Looking for suggestions for Solar Powered Heat Lamps

[Sally Beattle]

For keeping the water from freezing:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/farm-innovators-heated-base-for-poultry-water-feeder

 

[Jacqdiva]

What if you heated bricks during the day with solar panels hooked up to reptile heat pads, so the heat would radiate through the night. I'm thinking of chicks of about 4-6 weeks onwards. Any thoughts?

 

[Mrs. K]

Really and truly, it sounds counter intuitive, BUT CHICKENS DO NOT NEED HEAT! They do not need to be kept warm once they have feathers. Chicks need added heat, but not anything more than 4-6 weeks old. That is when a broody hen quit letting them get under her. They don't need it.

What chickens do need is:
* DRY surroundings - good deep bedding on the floor to absorb moisture, open ventilation above them to release moisture from the air

To keep chckens dry, they need to be away from the wall when roosting, about 12 inches. And the tops of their heads need to be below the ceiling by about 15-18 inches. When they are too close to a cold surface, the mositure from the heat around them condenses. WET chickens are Cold chickens.

I see so many tiny coops, with way too many chickens, and people nearly killing them with kindness trying to trap the heat.

Think of being in a car with 5 people in the winter with no heat - immediately the car begins to fog up. Everything gets damp. That is what you want to avoid.

Dont think heat, thing dry.

Dont think extension cords - think huge fire risk.

Mrs K

 

[Jacqdiva]

I have some breeds where the males feather quite late. Notice I didn't switch to caps to make a point?

 

[Mrs. K]

I noticed, how kind of you to mention it.

 

[MeepBeep]

BUT CHICKENS DO NOT NEED HEAT!

What they may or may not need or what makes for a better quality of life is not the same thing... This is the reason we heat our houses, not because we need to in most areas but because it improves the quality of life...

Most important, not all chickens are created the same, there are many 'cold intolerant' breeds that in fact will need supplemental heat to survive the cold without experiencing exposure damage or death... There is also a point when even the most cold hardy breeds may require heat to mitigate exposure damage or death...

In general for healthy, cold hardy breeds and moderate winter temps chickens don't need supplemental heat, but that is a generalization far from an absolute or black and white answer... As soon as you vary from the previous criteria supplemental heat may very well be needed to avoid exposure damage or death...

One should avoid black and white absolutes on supplemental heating, as the answer is simply not absolute but instead varies based on circumstances...

 

[Jacqdiva]

What they may or may not need or what makes for a better quality of life is not the same thing... This is the reason we heat our houses, not because we need to in most areas but because it improves the quality of life...

Most important, not all chickens are created the same, there are many 'cold intolerant' breeds that in fact will need supplemental heat to survive the cold without experiencing exposure damage or death... There is also a point when even the most cold hardy breeds may require heat to mitigate exposure damage or death...

In general for healthy, cold hardy breeds and moderate winter temps chickens don't need supplemental heat, but that is a generalization far from an absolute or black and white answer... As soon as you vary from the previous criteria supplemental heat may very well be needed to avoid exposure damage or death...

One should avoid black and white absolutes on supplemental heating, as the answer is simply not absolute but instead varies based on circumstances...

Well said!

 

[Mrs. K]

If you are new to chickens and are worried, please make sure that you do not think that the heat is so important it is worth the risk of possible fire and use extension cords to provide the heat.

Instead, make sure that your chickens have enough space, have enough bedding on the floor to absorb moisture, set up your roosts so that your birds are away from the walls and not close to the ceiling when the bird is roosting. There should be shelter from a breeze where the bird sets at night. However, there needs to be ventilation so that excess moisture and ammonia from the birds can escape. This will keep the birds dry. Dry and well fed birds are warm birds.

Two major problems of adding heat to birds that are detrimental to birds:
1. The risk of fire due to improperly wired coops, and extension cords, and or flammable bedding too close to the heat source.
2. In an effort to trap the heat, one traps the moisture and ammonia created by the birds, by making the coop air tight.

Many birds spend the winter outside all winter long.

Mrs K

 

[Jacqdiva]

Not new to chickens. Don't heat for chickens. I heat for chicks. My Croad Langshans have no feathers while all their mates in the brooder are fully feathered and ready to go to the growing pen. The CL will have a bit more brooder detention but only at night.

Looking for cheaper options for heating the brooder. I have found the answers on another thread.

 

[enola]

The biggest problem I see with heating a chicken house? The chickens are used to being warm . . . And then for some reason the electricity goes out . . . . Now your chickens will be COLD.