Heating the coop

[GardenState38]

Fred's Hens :

GardenState38

I am perhaps one of those vocal "anti-heat" voices, I suppose. But, do as you wish. You must adopt your own practices.

But don't take the wisdom of the "anti-heat" voices the wrong way. Most of us are not saying, "YOU MUST NOT HEAT"!!! or at least, that is not what I say. I simply say it isn't required. If proper ventilation is provided, proper feed is provided and cold hardy breeds are kept, it just isn't.

Again, heat away!!!

PS: We have a BARN!!!! There is no way under the sun, moon and stars we could afford to do any meaningful heating. I choke on my house's winter heating bill!!

Actually, Fred's Hens, I've consistently found your posts to be thoughtful, extremely informative, well-balanced and logical! I wouldn't classify you as one of the "Anti-Heat" Brigade.

However, there are other posters I've seen in other threads who do seem to have a "YOU MUST NOT HEAT" tone about them.
I just take issue with generalizations that adding a heat source of any kind to your coop, no matter where you are, no matter the type of coop, what breeds you have, or the number of hens, or your level of intelligence, will ultimately result in fire or the death of your flock from being "caught with their pants down" in an electrical outage.
I agree that my motivation for heat on a brutally cold night may be to make myself feel better, but for some who choose NOT to heat at all, I can't help but wonder if they are justifying their own decision when preaching to others about the seemingly inevitable dangers and negative consequences of heating.​

 

[cybercat]

Deep bedding is the answer instead of heat added. 8 inches or better and turned every couple of days. This will compost and add heat to coop. Top ventilation is very important. Humidity will cause frost bite. We have had under 0 here at night with no bad effects. My ckickens are even out in the snow free ranging in below freezing temps. We get bad wind here in winter too so wind chills really drops our temps below what is listed. If you need pictures check my chickens blog their winters. I am sure to have more this winter since it will be more snow than past winters.

 

[wyododge]

Quote:
You had asked about a flat panel heater and if I am looking at the right one they are a bit expensive.

If I were going to heat I would build a cage around a heat lamp bulb, similar to the standard lighting I put in the coop. You can see pics of my lighting on my page. If you made a bottom on it, if the bulb for some strange reason did break, it would catch the pieces. I made the cage out of 1/4"x1/4" metal fabric just rolled into a cylinder, just in case a bird flew into it, we would not have glass everywhere. I have hit my head on them many times and not even moved them.

Figured this way, you would have effective and inexpensive heat. YOu could also put the bulb on a rheostat to control the amount of heat put out and if plugged into a thermal cube, the light would not constantly blink all night long. If you were to watch the wether, you could even turn up the rheostat on colder nights, and down for the not so cold.

I suppose I am one of the anti-heat brigade, but I would never want to imply that my method of raising chickens is better or worse than any one else's. It's just our way. I try to give our opinion in a non confrontational manor, but I am sure I fail miserably. If I have, my apologies to all.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Truthfully, you can do whatever you want. If your pocketbook will allow a higher heating bill, and you want to do it, do it.

I lived in CO, too, so I understand the rapid changes, but I'm sure if you ask just people in CO you will find that there are a lot of them that don't heat, either.

I won't tell you NOT to add heat, but you have to take into consideration the number of birds, their size, their age, etc, before making that decision. Let THEM tell you when they need heat. Watch them. If you see them go from normal pecking around happily to piled in a corner of the coop huddled for warmth, well, maybe it's time to add a little heat. Or make their coop smaller.

My first year with chickens I tried to keep the coop at 40°F, a) because I was more comfortable at that heat, and b) well, because I thought they'd be cold, too. NOT. Those little bodies keep a pretty constant 101-102°F under those feathers, and it is noticeably warmer in the coop first thing in the morning with all the bodies in there. Given the choice of the coop or outside, many of the birds choose to sleep in the tree outside... at 0F. I really start noticing that they stay IN the coop when we get into the -15 to -20F range. But they are fine. I guess what I'm trying to say is, watch your birds and add heat IF needed.. not before then.

BTW, my heat source is "more birds".

Much to my husband's dismay.
But why add heat if you don't have to?

 

[tresgallina3]

This too is my first winter with 2 hens. They do not sit next to each other, the rhode island red sits on a higher roost and the Orph sits close by on a lower roost. Seems the Orph could never "fly" up to the roost. Anyway, I know they burn lots of fat to stay warm and I have noticed some weight loss on both. I am not heating the coop. They get purina pellets, scratch, table scrapes, and occasional meal worms. Any ideas how to get the "fat" back on them?

