Help! Emergency heat issues

[Kezs]

First, let me start by saying I know it's normally a bad idea to heat your coop, but these are extenuating circumstances!!

Background: I live in Houston, and we have a MAJOR freeze heading our way this weekend. We were 70 degrees on Tuesday, and we're supposed to have snow and freezing rain by Monday, with weather below 20 degrees for a few days. To make it worse, my chickens decided to start molting (or at least I'm assuming so since i have feathers EVERYWHERE and I saw them pulling them out themselves, not fighting). My coop is designed for hot weather. I have a picture attached of the coop area- It has 3 walls (one has the egg box, so it's not air tight), a hardware cloth ceiling under a tin roof, and no front wall, designed to keep as much heat out as possible due to our extremely hot summers and normally warm winters. It's 4x4x4 ft, and they all roost snuggled together on the front ledge instead of on any of the perches we put in since the picture. I have 3 Leghorn, 3 Dominique, and a brown hen I found wandering the neighborhood. We use sand in the coop so there isn't really any insulation on the floor of the coop. It's rare we drop below 40, so I haven't worried until now- my priority was keeping them from overheating. Oh, and it's all attached to an enclosed and predator proof run, so they're safe, I promise!

Problem: Now I need to somehow keep the coop warm and heated over the next week or so. We are putting on a wall on the front, and we're going to put a piece of insulation in between the hardware cloth and the tin roof. We purchased a Producer's Pride radiant heater, which is supposed to heat until it hits 75 degrees and then shut off. Last night was the first night, and while we haven't put the insulation in yet and only a partial front wall, it didn't seem to heat much at all. I'm thinking all of the heat escaped through the roof. Luckily it only got into the 40's last night.

Will the radiant heater be warm enough? My husband wants to use a heat lamp, but last time we tried it worked great except the chickens didn't sleep and the neighbors weren't happy. Since we aren't supposed to have them at all, I can't have squawking chickens for a week!

What suggestions can anyone give?
Heater info: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...pK58QAlF-Y6p8sJtkajMLqcXdz-3DVnMaArD6EALw_wcB

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[RubelliteRose]

If your coop directly under the metal roof, my concern would be that if you heat the coop during freezing rain, you will cause condensation to form on the underside of the roof and it will drip onto your chickens. We've had that happen with a horse on stall rest in in the winter. His body heat was enough to cause it to rain inside of the stall. The insulation may or may not help depending upon what type you use.
Is your run covered? I would cover the side and top of the run to keep out the wind and rain with tarp, heavy duty plastic or plywood(what ever you have and can secure so it doesn't flap around too much) rather than try to heat the coop.

 

[DobieLover]

You don't need to add any heat at all.
All I would do is put clear shower liners up on the HC walls leaving a significant gap at the top for ventilation. You'll have to keep on top of the water so they have something to drink throughout the day if it freezes.
As long as there are no drafts to open feathers, they'll be just fine.

 

[aart]

Now I need to somehow keep the coop warm and heated over the next week or so

You don't need to keep it heated, you just need to block any wind...but not totally cover all ventilation.
As long as they are dry and out of any wind strong enough to literally ruffle their feathers, they will be fine.

 

[Kirkwooder]

We had -6*F on Tuesday morning, your birds will be just fine in that tropical climate. You have a better chance of burning the coupe down than you do of having an issue with no heat.

 

[AppleMomma65]

We are in N. Wisconsin and today is -23 outside. While I'm sure my chickens are cold, they are dry and as others note, that's the best thing to focus on: keeping dry and no drafts. Mine are NOT let outside during these cold temps but they do get an extra layer of straw on their coop and run floor each week, and a few extra treats (warm oatmeal, warm scrambled eggs) every day. I agree with @DobieLover on the shower curtain. I have that in my nesting box area to keep the wind off when they are in there laying and it helps - a lot. Admittedly, mine are a bit spoiled as they do have a heated roost that they are on at night (turns on automatically when temp is 32 degrees). I'm sure all of us in the northern climates telling you your chickens will be fine doesn't make you feel any better as it is (most) human nature to want our animals to be comfortable. You'll be surprised though - they will be fine.

 

[Tram]

EEE Gads, I am over in San Antonio area and have the same weather situation. My Welsummer's are only 8 weeks old and in a small coop. Roost bars are above the holes in the side. Wondering if I should block the ones up top.
Tempted to put a seeding mat inside it or make a temporary coop in the insulated shop (4x2x2 stock tank). The 13 degree weather scares me for such a young bird.

 

[rosemarythyme]

EEE Gads, I am over in San Antonio area and have the same weather situation. My Welsummer's are only 8 weeks old and in a small coop. Roost bars are above the holes in the side. Wondering if I should block the ones up top.
Tempted to put a seeding mat inside it or make a temporary coop in the insulated shop (4x2x2 stock tank). The 13 degree weather scares me for such a young bird.

No you should NOT cover the vents. You have louvered covers from what I can see, that's enough to blunt any winds.

8 week olds are fine as long as they're all in good health, as they should be fully feathered/nearly fully feathered at that age.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Here in Colorado we went from 40-50 degree highs to a whopping 7 degrees for todays high. The next few days we MIGHT pop above zero for the high.
Our lows are forecast to be 15 below zero.

Today all my birds have been in their runs scratching about normally. The ducks have sat a bit more than normal but still moving around just fine.

I can only WISH our lows would stay 20 degrees or warmer.

This is not my first round keeping birds in below zero temps. What I have learned from watching them is to worry a whole lot less. They are not fragile frail and apt to die at even below zero temps.....so long as they are healthy fully feathered birds.

 

[Tram]

Thank you to those that replied, my 9 week olds did just fine down into the single digit weather in my little coop. I am VERY impressed with my Welsummers.