I broke down and just gave in...

[Pharm Girl]

I live in a mild climate with only a handful of weeks barely below freezing, but I've got my heat lamp reinstalled yesterday. I have a small coop, so they have a 50w reptile red bulb. It is only enough to take the edge off the cold, but it allows me to sleep at night. I only turn it on at night when the temps are below freezing, which means about 30 nights a year! When I hear of combs freezing, turning black and falling off it breaks my heart. I don't believe for a second it's not painful. I don't think they need the coop to be 80 degrees, that could be equally bad for them. My 50w bulb in my little coop brings the temps only to about 35-40 degrees.

I also feel like the mild heat dries out the moisture in my coop. We have a LOT of that in Oregon and the chickens often go to bed wet. Combined with their breathing, I can see that the heat lamp zaps some of that moisture. Yeah yeah, with proper ventilation they shouldn't need it, but just because they can survive it doesn't mean they like it. If you put a fan out on a hot day they will stand in front of it, and if you give an area of heat on a cold day, they will usually go there and warm up, so I think they appreciate the comfort.
There, rant over.


It's a cold night, where you gonna sleep?

That said, my lamp is triple hung, only 50W, and has a guard over the face of it. I also wipe down my lamp top to bottom every couple of weeks to get the dust off. Fire IS a real danger and should be taken seriously.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is up to you whether you want to supply heat or not. In a properly constructed coop with adequate ventilation and draft protection, I don't think most of us need it, but some of us may have issues for whatever reasons. We all have different circumstances. Your chickens may get frostbite in a tight, poorly ventilated coop if it is not heated.

One issue I'd have is the fire danger. Taz is right on that one. The other issue is what happens if you lose power? If the chickens are not acclimated, they could be in trouble.

I try to not criticize anyone for what they choose. They are there looking at it and dealing with it. I'm not. I try to point out risks and benefits and let people make up their own minds, not tell them what they have to do. I don't always do as good a job at that as I'd like.

 

[MetalSmitten]

aside from the fire hazard, other things to think about: there is a possibility of the bulb breaking, resulting in broken glass that chickens might walk on or try to eat. they won't acclimate to the cold as well, so they might prefer to sit under the lamp all day instead of going outside for foraging/sunlight/fresh air. the heat may cause fumes from their droppings (which doesn't happen if the droppings are frozen) and causes a more humid environment. cold + humid can sometimes cause pneumonia. and any worms expelled in droppings under the lamps will not die off as they should. these are all reasons why i personally do not provide supplemental heat. assuming your birds are breeds that don't have special needs with cold, and given a draft-free area with appropriate roosts, most chickens are normally fine with cold

 

[kuntrychick]

Last year I didn't know about the "chickens don't need heat" thing other than my hubby telling me they don't need it. I'm VERY cold-natured & know that I couldn't stand to be out there in the cold weather. We had a historic winter in Alabama last winter with like 2 weeks or so of it not getting above freezing & some teens & single digit nights. I provided a 100 W bulb for my chickens (and dogs).

After reading on here about not providing heat & the reasoning behind it, I must admit that this past year my chickens feathers did not look nowhere near as full feathered & shiny & all as they had previously looked. They almost looked like they were going through a mini-molt all spring & summer.

Now that Fall has come & most of them are actually molting, I'm holding off from the heat for them. Yes, I worry about them (apparently unnecessarily). We got down into the 20's last night. The chickens were absolutely fine this morning & was out playing around when I definitely couldn't stand to be out there!

I can say that their feathers are already looking a lot more full than they were (even with molting going on). I'm trying to resist putting heat out there for them. I'm hoping they will have some beautiful full feathers in soon from their bodies preparing for winter.

 

[rhinomd]

if they want some heat and you have a high enough area in coop to support hanging a 500 watt halogen work lamp up away from wood or anything they put out a good amount of heat. But i would say make metal cage and suspend it from ceiling.

 

[Mavrik]

My concern using heat lamps is making the chickens sick from repeated temperature differences from going inside/outside. My temps get in a single digits and I don't use a heat lamp.

Using white lamps for heat will keep the birds awake. Also can make them sick for not getting enough sleep.

 

[wyododge]

As for the heat in your coop. We get COLD here, low last year -38*f, record low -50*. I do understand your thinking and there is NOTHING wrong with you raising your chickens they way you see fit. I personally think it is great that you, and many others, have such an active roll in the raising of animals. It really is a lost art in the good ol USA these days.

I try not to harp on people and always try to voice my opinion in a light hearted way. The fact of the matter is that chickens do not have to have heat. With that said, you know your birds. There are positives and negatives to raising them either way. fire, frostbite, moisture, feathering, temp differentials, they are all valid points. One thing I try to do when making a decision about any animal we are caring for is to ask if the decision is based on my needs or the animals needs. Case in point, we had two horses. One of which was previously a wild BLM horse (bud) that was headed for the dog food factory before we bought him. Every winter he would get a really nice fur coat. Our other quarter horse (blade), would get a coat but not quite the same. We put blankets on both of them. Bud hated it, it would make him sweat and I think he actually got colder because of the blanket. Blade basically walked up and asked you to put it on. When I finally got it through my thick melon that one horse NEEDED help and the other did not, my decision making changed.

Bud had a really good coat that he could not take off, put a blanket (or heat) on top of that and he was miserable and definitely not healthy. It was cold as crap out, I was FREEZING (-30*f) and he would just look at me like it was a warm summer day. That was my first year on the ranch, can't even believe I made it through this far.

Just keep an eye on your birds, weigh the options, try to make logical decisions, and trust your judgement. You will make mistakes, just part of life. We don't add heat. Right now it is 9 degrees, the birds are puffed up and cooing as they sleep. We have a long way to go before it hits bottom. Will we add heat? only if it appears the birds are suffering and not healthy, and then only as a last resort. I would probably try to section off the coop with blankets to make the air space around them smaller. If they run out of the coop, lay, cackle, play and generally look healthy, I probably wont do a thing. I am considering using heat to induce circulation through the coop during the day though. Things just aren't seeming to dry as before. Not sure what the deal is with that.

 

[LaurelRidgeDreams]

Quote:
What a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing.

 

[2hot2chicken]

I am in Oregon and have mostly silkies so I provide a 150 watt heat lamp in my coop at all times since it started raining. My birds usually sleep on the other side of the coop away from it and do not seem to be affected by it in any way. I have it very secure so no fire hazard and I have sand in the bottom of my coop so fire risk is really minimum even if it did come down.

I use it for a couple of reasons.
1. I have young bird (some 1 month and some 3 month and the 1 month ones just got kicked out of the nest)
2. It has rained almost every day for weeks now and temps have not gotten much above freezing
3. silkies! once they get wet they are like a wet dog!
4. I let my birds free range most of the time and they have been getting really muddy no matter what I do, they scratch in the dirt and get caked up their leggs. I put mulch down to cover the mud holes and they scratch through to the dirt again.....

I only ever see my birds use the heat lamp in the evening when they 1st go in the coop. They all crowd around and groom/dry themselves in the warmth then go to bed away from the heat.....

 

[Katydid2011]

I'll put a heat lamp in the coop when it drops below freezing or sooner if I see a any purple tinge to the comb or wattles. Sounds to me like you did the right thing.