Know What I Noticed This Winter??

[redhen]

That NONE of my flock got frost bite!! And the only thing i did differently this winter from last winter was i didnt use ANY heat in their coop this winter.
Last winter i used a wall heater (on VERY low ) and a couple heat lamps for heat. And alot of my birds got frost bite. But this year i used NO heat and NONE got frost bite....
I'm thinking that the heat made condensation inside the coop..and thats how they got frostbite?? Weird..

ooh.. i almost forgot... the only other thing i did differently was, last year i used vaseline on their combs to protect their combs... this year i didnt use any.... maybe that was it?? I dont know....

 

[agnes_day]

i dont know but i love your picture..that is so cute!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
hee hee, thanks!

 

[speckledhen]

If moisture builds in a coop, that encourages frostbite. So, with all the dampness from poop and respiration and you closing down the ventilation a bit and adding heat, yes, I think that may have been the problem, Wendy.

 

[redhen]

Thanks, Cyn.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

This was the first winter that I've ever been concerned that some of my birds might get frostbite!

.....Alan.

 

[Keara]

Until this past year I had a coop I borrowed from a friend, with a heat lamp in the winter. He is a boat builder and the coop was "very" tight, no drafts! Well this year I had my new less tight, well vented, coop that my husband built. I was worried at first, but like you I had no frostbite this year. The only heat they had was passive solar, and from the water heater. I am very happy to have learned that babying my birds with tight coops and expensive heat is not only not needed, but bad for them.

 

[dawg53]

I live on the Georgia/ Florida border on the coast and this was the longest cold snap I've seen in over 30 years. There were 2 weeks in January I had to bring all my chickens in the garage. Fortunately I have plenty of crates and cages, it made a good practice drill in case we had to evacuate for a hurricane. A.T. Hagan- I can certainly relate lol!

 

[gritsar]

I'm glad you didn't have those problems this year Miz Red.

You know I don't heat my coop and it's always extremely dry in there, more so in the wintertime.

 

[speckledhen]

Think about this comparison: if you have a flood in the house, say from a water heater, to dry out carpets, you don't close up the house and turn up the heat. That only makes mildew and mold form. You open the windows and use fans to blow out the moisture or the carpet will rot and smell really fab.

So heat added to moisture is not a good thing--just think about the bacteria growth!