 

[Imp]

This too is my first winter with 2 hens. They do not sit next to each other, the rhode island red sits on a higher roost and the Orph sits close by on a lower roost. Seems the Orph could never "fly" up to the roost. Anyway, I know they burn lots of fat to stay warm and I have noticed some weight loss on both. I am not heating the coop. They get purina pellets, scratch, table scrapes, and occasional meal worms. Any ideas how to get the "fat" back on them?

Hi tresgallina3, sorry you are having problems.
First let me say that you may want to repost this in the feeding forum or if it appears serious in the emergency forum, where you might get more response.

I did a quick search for "skinny". Some of the suggestions...
You may want to check for other causes of weight loss. Worms, parasites, cocci, and other diseases can cause weight loss.
Look under the feathers by the vent, wingpits, and belly for anything unusual- bugs, eggsacs.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/lineart/efslogo.gif

Does the poop look normal?
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

As far as feed goes, the same as in people you need to increase their calorie intake. Some of the suggestions are:
Game bird feed
Chick starter
Flock raiser
Canned cat food
Kitten food
BOSS Black oil sunflower seeds
Carbs like scratchgrains.
Cottage cheese

I hope some of this helps.

Imp

 

[brandislee]

Deep bedding is the answer instead of heat added. 8 inches or better and turned every couple of days. This will compost and add heat to coop. Top ventilation is very important. Humidity will cause frost bite. We have had under 0 here at night with no bad effects. My ckickens are even out in the snow free ranging in below freezing temps. We get bad wind here in winter too so wind chills really drops our temps below what is listed. If you need pictures check my chickens blog their winters. I am sure to have more this winter since it will be more snow than past winters.

While deep bedding is a great way to add heat, it's not always doable. Some of us are working with existing structures that have raised wood floors, and deep litter only composts and creates heat if it is in contact with soil. So while I use deep bedding it doesn't contribute to the amount of heat in my coop (although it does provide insulation).

I was on the anti-heat side when winter began, but I have had to adapt my strategy. Both of my roosters have HUGE combs, and after one of the colder snaps we had I noticed blackening on the tips that I could only assume was frost bite. So far as I can tell I have adaquate ventilation in my coop (6 inch eave vents along the length of the coop, never covered, as well as a 2x4 window I open any time the temps are above freezing during the day), but we've had a really weird winter, and although we've gotten less precipitation than usual it's been warmer, and the snow/warm cycle seems to have created more humidity in the air. I don't know what else it could be. So I put two caged heat lamps with red bulbs in my coop near the roosts (wired twice to the rafters so they have no way of falling into the bedding) and I put those on a thermostat. And even with the thermostat I don't leave them plugged in all the time. But on really cold nights or windy days it makes a difference. I think if you wait until after it's been cold and then add heat (and then only sparingly) you give your chickens the chance to feather out and build up that layer of down.

And besides that, you just have to be smart and make the best decision for your flock. I still think that less heat is better, and obviously be safe with it.

 

[lauriegil11]

I was thinking of either those flat panel radiant heaters or a couple of heating pads under their hay? Do you think that would work? I have 7 silkies.

 

[RedDrgn]

Our coop is a few feet taller than yours but otherwise the same square footage and the same number of chickens. We add no heat and our roo has a nice big comb that could frost up. We've had no problems yet. Like others have said, if your chickens are used to having heat and the power goes out in the middle of a bitterly cold snap; your chickens could be in trouble.

 

[frostbite]

I can't afford to be adamantly pro-heat or anti-heat. I am not that all-knowing. I have the ability to add heat if I need to, I just plan to monitor my chickens and see how they do, and not pay so much attention to how warm I want to feel. It's like when my mother used to tell me I needed to put on a sweater because SHE was cold!

So I'll watch my chickens' behaviors, and count on the incandescent bulb I use for their 14 hours a day of egg producing encouragement to add some heat, and only add more heat if it really seems to be affecting them.

I'll drag out the red heat bulb I used when they were in the brooder if it gets too bad.

It's strange how weather can be so relative. I remember winters in Chicago that were much more uncomfortable (and I think dangerous) when it was wet and windy but not quite freezing, vs here where after a minus 40 cold snap, minus twenty feels practically balmy!