Keeping the coop warm in the winter, HOW?

[suliah]

Last year I put my chicks outside for the first time in December... They were about 3 months old already, but I'm in Michigan (and it was a COLD winter)!

I have a small coop, not heated, not insulated (and not well vented honestly, it was my first build).

When I first put them out there on December 1, I was worried about it being too cold. I put a heat lamp in the corner of the coop. And had a friend watch my house and chickens while I was out of town the first week in December. When I came home, the first thing that I noticed was that the coop was dark. Apparently the chickens had attacked the light! I found the bulb (intact) in one corner, the metal cover in the other corner, and the base sitting on the ground.

I figured that was their way of telling me they didn't need a heater, so I never put another out there. And all 8 of my Isa Browns survived the worst winter in west Michigan history just fine!

Currently building a bigger coop (with ventilation this time!) for this winter since I've aquired a few more family members, and it will not be heated or insulated either.


Actually, one hint is this-- do NOT brush the snow off your coop. Snow itself is a good insulator. My coop had 3.5 feet of snow on it most of the winter, and that kept it pretty warm.

 

[song of joy]

I have a question I REALLY NEED answering!
Okay, I have one of those hanging bucket waterers with the poultry water sippers in the bottom. Last year I didn't have chickens (luckily) and we had a horrible winter here in Pennsylvania. But now that I do I am freaking out on how I'm gonna keep their water bucket from feezing to the point where they can't drink! Any tips?

Hi. I'm in PA also. Boy . . . you're right about last winter in PA! It was brutal. The best solution I've found for winter is to put a galvanized metal double-wall fount on top of an electric heater base (they make these specifically for the founts). I create a platform of bricks on the ground outside the coop, place the heated base on the bricks, and then place the double-wall fount on the heated base. This reduces the risk of fire (by using bricks) and reduces moisture in the coop (by keeping the waterer outside). I run about 100 feet of electric extension cord to the heated base, as I don't have an electric hook-up for my coop, but this set up works great.

 

[Roxannemc]

Your coop looks fairly small so their body heat should warm it nicely if you have 3-4 hens.
When it got really deep cold last winter I laid Styrofoam insulation on some of my tractor coop roofs and covered with plastic.Also I used batts of straw on some roofs and against the coop walls then plastic tarp to hold it all In place worked well.Toasty.
Your roof is sloped so straw batts might not work. On it but Styrofoam sheets would work and straw batts against the walls.
Heat lamps are a bad idea because if electric goes out or your bulb the won't be accustom to that level of cold.
You'll be surprised at The body heat they put out.
If they are very young you may need a light bulb not heat lamp..though as they can't take as much cold as adults
I might use 2 light bulbs in case one goes out.

 

[torilovessmiles]

I was in an Ag & Natural resources class in high school, and I was placed in charge of the chickens. We rigged our waterers by wrapping them in foil-faced bubble wrap several times and filling them with warm water. The insulation kept the water from freezing a few hours longer than without any insulation, but it was still a pain trying to go out and thaw those things every morning.
I really want to use a heated watering device for my personal chickens this winter, but I don't have electricity to my coop. Can I safely use an outdoor extension cable to get electricity to them? How do I chicken-proof it?
Thanks

 

[Kusanar]

I was in an Ag & Natural resources class in high school, and I was placed in charge of the chickens. We rigged our waterers by wrapping them in foil-faced bubble wrap several times and filling them with warm water. The insulation kept the water from freezing a few hours longer than without any insulation, but it was still a pain trying to go out and thaw those things every morning.
I really want to use a heated watering device for my personal chickens this winter, but I don't have electricity to my coop. Can I safely use an outdoor extension cable to get electricity to them? How do I chicken-proof it?
Thanks

Check all of the ratings on everything and make sure that whatever you are plugging in does not say not to use an extension cord, the longer the cord, the higher the resistance, so the hotter the wire gets and will sometimes start a fire if you plug the wrong thing into an extension cord for too long. That said, I would dril a hole in the side of the coop and put some PVC or metal pipe from the hole to where you are taking the power to keep the chickens from playing with the cord. I have horses and have had to rig some pretty odd setups to keep horses from electrocuting themselves on tank heaters.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Check all of the ratings on everything and make sure that whatever you are plugging in does not say not to use an extension cord, the longer the cord, the higher the resistance, so the hotter the wire gets and will sometimes start a fire if you plug the wrong thing into an extension cord for too long. That said, I would dril a hole in the side of the coop and put some PVC or metal pipe from the hole to where you are taking the power to keep the chickens from playing with the cord. I have horses and have had to rig some pretty odd setups to keep horses from electrocuting themselves on tank heaters.

