How do you keep your Chickens warm in the winter? No elec/insulation

[jag]

How many chickens are going to be in the coop? We are in Maine and we don't heat our coop. It's insulated with foam insulation and there are 35 chickens out there - that many birds heat the coop just fine all winter. Mine also go outside all winter because we snow blow their yard for them, which I think makes them conditioned to the cold. I have single comb chickens (as well as pea combs and rose combs) and all survived nicely for the third winter in a row now.
I read that they are healthier with no heat and I am inclined to believe that based on our experience. I am always amazed to see them walking through the water out back when it's cold outside and it doesn't phase them in the least! Makes my feet cold just watching them.

They get spoiled with cracked corn all winter right before bedtime, too.
We ran an extension cord to our coop as well, but our lights are those pigtail fluorescents - so they are not getting any heat out of them.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Actually that is a fairly common *result* of heating a coop -- partly b/c the heat increases the humidity, and partly because people tend to shut down the ventilation too much 'to keep the heat in'. It can be difficult to decide what to do, I know, but heating is often not as straightforward a "plus" as is often thought.

Just sayin',

Pat

Hi Pat....you helped me out with these questions months back. We actually tried to go without heat from the start, but in only a day or two, the roo already had white tips on combs and then below the tips they were dark blue. Heat is very drying? Not sure how that inceasing humidity? Seems like a total no-win situation. We have plenty of ventilation with no direct drafts at the roost and he still was freezing? Without the heat, the hens also started to get white tips, but with the heat, their color came back.....I'm clueless!

Cat

Warm air "holds" more moisture than cool air, as the temperature goes up so does it's ability to hold more moisture. As Pat mentioned, the elevated humidity is a *result* of increasing temperature. Ditto, too, on what she said about ventilation. Here's a quote from yahoo (yahoo is no great guru but this is a fairly good short explanation...hope it helps

).....

Why? Any fluid, in this case, air will have more void spaces between molecules if warm.

Think about it this way. When you are cold, What do you do? You try to huddle into a smaller space to preserve body heat. When you are hot, you will keep your arms out to allow any wind to hit more parts of your body.

The molecules in a cold air are very tightly packed together and do not have any "vacant" space for water molecules to collect.

When you have a warm air, the voids between molecules are spread out and water can easily form.

Ever been in Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas in the summer? It is common to have temperatures in the 90's with 95% humidity.

If the air temperature ever reaches the "Dew Point", then the air is considered to be saturated or 100% humidity. The air can not hold any more moisture.

 

[nancypo]

I only have 3 chicks...

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

Quote:
thanks for the info, intheswamp!! I think I am getting a better understanding of the science of it all now. so.....I have the ridge vent which is about 4 inches wide.....if I have that and keep the run door open (for the air exchange).....and use NO HEAT SOURCE, then I should be OK? I also have a 12x12 octagon gable vent but we had covered half of it with plexiglass because of the high winds.

I do have a heated base unit that the 2 gallon galvanized waterer sits on..... will that put off a lot of moisture? We work all day so we cant be around to empty and refill frozen water.

thanks!

 

[Autumnlee]

My first year with chickens. My hubby built a chicken coop,just added a run. Only one wall and rest of it is fencing including top of run. Has a tin roof over coop. I have one rhode island rooster, a bandit (????) hen and the rest are domineckers(spelling?) i dont know how hardy they are. I have been putting a tarp over the run to protect from rain and wind. But what can i do,low cost, to help keep them warm and still get some sunlight during the day? Its hard to tell hiw cold it will be here in Mississippi as the weather can be warm one day and 29 degrees the next. Usually it dont get real cold until January but known to surprise us. Its been 45 at night lately,well last night ir two cause we were having 80 during day and 69 at night the other day.

 

[aart]

My first year with chickens. My hubby built a chicken coop,just added a run. Only one wall and rest of it is fencing including top of run. Has a tin roof over coop. I have one rhode island rooster, a bandit (????) hen and the rest are domineckers(spelling?) i dont know how hardy they are. I have been putting a tarp over the run to protect from rain and wind. But what can i do,low cost, to help keep them warm and still get some sunlight during the day? Its hard to tell hiw cold it will be here in Mississippi as the weather can be warm one day and 29 degrees the next. Usually it dont get real cold until January but known to surprise us. Its been 45 at night lately,well last night ir two cause we were having 80 during day and 69 at night the other day.

Welcome to BYC @Autumnlee!
It would be best to start a new thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/create-thread
and add some pics of your your coop.

Chances are your birds are plenty warm under their feather coats in MS.
A clear tarp or plastic sheeting can block wind and rain while still letting some sun in.

 

[Autumnlee]

Welcome to BYC @Autumnlee!
It would be best to start a new thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/create-thread
and add some pics of your your coop.

Chances are your birds are plenty warm under their feather coats in MS.
A clear tarp or plastic sheeting can block wind and rain while still letting some sun in.

Ok,thanks. I have a blue tarp for now but will get clear one.