How do you heat your coops

[coolchick17]

I have a heat lamp hung high in the coop on a timer. That way they stay warm, don't eat excessively because that's what they do to stay warm and it keeps up the egg production. Layers need 16 hours of light to lay daily. More is fine if you don't have a timer but nothing less. I also have an insulated coop. Layer feed is not cheap!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

OH, MY ACHING BACK!! Spent the day cleaning the coop and preparing for cold weather. No, I'll not be using any supplemental heat but our small coop was made of mostly "reclaimed" materials and had plenty of drafty gaps which we covered today. I used sand in the coop during the summer - which I loved - but shoveled it all out today, cleaned the coop, and replaced with pine shavings for the winter. I'm going to try the deep litter method and see if I like it. If I don't, I'll just change it out.

We've got plenty of ventilation as my husband installed a home roof vent in the coop. One of these things > http://www.single-family-home-remodeling.com/images/low-profile-roof-vents.jpg I would hope that would be sufficient in a small coop with only 3 chickens.

Our coop is a decent sized chicken tractor [almost too big to be moved about] and has a 5 x 10 ft. attached run. I'll cover that run in clear, heavy plastic to keep them wind/sleet/snow off them on the worst of days. But they also have an uncovered run that they can use providing they can stand what Mother Nature is throwing at them.

Rumor has it that this will be another "Snowmageddon" winter. Now I need to make sure I can make it to the coop to gather eggs!

 

[karlamaria]

I have a heat lamp hung high in the coop on a timer. That way they stay warm, don't eat excessively because that's what they do to stay warm and it keeps up the egg production. Layers need 16 hours of light to lay daily. More is fine if you don't have a timer but nothing less. I also have an insulated coop. Layer feed is not cheap!

its dark here by 6:30 and still dark out side at 7:00 am I get eggs still and usually all winter my girls give me eggs. maybe there super chickens lol, but today I got the same as yesaterday, 4 eggs out of 6 layers, ( 2 broodies are sitting on eggs right now) day before I got 5 eggs. last winter after the molt, and 6 week rest my girls were right back at it, and the winters are long and dark here, maybe 9 hours of light. got eggs from them then to.

 

[Gargoyle]

Great thread, lots of good advice, just remember, one size doesn't fit all.

Three hens roosting together don't generate as much shared warmth as do thirty hens. Cold in one place isn't the same as cold in another, as someone pointed out above (comparing Ohio near the lake to dry parts of Alaska). Wind, humidity, coop design... so many different variables.

I'm from Chicago, the windy city. The coldest winter I ever experienced was in Tuscany, Italy. it probably only got below freezing two or three times, but the humidity was extremely high, and the buildings (old thick stone walls) weren't insulated. The damp got into your bones and never left, it was almost as cold and damp indoors as outdoors.

Personally, here in the Chicago area, I much prefer under 20 degrees to the 20 to 35 range, simply because once it goes under 20 the air gets really dry and it hardly ever snows.

So, someone in the mountains of eastern or Northern California might have a good reason for supplemental heat, and someone in Alaska might not need it.

 

[Our Roost]

Hello Bulldog6, I'm Jack from "Our Roost". Since your profile doesnt designate your home location, I assume you are from a 4 season climate with cold winters and snow. We are from the northern part of Michigan and the weather can be pretty hectic and we end up "cooped up" every now and then. We have an 8 x 16 coop and 23 birds currently. Our breeds are both heat and cold tolerant according to BYC'S breed selection chart. Tolerant is the key word meaning they can adapt or fair well in both heat and cold. That doesnt mean they are indestructable! A few things about my coop construction may help you out a little in your decision. I chose to use mother natures natural dirt floor, which up here is a mix of sand and forest compost mostly. I layer that with straw (not hay) for warmth and absorbtion all year round. It has to be cleaned out and composted about every 2 to 3 weeks. The birds love it. I used a sealed and treated exterior grade plywood for my outside walls also for weather and longevity. Interlocking edges to prevent drafting and warpage. Only needed paint. My windows arn't Anderson or Pella, but are good quality with self storing screens for ventilation as needed. Our winds are generally out of the south west so I added an eave vent on that side of the coop for more ventilation and air circulation.
Hot or warm air rises! Keep your roosting boards or rails high enough off the ground for the chickens to benefeit from this when they huddle or cuddle together. I have 2 to 3 inchs of pine shavings in my nesting boxes and I find some birds like it for shelter as well as egg laying. These are about 20 inches off the ground. I am in the process of installing electric into the coop for this winter as suggested by some BYC breeders direction. And yes I am using the infra red heat lamp bulbs that I used in my breeder pen when my birds were baby chicks. I will need 2. They come with a metal heat shield and cage wiring that can be adapted to the light socket during installation that will redirect heat away from your ceiling and possible cause of fire. I am also installing a single standard light bulb socket with off and on switch access inside the coop. The days get darker earlier in the winter months and the inside of the coop is as dark as a dungeon! This will help when putting the birds away at night or in the also dark mornings when letting them out.
I have a 55 gallon rain barrel which with pvc piping and watering cups and nipple water feeders that do the job for keeping the flock hydrated. I installed a electrical plug outlet box to use an electric heat ring that goes inside the barrel and floats while keeping the water from freezing during the winter months. I hope these tips will help you in your decisions and ease your maintenance while caring for your birds.

