keeping single, one-legged chicken warm in miniature outdoor coop

[the-bird-man]

if i were you i would try pats water idea, i know from dealing with greenhouses that they put in ponds or make a wall of black bags filled with water with the idea that the sun heats the water in the day and the water heats the greenhouse at night. or have you seen the things they put around tomato plants called "wall of water" its the same kind of deal. if you boil water before bed and put it in a jug or bucket, it should keep the coop warm until morning

 

[Rozzie]

If you do decide to go with jugs of water -- avoid milk jugs. They are not made for continual reuse & I've had MANY leak. A leaking milk jug would cause the hen's bedding to get wet very quickly and she will probably die of hypothermia by morning. If you decide to try a jug of warm water, then please use a vinegar or well rinsed bleach jug. These seem to last much longer before the seams start to leak.

Do you have a garage or any sort of out building with electricity? This could provide a place for her at night other than inside your house. What about moving her mini coop right up against the house? Do you have any outdoor electrical outlets anywhere along the outside of the house? You could place her coop near one of those and then have a way to provide her with a heat source.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Well sure, there is nothing magic about lidded kitty litter buckets

-- they're just common and handy and reasonably big. Milk jugs or carboys or whatever other good-sized containers you have would work about as well. Ideally you want larger rather than smaller containers, as they will hold the warmth longer. (Although if all you have is smaller containers, obviously that's still better than nothing, and if you can safely pile several small ones right together against each other, and maybe insulate part of the pile, that would help somewhat too)

(e.t.a. - not sure what you are thinking in terms of "not add as much humidity" but none of these things would add humidity... the idea is to have the lid ON the lidded kitty litter bucket <g>, or the milkjug cap screwed on, or whatever. So it is a large sealed container of water)

Pat

Thanks...oh I did not realize you meant there would be a lid.

 

[pawprint2104]

Yeah, I missed the lid thing, too. I had a totally different picture in mind.