Is frostbite avoidable without electric heating? Should I add heat to my coop?

[2 Acres]

I have two sweeter heaters which my gang use when they feel chilly.

In the Hen House I have two IR panels (like Cozy Cool brand), this helps keep the Hen House at around 5C (40F), moisture as all are saying, is the enemy. Wet skin will freeze fast, also any sort of wind or draft will increase the risk of frost bite. Not to mention causing cold stress.

Temps here get down around -20C over night and around -10 during the day. My Hen House is in my barn (huge advantage) so it has the benefit of being sheltered, but during the day they barn will get quite chilly without the horses in there. If the chooks feel chilly they warm up under the heater then once warmed up they are off again doing whatever they do (usually tearing apart the horses’ stalls).

I personally feel that once inside temps are below -5C the chooks stop being active and hunker down. I want them active and eating and drinking not hunkered down trying to keep warm, the Sweeter Heater helps with this.

But - make sure you have no drafts of cross breezes and make sure no moisture builds up.

To check for drafts and cross breezes you can hang a feather on a string from the ceiling to say head level and let it settle - any drafts and breezes with set that feather fluttering.

To check for moisture run your fingers on the walls, of it feels damp you have moisture.

Insulation dramatically cuts down on condensation on walls/ceilings thus reducing moisture. The warmer air in the coop meets the cold wall of the coop and condensation happens.

Even with airflow you will get condensation on the walls. It will always be a bit warmer inside the coop than outside.

In the Spring/Summer you might want to look at putting some 1” foam insulation on the walls, and ceiling, cover with some thin plywood to prevent chooks from pecking it. This will help eliminate moisture.

Don’t we all just love winter??! Not!


Good luck with your chooks, oh and absolutely do not use Vaseline or oil on their combs and wattles - it will act as a barrier to prevent moisture from escaping the skin and will cause frost bite. This has been studied in northern climates and shown to be detrimental to skins integrity. Keep them dry and out of drafts!

IME foam board is a bad Idea. The chickens will peck at it and eat it.

 

[2 Acres]

I have two sweeter heaters which my gang use when they feel chilly.

In the Hen House I have two IR panels (like Cozy Cool brand), this helps keep the Hen House at around 5C (40F), moisture as all are saying, is the enemy. Wet skin will freeze fast, also any sort of wind or draft will increase the risk of frost bite. Not to mention causing cold stress.

Temps here get down around -20C over night and around -10 during the day. My Hen House is in my barn (huge advantage) so it has the benefit of being sheltered, but during the day they barn will get quite chilly without the horses in there. If the chooks feel chilly they warm up under the heater then once warmed up they are off again doing whatever they do (usually tearing apart the horses’ stalls).

I personally feel that once inside temps are below -5C the chooks stop being active and hunker down. I want them active and eating and drinking not hunkered down trying to keep warm, the Sweeter Heater helps with this.

But - make sure you have no drafts of cross breezes and make sure no moisture builds up.

To check for drafts and cross breezes you can hang a feather on a string from the ceiling to say head level and let it settle - any drafts and breezes with set that feather fluttering.

To check for moisture run your fingers on the walls, of it feels damp you have moisture.

Insulation dramatically cuts down on condensation on walls/ceilings thus reducing moisture. The warmer air in the coop meets the cold wall of the coop and condensation happens.

Even with airflow you will get condensation on the walls. It will always be a bit warmer inside the coop than outside.

In the Spring/Summer you might want to look at putting some 1” foam insulation on the walls, and ceiling, cover with some thin plywood to prevent chooks from pecking it. This will help eliminate moisture.

Don’t we all just love winter??! Not!


Good luck with your chooks, oh and absolutely do not use Vaseline or oil on their combs and wattles - it will act as a barrier to prevent moisture from escaping the skin and will cause frost bite. This has been studied in northern climates and shown to be detrimental to skins integrity. Keep them dry and out of drafts!

You are forgetting that moisture will migrate out of the ground, unless you use a vapor barrier. Heavy plastic works well.

 

[Debbie292d]

You are forgetting that moisture will migrate out of the ground, unless you use a vapor barrier. Heavy plastic works well.

She's in Canada and has chickens and horses for a few decades, so I highly doubt she's forgetting anything.

 

[2 Acres]

She's in Canada and has chickens and horses for a few decades, so I highly doubt she's forgetting anything.

Ok.

 

[Ponypoor]

IME foam board is a bad Idea. The chickens will peck at it and eat it.

they like Roxall also….

You have to cover it with 1/4” OSB (painted of course) or plywood.

Trust me my chooks eat the paint off the barn door! I know what the little so-n-so’s will eat!!

I have a couple that are also partial to eyeballs……

 

[Ponypoor]

She's in Canada and has chickens and horses for a few decades, so I highly doubt she's forgetting anything.

I also work in the construction industry (both civil and residential ).

Speaking of moisture though, one of the things to control moisture in livestock sheds here is to use indirect ventilation, this is where vents at or near the ground pull air in and then pull it through a space in the walls and out through a space near the soffits under the roof. This is done either passively or with the use of fans.

It’s a delicate balance with keeping things dry without breaking the bank!

 

[2 Acres]

Ok.

My apologies...

 

[Ponypoor]

You are forgetting that moisture will migrate out of the ground, unless you use a vapor barrier. Heavy plastic works well.

Yes this is true but most sheds and coops have a proper floor, esp around here with all the predators - everything is out to get chickens it seems. One of the easiest ways to insulate a floor is with dry shavings about 8” deep (if on dirt), and gives the chooks something to do digging it all up making a mess…..

 

[2 Acres]

they like Roxall also….

You have to cover it with 1/4” OSB (painted of course) or plywood.

Trust me my chooks eat the paint off the barn door! I know what the little so-n-so’s will eat!!

I have a couple that are also partial to eyeballs……

That why I wear cheap cheaters (glasses)

 

[Ponypoor]

My apologies...

No worries - we are all here to learn, every day is a new opportunity to learn something. Some days I relearn things I have forgotten (like don’t grab metal barn door handles with wet hands in the winter!) can’t know or remember everything now can we

It’s all about listening and learning.