Heating the coop??

[TXchickmum]

We live in Texas. -usually mild temps in the winter (am more concerned in the summer due to excessive heat). Anyway, we've had temps in the upper 70s last week/40s at night. -had a few "cold" days with highs in the 40s/lows around freezing which is no big deal. Today, high was 25. -low will be around 8/10 tonight (water already freezing in the coop). Our hens are quite old, and there is no "gradually getting used to" these temp fluctuations. They're pretty severe. I've placed two heat lamps in the coop (8 x 12 shed conversion). They are secured (with two sources each) from sturdy rafters (about 2 ft. from the roof, and about 7 - 8 feet from the ground). They have been thoroughly cleaned, as well as the front of the coop where they're suspended (no cobwebs/dust). There are no shavings on the floor in this part of the coop because it is separated by a wall of hardware cloth from the part housing the birds. The (outdoor) extension cord is off of the ground. I can't think of any possible fire hazards, but I'm not used to any type of heat sources for chickens either. I know chickens are feathered and adapted for cold temps. -just extreme to have severe fluctuations with very little time in between (50s-70s one day, 20s the next) Thoughts??

 

[SueT]

You don't need to supplement heat in Texas. The people from far north areas say they start to use heat when it's 40 below zero........
Edited to add.... we had fluctuations like that last week. 68º one day to 19º a couple days later. Chickens did fine. Then, afterter a few days in single digits, temps in the 20s seemed balmy! The chickens were dust bathing!

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

8-10 ft from them is likely to far to warm them, and if you are trying to warm the coop itself that would be useless because closing up windows and vents would be worse than just leaving as is.

I would unplug it.

Gary

 

[aart]

There are no shavings on the floor in this part of the coop because it is separated by a wall of hardware cloth from the part housing the birds. The (outdoor) extension cord is off of the ground. I can't think of any possible fire hazards, but I'm not used to any type of heat sources for chickens either.

My knee jerk reaction would 'you don't need heat'.
But, that's a big drop in temps and if your old girls are truly suffering, the set up you have might be fine. The fact that the light is not accessible by the birds and not over any shavings is good. The fact that it's 6 feet(?) off the ground is that it might not be doing them any good. Might want to lower it and tilt it towards coop area so they can bask in the heat if needed.

But, do they really need it?
Are they acting off?
My test is..toss some scratch, if they don't go for it, they may need some heat.

 

[TXchickmum]

Thanks for all of the replies. We went ahead and unplugged it over night. They were fine. This morning I scraped frozen solid waste from the roosts. That was a hoot. -also, had to fill up second set of waterers indoors and take them to the coop as the ones in the coop over night were solid blocks of ice (5 gallon, at that). -tossed some corn outdoors for them, and they would have nothing to do with going outside (ice on the steps, to boot). -have turned back on the lamps, and they are all lined up roosting across the front of the interior hardware cloth wall underneath them (fluffed and happy). They are going into their seventh year, and are still thriving. -just don't want anything to do with the cold outdoors. -feed and corn are indoors, and I'll keep a check on the water and heat lamps all day.

 

[lutherpug]

My test is..toss some scratch, if they don't go for it, they may need some heat.

I took this approach this morning. It is -8 with a wind chill of -22 here in KC. No supplemental heat.