible that your bulb could burst, but really, how many times do heat bulbs burst when you have them on chicks??? I wouldn't say it's very likely to happen. I don't think anybody should just leave their chickens in the cold, to get frost bite and such. But I do understand not having it on all the time. As I said, I just turn it on in the teens. Good luck!

 

[adickenscoop]

Here is a useful infographic on the subject by PoultryDVM - http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/dangers-of-heat-lamps-in-chicken-coops

 

[Molpet]

nope.. no heat... it's like you wearing a down parka in the house .. you get used to the temp and then go outside without having another coat to put on.. or the heat in the house goes out... you really feel the cold then....

 

[JackE]

I'm with the no heat crowd. Unless you have some kind of thinly feathered exotic breed, they need no help from us to stay warm. I have an open-air, un-insulated coop. The whole front wall is just hardware cloth. We've had winter temps down to -10F, not including any windchill, and none of my birds have ever suffered frostbite. And some of them have tall combs. None of them have had any problems. You have to really get into the negatives, for them to get frostbit. And if they do get it (Above those low negative temps), it more than likely your fault. Either from overcrowding, insufficient ventilation, or a combo of both.

Putting a heatlamp in there, is a total waste of time and money. The only thing it's good for, is for burning the coop down, and leaving you with fried chicken. We have already seen one post, where somebody burned their coop down, in some inane attempt to "KeepThemWarm". Well, they accomplished that, plus some. And I'm sure that won't be the last such story, we see this year.

 

[AllynTal]

Unless you live north of the Arctic Circle or have some exotic, tropical breed of chicken, not only is supplemental heat not needed, it is detrimental for the chickens. You want plenty of ventilation (but a draft-free coop). People make the mistake of closing the vents in winter thinking that they're keeping the coop warmer, when really what they're doing is trapping moisture inside. Then the chickens get frostbite and they think "Oh no! I need to heat the coop to prevent frostbite!" No. Frostbite is a moisture problem, not a temperature problem. Keep the vents open, make sure there are no drafts on the chickens when they're roosting and they'll take care of keeping themselves warm even down below zero. Chickens fluff their feathers out to create dead-air spaces next to their skin. Their own warmth is trapped in the dead-air space and keeps them warm -- kinda like us putting on a down coat. (Which is why putting chicken sweaters on the birds is just ridiculous. It keeps them from getting warm, which is counter-productive.)

Now, some folks just aren't happy unless they're fussing over the chickens and they just *have* to put a heat source in the coop. If you feel like you *have* to put a heat source in the coop, get a flat-panel heater. It doesn't really heat the coop so much as it raises the temp just a few degrees, which is more than enough to give the chickens a break from the frigid temps outside, but not enough to interfere with their cold-weather preparedness. It also doesn't create a fire hazard.

(I live in Mississippi now, but I spent the first 48 years of my life in New Jersey and Massachusetts, so yes, I can speak to both cold, snowy winters and to oppressively hot, humid summers.)