Keeping The Coop Warm In The Winter

[ABlovinmychicks]

this is our 1st winter with hens, so while we did lots of research & built our henhouse with winter in mind. We are finding some things just aren't working as well as we'd hoped.
Coop is insulated &we put in a heat lamp & put our waterer directly under the lamp. The henhouse itself seems to be staying ok warm for our girls but unfortunately it's not enough to keep the water from freezing.... So hubby yesterday decided to make a cinderblock heater & waterer holder.. I just installed it this morning (glue had to cure overnight). I'm hoping when I check on them this afternoon the waterer isn't iced up!
I did a good 8" of shavings, the window has a plexiglass slider so I can monitor how much airflow for ventilation & haven't had a single problem with humidity in the coop.
Our 5 gals are pretty thrilled with their set up considering where we got them they were in a horse stall in a barn! Now for them to start laying for us!

 

[tracecom]

Seems to be working well in freezing temps. On very cold days, I turn my lamps on 24/7 and on 40 degree and above I use the lamps from dusk to dawn only.

I think I recall from another thread that you are using two 250 watt heat lamps. If that is correct, and your electric rates are $.15 per KWH, those lamps are costing 7 1/2 cents per hour, or $1.80 per 24-hour day, or $54 per 30-day month. It's your business and your money, but I wouldn't pay that to heat a coop.

 

[hen madame]

I use a radiant heat panel above the roost at night to give the girls a little bit of comfort. Last year Wisconsin had many -30 F nights (not including wind chill), and my girls came through, no problem and no frostbite.

 

[hen madame]

Forgot to add that I gave them BOSS or scratch just before bedtime to keep their engines running through the night.

 

[Heme]

Farmgirl02, seems as if your method works OK and that is great. Usually here in Tennessee, our temperature is moderate (40-50 degrees) during the winter and 90+ in the summer. In 2014 and again this January we have experienced "0" to "30" for several days in a row. The issue of our hens getting frostbite or excessively cold is not actually a vital consideration as we have our coop along the southeast side of out residence; well protected from the North or NW winds. The light I used primarily keeps the Water Fount from icing up and as others told me: additional light up to 12 hours helps encourage hens to lay better. So far, our gals seem to be laying very well and no different than the summer time.

 

[Heme]

Excellent deduction: I think I recall from another thread that you are using two 250 watt heat lamps. If that is correct, and your electric rates are $.15 per KWH, those lamps are costing 7 1/2 cents per hour, or $1.80 per 24-hour day, or $54 per 30-day month. It's your business and your money, but I wouldn't pay that to heat a coop.

The dual 250 Lamps were only used 2 times when the temperature hit "0" and when the temp got up to 30+ I shut them down. I have ONE lamp on from Dusk to Dawn (Timer) when the 30's are prevalent; otherwise I substitute a 40 Watt white lamp to keep the hens laying on schedule. The Heat from the 250W did a great job keeping the Water Fount free of ice.

In short: Thanks for your Calculations> I never considered the cost and I appreciate brining that to my attention.
PS: And I thought my eclectic bill was high due to my Christmas lights...Oh Well?

 

[Cluckies]

this is our 1st winter with hens, so while we did lots of research & built our henhouse with winter in mind. We are finding some things just aren't working as well as we'd hoped.
Coop is insulated &we put in a heat lamp & put our waterer directly under the lamp. The henhouse itself seems to be staying ok warm for our girls but unfortunately it's not enough to keep the water from freezing.... So hubby yesterday decided to make a cinderblock heater & waterer holder.. I just installed it this morning (glue had to cure overnight). I'm hoping when I check on them this afternoon the waterer isn't iced up!
I did a good 8" of shavings, the window has a plexiglass slider so I can monitor how much airflow for ventilation & haven't had a single problem with humidity in the coop.
Our 5 gals are pretty thrilled with their set up considering where we got them they were in a horse stall in a barn! Now for them to start laying for us!

This coop looks good, I'd take advantage of that run for the winter as well, It wouldn't take much with your set up, i'd put a cover on it, plastic panels or something like that to keep the snow out and then the girls would have tons of room to roam even in the winter. also, you may want to rethink the chicken wire and get hardware cloth, keep more predators out. chicken wire won't stop much...

I used greenhouse panels on my run to keep snow out (it was already covered). you've got the fence and the house, good set up, just throw a roof on there for next year. My girls spend all day outside, even in below zero weather
Here is mine:

Open on the south side


greenhouse panels on the east

 

[ABlovinmychicks]

The cinderblock waterer heater hubby built me is awesome!!! waterer no longer freezing, coop stays warmer (running 2 60watt bulbs) & now I only have to have the heat lamp on for a few hours in the early morning to simulate extra daylight for laying, so it's actually cut my "costs" in 1/2!!!! & I only have to plug in the cinderblock heater when we have below 0 temps!

On nice days the door to the run is open & yes we plan on doing something like a clear plastic on the roof & door to keep out the excessive snow that's fallen & drifted in. 1 of the gals got a bit adventurous yesterday & peaked out but they're not too sure yet. On Monday I picked them up and put them out in the run & they huddled around my feet just waiting to be let back in. Silly baby's!
We are in an urban chicken keeper so we don't have to worry too much about serious "predators" we do have a couple hawks & couple neighborhood cats....

 

[Cluckies]

Yes, they would love a cover, mine do and since no snow is in there, they are out everyday.
Cute girls!

My co-worker lives in a big city and a raccoon grabbed one of his chickens through the chicken wire, broke the chicken wire, he's had chickens for 3 years with no issue, never saw any predators, but it only takes one raccoon, one time

He had to try and find his other two chickens in the neighborhood, they got away but were both terrified. He did find them eventually.