Heating the coop!??

[Sierra67]

Hey! This is my first year keeping chickens. I have 4 chickens, 3 golden comet hens and one araucana roo, I’m in Canada and where I am gets down to -20 -40 Celsius in the winter. I’m finding mixed information about if I should heat their coop or not. They share a coop with 5 ducks as well.I don’t want to do anything that will cause frostbite and I can’t find any information that helps. Any advise is appreciated

 

[Jeanw]

Hiya and welcome! Check out this thread for cold weather housing your chickies, take care!

Thread 'Cold weather coop design'
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cold-weather-coop-design.1483393/

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm in the US southeast where we don't have much of a winter. I suggest you read this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[saysfaa]

This person who keeps chickens in the Peace River area may be able to help. I don't know how to tag people but you could message or email using the icons along the top of the page if their threads aren't enough info. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-coop-before-the-arctic-air-arrives.1497128/

The "where am I; where are you" ssction has a Canadian page that might be helpful for you.

It gets to -30's C (-20ish F) here but rarely. Somewhere below that, things change, especially for sustained temps. I don't know enough about it.

One thing that stands out is mixing ducks with chickens. I think that will complicate things.

Please let us know what you learn!

 

[Rangergord]

Hi Sierra, I saw your post come up. What region are you in?
Feel free to check out my coop building thread above. My daughter keeps ducks and chickens TOGETHER. She is finding out this is problematic. Ducks like it wet. Give them a pail of water as you should and they spread it around mucking everything up and creating a stinky ammonia laden atmosphere. Heating the coop makes the problem even worse. You would need insulation and it could be very expensive. You can heat the birds at times when it’s colder than -10 to -15 C using the newer chicken heat panels to do it safely and affordably. If you are forced to keep the ducks and chickens together, it may be the only way to avoid frostbite this winter.

 

[Sierra67]

Hi Sierra, I saw your post come up. What region are you in?
Feel free to check out my coop building thread above. My daughter keeps ducks and chickens TOGETHER. She is finding out this is problematic. Ducks like it wet. Give them a pail of water as you should and they spread it around mucking everything up and creating a stinky ammonia laden atmosphere. Heating the coop makes the problem even worse. You would need insulation and it could be very expensive. You can heat the birds at times when it’s colder than -10 to -15 C using the newer chicken heat panels to do it safely and affordably. If you are forced to keep the ducks and chickens together, it may be the only way to avoid frostbite this winter.

The ducks have a bucket of water on top of a tray and so far they haven’t made a mess with it, as for insulation the coop is attached to the side of my house and is fully insulated. For heating we would just be cutting a vent in out wall to the coop and using our house heat to flow naturally into the coop, with regular cleaning of the coop and proper venting to avoid smell. We are in northern b.c. Prince George area

 

[Rangergord]

Good to hear your having success. If you already have an insulated coop and heat that’s working that’s great. Use a hygrometer to monitor humidity. If you can keep it lower than 70% relative humidity then you can avoid the problems that heated coops have. I am in Chetwynd, it’s one Zone colder here than where you are. Another really important factor in wintering poultry is how many square feet you have per bird. The more space per bird, the fewer problems with air quality, productivity and behavioural issues. It’s not just the cold temperatures but the length of our winters.

 

[saysfaa]

Maybe helpful
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...tilation.1215979/?order=th_mrp_reaction_score

And for ducks https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/diy-insulated-water-pail.1071957/