 

[fishnet1971]

You guys did an AMAZING job!!!! This is gorgeous!!!

Sheila

Thanks Sheila! it really was a work of love. I was super lucky, my parents had just built a new house and i scavaged everything I could. The gutters were a trade for a tune up on a car, the siding a trade for a transmission change. I am so lucky my DH is a mechanic with his own garage... lol.

 

[aoxa]

Tonight a chance of frost. Mornings are hard, as I have to be out of the house at 6:45 am and it is still dark. The chickens look at me like I'm crazy when I open up the barn and flick all the lights on at 6:30 am. lol Just 3 months ago they were screaming to be let out at 6am sharp.

 

[blondiebee181]

We do not use any light, my girls stopped laying for about 6 weeks then kick started with the egg laying all over again. We had five chickens and we got eggs from them pretty often but not consistent. I do not add light, but am thinking of it this year to keep the girls going since I see my production is down already and out of 6 birds got only 1 egg yesterday. I'm glad we had power added to the coop so we can add light. I'm seriously thinking about it. Just not sure at what times to set the timers yet.

Be careful about lighting.....It is true most birds do need at least 14 hours of daylight to lay but forcing them to lay during the winter with lights can put a lot of extra stress on birds and burn them out quicker. Winter is a time for hens to rest and molt and relax...I just don't feel comfortable disturbing nature's processes but that's just me. I just wanted to add this in case people didn't know.

 

[aoxa]

Be careful about lighting.....It is true most birds do need at least 14 hours of daylight to lay but forcing them to lay during the winter with lights can put a lot of extra stress on birds and burn them out quicker. Winter is a time for hens to rest and molt and relax...I just don't feel comfortable disturbing nature's processes but that's just me. I just wanted to add this in case people didn't know.

This is always my suggestion. Give them a break. It's natural for them to stop laying.

 

[blondiebee181]

Carpet on the roosts, I don't even want to think about cleaning that mess after a couple of weeks. What good does insulation do in the winter, if the coop is properly ventilated? And by ventilation, I'm not talking about a couple of 2X6" floor grates. The chickens have perfectly good insulation of their own. It's really funny to me, that people put their own limitation of handling cold weather, on their chickens. When in reality land, the chickens are well suited (Literally) for the cold.
How many tales of woe will we read about this year, about burned down coops, and all the chickens in it, due to a stupid and unnecessary heatlamp. Or about some poor frosted up birds, due to being kept in a near airtight box in some misguided attempt to "Keep them warm". Bottom line, they don't need any added heat from us, And they don't want some well insulated, poorly ventilated box to live in.
Jack

I heartilly agree with you about chickens being "suited" to the cold. I think if a guy in Maryland can keep chickens alive without heat or light, I certainly can here where the temps hardly drop below 20F at night. The other thing that people have to consider is not only fires but, if your electricity goes out and your girls are used to a nice balmy 55F coop, they will get cold much easier than if they weren't heated to begin with and had built up a nice layer of fluff and fat leading up to the cold weather. I've heard of people in Alaska who don't heat or insulate. The only thing I plan on doing this winter is keeping the drafts out with tarps over my run. I can't easily run electricity to my coop anyway and I don't trust extension cords. Those with large combs MAY get a smear of Vaseline at bedtime, but I really don't anticipate frostbite.

On the other side, this is my first winter with my chickens so I am certainly no expert. I can see how a lot of newbies can worry about their birds. The reason we got birds to begin with is because we hated the way industries treated our egg birds, we wanted cute chickie companions and healthy meat so I think a lot of us are driven to give our girls the best. I'm sure everyone here is looking out for the best interest of their birds and I think climate has a lot to do with our decisions, but there is a level of reality that will make everyone's lives easier: Chickens survived in the wild and with limited electricity on farms WAY before we ever got here and they will do so again.

I will restate one more time about lighting as well, lighting the egg layers throughout the winter will force them to lay, but it will burn them out quicker and it is stressful for them. I can understand utility lighting for people with "out-there" coops so they don't have to be working in the dark at the crack of dawn feeding and/or cleaning but just be aware if you are planning to light your birds all winter to get eggs that this is not natural. I am not out to rant on specific people, I just want all to be aware...may we all have a safe and warm winter