How to warm the coop?

[patandchickens]

See the "cold coop" page in my .sig below, for a number of things you can do (including but by no means limited to electrical appliances) to keep your coop warm(ish), also a discussion of how warm(ish) you do or do not NEED it to be.

BTW, you *do not* need a small coop for northern climates, not even if you only have a few hens -- if anything, the opposite, since they may well not want to go out during long stretches of weather and you don't want social problems and cannibalism starting. If you want to concentrate chickens' body heat around them, make an enclosure around the roost *within* their coop to do so -- that way they get the best of both worlds.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I am thinking about buying 2 kerosene heaters from Northern soon. A tank-up last 12 hours. They have 2 different heaters.....one for a larger area. They are both intended for indoors for use during emergencies. That would be the only time I would need it. We don't have hard freezes in my area very often. Maybe every 5 or 7 years, we might go down to 10F at the lowest. I figured when that happened I would hurry up and close my birds in with some clear plastic covering the entire coop and turn on the heat at night. You know........allow a little ventilation, but keep it from freezing and keep them from suffering through the night. Maybe I will buy myself an after Christmas present of it.

 

[chookchick]

You don't need to add a heater in Eugene Oregon. They can handle well below freezing in a dry, draft free, but ventilated coop. Read Pats links on ventilation, etc....and you will get plenty of info. I would also put a thermometer inside that you can read without opening the door, or with a remote sensor--will give you a much better idea of what the temp actually is in there.

Rhoda bruce--I don't think you need those heaters--in fact, your plan sounds somewhat dangerous! I'm sure they will be just fine.

Remember folks--we are not chickens! They have down coats on ALL the time!

 

[Mahonri]

How to warm the coop: Build it in Arizona.

How to cool the coop: Put in an AC unit.

 

[5 spoiled hens]

I live 45 miles up the hill close to the town of Oakridge and have 5 chickens in a small chicken tractor I purchased off Craigs list. We tend to be colder here than in Eugene and I too was worried about keeping the chickens warm at night until I read that each chicken gives of 10 watts of heat. So I figured it would be like having a 50 watt bulb in their roost. They do huddle together to keep warm, and so far have seemed just fine. I was more afraid to make them too warm as that seems unnatural, and a fire hazard also. My chickens free range during the day and just use the tractor for laying and roosting. Hope that helps!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Oh, please do not do this. First, "allow a little ventilation" is how people frequently asphyxiate *themselves* by accident, by underestimating how much ventilation is needed. Second, if you plastic-wrap the coop (even with "a little" ventilation) and then also turn on a kerosene heater, which offgasses a considerable amount of water vapor itself, you will be creating a perfect little frostbite chamber for your chickens unless you really crank the temperature up to stupid levels. And finally, the biggie, flames and coops do not mix well (anyhow they often do not mix for *long*).

Really, really, truly, please rethink this. There are far safer plans (really, I would say there are few *less* safe plans).

Good luck, have fun, be careful,

Pat

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Quote:
Oh, please do not do this. First, "allow a little ventilation" is how people frequently asphyxiate *themselves* by accident, by underestimating how much ventilation is needed. Second, if you plastic-wrap the coop (even with "a little" ventilation) and then also turn on a kerosene heater, which offgasses a considerable amount of water vapor itself, you will be creating a perfect little frostbite chamber for your chickens unless you really crank the temperature up to stupid levels. And finally, the biggie, flames and coops do not mix well (anyhow they often do not mix for *long*).

Really, really, truly, please rethink this. There are far safer plans (really, I would say there are few *less* safe plans).

Good luck, have fun, be careful,

Pat

I have to agree not a good idea.

 

[Akane]

If it's above 32F it's not even cold yet. Cold is when we hit -20F.

Chickens won't care about temps above 0F. Not even sensitive breeds really care. I have seramas and so far they've been fine with 10F. We'll see what happens when we hit subzero. I have a space heater ready to go in the small coop or the screened porch which I covered in plastic. Hardy breeds don't care if it's -30F not even counting windchill. I was shocked last winter to see my standards wandering about an uninsulated old grain bin turned chicken coop with the door open on one of the coldest days we've ever had. To top it off they wanted to go outside and were only being stopped by the 4' snow drift that formed between the coop door and barn.

Ventilation is far more important than heat. You need to vent the moist air. You will get more frostbite at just below freezing with an air tight coop than you will in the negatives with a well ventilated coop. Also lack of air flow will lead to respiratory illnesses from the dust and ammonia coming off their waste. We had our herd of horses all get sick one year when we had some accidental foals in winter and my grandma thought to cover all the door ways and open areas with tarps. Another problem is if you make it too much warmer in the coop than outside they can get sick. People have killed rabbits and made livestock very sick by either heating their stable or taking the small animals in to the house on cold days thinking they were helping them. They can't adjust to the big difference in temperature and the stress on their bodies allows illnesses to take over easier.

 

[waynesgarden]

If heat is not necessary here in the hills of Western Maine, it is not necessary in Eugene Oregon and certainly never necessary in Louisiana for adult birds.

Wayne

 

[rhoda_bruce]

So 10 degrees in a wet climate is fine. By the way....my coop is 20 X 40ft with a 12 ft peak on the roof for the building only. The north and east wall is fence boards with plenty of ventillation and there is some air that can escape through the roof peak. I only meant to cover the chicken wire.
Really I think my plan would be dangerous for most chicken coops I have seen. My coop is bigger than some people's houses.