inside vs outside temps.. and how much heat do those chickens create?

[Hillsvale]

coop is almost done, many of my "cool" looking birds are ordered for spring... I just put a thermometer in the coop.... still a bit of draft to be solved this weekend but the temp in the coop is only about 1.5 degrees (celcius) warmer than outside.... so just how much heat are the birds going to generate.

My coop is 8x8 7' high... insulated etc. so in an area like that, how much heat can say... 6 birds produce (though its looking more like we are going to have a lot more than that!!

 

[chookchick]

40 BTU per bird is the number generally quoted.

 

[Hillsvale]

Simon made a good point this morning on our way to work.... because we have been building in the winter, the wood is filled with water and thawing out. Until the wood has dried out it will keep the coop colder than it would be say... post spring.

Of course I always need to remember that the ducks here are outdoors all year floating on ponds and the Halifax harbour.... if they can do that and not freeze surely my chickens in a nice coop will be fine right?

 

[patandchickens]

It isn't important for the chickens to heat the coop air. All they need to heat is *themselves*

Seriously. They are wearing thick down overcoats that do a great job of keeping their heat where it needs to be -- IN THEIR BODIES

Six chickens are not going to greatly warm an 8x8 coop, and you will have to have ventilation open all the time to ensure good air quality once they are in there, but they will be FINE provided you DO keep good air quality i.e. dry not humid.

For more on the subject of how cold is too cold, coop temperatures, and ways of encouragint the coop to be no colder than it 'has to be', see the 'cold coop' page linked in my .sig below.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Hillsvale]

such as my comment about the ducks....

We will have more than 6 chickens... we have a bunch of interesting heritage chickens ordered, silkies etc.... I was really just trying to determine what to expect and 6 sounded like a better number than one lonely chicken!

Thanks

 

[RocketDad]

so just how much heat are the birds going to generate.

I've verified the 40 BTU listed above with other ref's (Here's one). The table shows that the heat output per pound is more for smaller birds, but more total heat per bird for larger birds.

That works out to around 10 Watt hours per bird, so 60 fully grown chickens are going to be equal to about a 60 watt bulb on at all times.

How much is enough? Well, there it gets complicated. You have to figure the total average R-factor for the entire coop, and then design for a "delta T" or difference in temp between inside and outside. If it's 0 outside and you want 35 inside, that's a 35 degree dT. The higher the dT the greater the heat load. I don't have the reference books handy or I'd baffle us both with equations.​

 

[Hillsvale]

Im an accountant.... odd BTU calculations would put me over the edge however if 1 bird puts out 10 kw of power 60 birds would be the equivalent of 6 100w bulbs (I think lol)

I also thing that the fuzzy beasts are wrapped in a down coat and if the ducks can swim all winter in sub zero temperatures that my spoilt chickens in their insulated coop will be just fine! Not that I won't worry...

Thanks Rocketdad

 

[RocketDad]

Quote:
Uh... Huh??

10 Watts does not equal 10kw. kw means thousand watts. If 1 chicken put out 10kw, 60 chickens would put out 600,000 watts, or 6,000 100w bulbs. Heck if 1 chicken put out 10kw, I'd disconnect from the power grid!

but

Yes, 60 birds would be equiv of 6 100w bulbs.

 

[Hillsvale]

don't you start with me about your KW, KB, BTU mumbo jumbo!

 

[ivan3]

patandchickens wrote: ...I hope people are basing their decisions on personal experimentation and observation, not just on an abstract or emotion-based theory clung to without serious examination of what chickens DO under different conditions.

From this thread, today: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=283287

How much heat? Well, under what conditions?

Below are some links to papers on chook thermoregulation (limited range of temp/humidity/vent - ventilation paper is on turks but I'm biased), they cover everything from calculations and thermal imaging, to what brand and model of thermocouple will suffice on the colon temps. But, all of this is ancillary (return to quote above).

Thermoregulatory Responses of Chicks (Gallus domesticus) to Low Ambient Temperatures at an Early Age: http://ps.fass.org/cgi/reprint/86/10/2200

Ventilation, Sensible Heat Loss, Broiler Energy, and Water Balance Under Harsh Environmental Conditions: http://ps.fass.org/cgi/reprint/83/2/253.pdf

Thermoregulation Responses of Broiler Chickens to Humidity at Different Ambient Temperatures. . One Week of Age: http://ps.fass.org/cgi/reprint/84/8/1166.pdf

The Effect of Ventilation on Performance Body and Surface Temperature of Young Turkeys: http://ps.fass.org/cgi/reprint/87/1/133