Heating coop in below zero temps

[Zoey..]

We are in between CR and Waterloo! Mine have been fine all these years, but we haven’t had -24 yet as the nightly temp

 

[Mrs. K]

A couple years ago, we hit 35 below, temperature, and while that was the coldest there were several days where it was well below -25 at night, when it warmed up to zero, we were outside in jackets!

Thing is, you are all worrying and thinking about warmth, and what you need to think is DRY. Dry birds in a wind break are going to do just fine if they are healthy to begin with, if you have an old bird, it might be too much.

Good ventilation, will allow moisture to escape, which is what you want, keeps birds dry. Dry birds are warm birds. Deep bedding, sprinkle bedding with scratch so that they keep it turned over and fresh will help keep them dry with good ventilation. Wind protection outside in the run, and mine will spend several hours outside even in bitter cold.

Mrs K

Mrs K

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

A couple years ago, we hit 35 below, temperature, and while that was the coldest there were several days where it was well below -25 at night, when it warmed up to zero, we were outside in jackets!

Thing is, you are all worrying and thinking about warmth, and what you need to think is DRY. Dry birds in a wind break are going to do just fine if they are healthy to begin with, if you have an old bird, it might be too much.

Good ventilation, will allow moisture to escape, which is what you want, keeps birds dry. Dry birds are warm birds. Deep bedding, sprinkle bedding with scratch so that they keep it turned over and fresh will help keep them dry with good ventilation. Wind protection outside in the run, and mine will spend several hours outside even in bitter cold.

Mrs K

Mrs K

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
On T, W, Th, here in western PA it is getting sub zero. I have my Sussex in 2 small fresh air coops but too small for that kind of cold. I think I will take them inside the garage. I have several large cardboard boxes from Lowes. I have the white bale of pine shavings from Tractor Supply. I think I will duct tape a couple of the boxes together and fill them with 6-8 inches of shavings each. Fit a chicken wire cover over the boxes and hang brooder lights from the rafters so they shine thru the chicken wire but don't touch it. I need to keep these roosters combs from freezing. I really don't want to wait until May again to hatch because I had to wait for the combs to heal. This is only for 4 days so it should work out ok. I also have several 8.00 hygrometers from Walmart I used for the brooders this year. I can place them around the boxes to check temp and humidity. Being in the garage will make it easier to feed and water. I am not using any metal in the sides ( think dog exercise pen) because it's going to be so cold, I don't want the birds up against metal.
Best,
Karen

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

I have just loosely placed fiberglass batting into the eave ventilation slots in my coop, to slow down the air currents (it's supposed to be extremely windy, with insane wind chills) while hopefully still allowing moisture from respiration to dissipate. Then I hung two heat lamp fixtures from heavy wire that is drilled into the rafters of the coop - I secured and re-secured the lamps, making sure that every thing that CAN be tied, clipped, wired, or clamped IS tied, clipped, wired, and clamped. The lights are hung so that they are ~3' off the floor, with one directed at the roosts, the other at a supplemental perch that I brought in. I also consolidated my two coops into one just for now. My bantam coop is not well arranged for the SAFE introduction of any kind of supplemental heat - its ceiling is too low, perches too numerous. Anyway, the birds all free range together, have a communal pen, and communal feeders/waterers. They are pretty used to each other, and I haven't seen them squabbling yet (though I'm watching them closely on our chicken coop live feed camera, just to be sure!). I'm hoping that reducing drafts, adding 300 watts of heat lamp warmth, and putting all those warm-bodied birds together will keep them safe over these next few bitter cold days. This is the first time I have done anything like this. We had -15 temps last week, but I didn't do anything extra for them and they all did fine. But -25 with high winds is in our forecast, and that's just TOO DARNED COLD.

 

[Melky]

We live in eastern Iowa, and I'm also worried about the coming bitter cold. I've had chickens for 6 years, and we've had below zero temps without heating our coop. Expect frostbite, but they have done fine otherwise. We are trying to come up with a way to add supplemental heat for next week, as we are expecting -30 with wind chill -50. I worry about heat lamps and fire. I'm curious if anyone has safe heating ideas as -30 to -50 is too cold!

I use a fireproof K and H heating pad from Amazon. It works great. I velcroed it with industrial Velcro on wall of coop so can remove in spring. Mine is in when below 30 degrees as risk for frostbite.

K&H Pet Products Thermo-Chicken Heated Pad Black 12.5" x 18.5" 40W https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JHK3740/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VlluCbJ2BTR4A

 

[Dougtheiceman]

I'm not sure how big your coop is, other than the 6-7 feet high that you mentioned. A heat lamp isn't going to heat the air in a large area, especially starting at such low temps. I would brainstorm ways to create a warm area within the coop that the birds can huddle around. You can see that @chickens really has done this in a corner of the coop, but I'd bet the other side of that coop is a bit cooler. A panel heater is another tool that people use for birds to cozy up to. This is not my image, but will give you an idea, you could build a cinder block heater pretty easily and economically. The cinder block will hold the heat from the light bulb and act more like the panel heater. Personally I like this idea because the bulb and wiring are hidden and cannot easily be broken by a chicken or chewed by a rodent or have water splashed on them or have shaving on them to ignite, etc. It's a bit safer overall than an exposed bulb.

That looks like a good idea