Thanks for the advice

 

[RezChamp]

I was in an Ag & Natural resources class in high school, and I was placed in charge of the chickens. We rigged our waterers by wrapping them in foil-faced bubble wrap several times and filling them with warm water. The insulation kept the water from freezing a few hours longer than without any insulation, but it was still a pain trying to go out and thaw those things every morning.
I really want to use a heated watering device for my personal chickens this winter, but I don't have electricity to my coop. Can I safely use an outdoor extension cable to get electricity to them? How do I chicken-proof it?
Thanks

Hi.
Depending on on how far away your coop is from your house and what wattage you'll be putting out there will determine what is safe.
My coop is about 140' from the house. The heavy gauge extension cord just lays on the ground uNtil it gets to the pen where it is tied up about 8 feet high with nylon rope onto rails(skinny trees) stuck in the ground. I drilled a hole just large enough for the end to fit though the coop wall just below the eave. Of course I used a drip loop out side. Inside the cord is attached to the wall with (here we call them) electrician's staples and that's how we attach them where-ever we use them. Mind you inside the coop inside the coop the cord in an area the chickens can't reach. Unless of course they went out of their way to jump at it which is the only way they would get at it.
My coop at it's highest consumption would reach 900 watts.
I have another building using power from the house. It consumes upwards or 2000 watts per hr for up to 6 hrs on some days. It's a little structure about 350 ft from the house that we use as a crafts room. It is insulated and heated with a 1700W space heater and uses flouescent light fixtures. 10 gauge int./ext wire is used to service it. The wire is up 10ft on rails right from the house, none on the ground. No problems once I figured out heavier gauge wire was needed. The "crafts room" has been there for 15 years now.
I hope this helps you
HAGD

 

[scorpioman82]

This is gonna sound weird but it does work....birds are distantly related to reptiles, one way we kept our chickens warm in the winter was we bought a couple of large heat rocks, it gives them the option to get warm when they need it, just watch how high you set the temp. They are also right that you need a bigger coop with better ventilation.

 

[appps]

I can't see the answer to the most important question. What exactly is "pretty cold"? Some people would consider that below freezing others nowhere near that, you may not actually be cold enough to need anything, most chickens don't, they adjust to the temps as long as they are nice and dry and out of the wind.

So what exactly are you expecting your minimum nighttime temperatures over winter to be?

 

[RezChamp]

[COLOR=333333]am new to this so am not too sure what to do, i live in UK and it can get cold here at night, would a heat lamp help? i have a normal chicken coop fits about 10 hens i got 10 in there. i am going to be changing this coop and getting a 6x4 shed so i can walk in and have easy access to the coop. [/COLOR] what would be the best way to keep them warm. This is my coop.

I would think you don't really need any heat for your chickens in the UK. I think they are probably good for even extended periods of -10*C. It's the moisture thing you would need to contend with. Where I live moisture is pretty prevalent all spring and early summer most years. I keep pigeons as well as chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, and turkeys. That's just the birds. Anyhow,.... Our winters can get pretty fierce here. The birds spend ALOT of time in the coops so moisture builds up. I don't get condensation much because the coops are either hollow wall or fully insulated but the air/humidity does climb sometimes. Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation seems to be the cure. All though where I live the cold will freeze anything, ventilation helps somewhat reduce my problems. Electric heat is a very dry heat(we burn wood in our furnace) and cold air supports less moisture than warm. So the way I figure it the only moisture you would need to concern yourself with mostly about is from your birds breath and poop. Your coop is cute. I wish i could get away with cute coops where I live, but.... Anyway....yup....I think you gotta get a bigger one. I think coops are similar to aquariums. For the same amount of fish larger aquariums are more forgiving. I think any environment is like that. Eg; UK , small landmass, surrounded by Atlantic Ocean, very large body of water. Good for temperature moderation. Perhaps not so good for humidity but nonetheless good temp mod.