i finally had to give in and get a heat lamp for the chickens!!!

[Mattemma]

It was 20's but feels like 3 I read,and yet my hens were out digging in the dirt. My molting hens however were staying pretty much in the chicken shed. I am glad my hens go out,but I have no winter boots and standing out in the cold was worse on me than the hens. I did notice some of my hens puff up every so often. Just letting you know so you don't worry if the heat goes out. Last year I just had 3 hens in the shed.I took out milk jugs filled with hot water. They did fine in the metal shed.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

You folks from the north need to remember that in Georgia and Florida, our daytime temp rarely gets below 50 degrees. Our birds don't gradually become accustomed to the cold like they do in the northern states. It frequently goes from 70's during the day to mid 20's that night when a cold front comes through. A couple of years ago it went from 86 degrees during the day to 14 that night.

Although my coops are open-air with hardware cloth walls on 3 sides, I typically don't use heat lamps in my adults coops...but anything under 4 months of age gets a heat lamp turned on if the temp is going to be below 32 degrees.

So I agree with the OP and would use some heat during the night. We do turn them off asap in the mornings because, again, the days warm up down here.

 

[SillyChicken]

I kinda think we got cold quick this year. I have a heat lamp in my coop. I've got a few young chicks out there that I'm keeping warm. It's been in the teens during the night (only 19 deg now) and only 20's during the day. The older chicks and hens roost on the roosts, but the little ones all huddle around the light. They didn't have time to acclimate to this weather because they were still in the brooder until I took them outside and it was already cold by then. I have it secured very well so I'm not conserned with fire. Next year they probably won't get a lamp.

 

[perolane]

Quote:
Same here in Louisiana. We had a day last week where it was in the 80's then by 10pm temps dropped down to 21. Also we have "damp" cold verses the "dry" cold some of you have.

I have heat lamps now as I've had a few with sinusitus & wanted the extra warmth for the coop...but have just ordered the Sweeter Heater so I won't have to worry about a fire hazard.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I'm not as far north as some folks here, but we get darn cold and have plenty of temp swings before winter settles in too. It's not unusual to go from a high in the 60's here one day to a high in the 20's or 30's the next day. I've never noticed any adverse reactions in my birds.

 

[Orchid]

Quote:
I'm not as far north as some folks here, but we get darn cold and have plenty of temp swings before winter settles in too. It's not unusual to go from a high in the 60's here one day to a high in the 20's or 30's the next day. I've never noticed any adverse reactions in my birds.

Same here Katy; it can be 70 one day and below freezing that night, with a high of 40 the next day. In fact, we can have a storm go through in the summer and I have personally seen the temp drop 20 degrees in a half an hour. All of my animals have proper shelter and have not yet had a problem.

Of course, anyone can do what they like as far as heating their coops go, and I'm not saying it isn't warranted; just that I personally would find some other way to heat it besides clamping a heat lamp to the roosting bar, as the OP said they did.

 

[sourland]

Where in the North are these gradual temperature changes? Temps here have just dropped from the mid 60's to the 20's in a matter of days. Everything is surviving.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
Now there's a nice sentiment

OP (to whom that comment was not addressed), PLEASE make sure that your lamp is extremely well secured. It worries me everytime I read of clamped lamps. And use the smallest wattage bulb you can to take the chill off if you choose to use one.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
That's exposure, not cold. You can die from exposure at 50* A healthy, fully feathered chicken that can get in out of the weather should not have an internal drop in temperature that fast even if the outside temperature drops 80 degrees. It isn't like it's 80 one minute and 0 the next. They should adjust if they're healthy.

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
Not all of them can. You need to know the cold hardiness of the kind of chicken you have. Some of them cannot tolerate such cold temps. Seramas are a good example of a kind of chicken that is not cold hardy at all.