My Chickens Fight When its Cold!

With all due respect, will you take a third coop fire in as many weeks being reported here on BYC? As much as I'd hate to lose one single chicken to cold, I'd far rather lose just one than to lose my coop and let my entire flock perish in the agony of a fire - or be as badly injured as the chickens in the latest new coop fire thread are - and in the latest one the coop had to pulled away from house as it burned.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...fire-chicken-care-advice-needed#post_17927765


@KatieG509 has clearly noticed a difference in the behavior of her chickens with and without a heat lamp, safety issues aside. Now, that could mean her coop is too small to even require one and it's getting entirely too warm in there for them to roost comfortably, or it could mean they are active 24/7 and not dealing well with the sleep deprivation. Without more information on her setup it's hard to say. But I'm a firm believer in every animal getting a resting period, and obviously she's done what she thinks is right for her situation and her flock by removing what she sees as the only variable.

I do agree with you that her post is based on what she has observed herself and hasn't been reported by enough other owners to make going without a heat lamp the absolute answer to behavior issues. But I think we have to respect her experience as strongly as we respect the experience of people who have doing this a lot longer and add it to our possibilities bank. I think, frankly, that it would make a fascinating study if that hasn't been done in the past. Sorry, not volunteering for that one myself though....
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@KatieG509 We appreciate you sharing this because it might help make a difference for someone else who is experiencing unusual flock behavior and looking to pinpoint a possible cause. Welcome to BYC....glad to have you!

Make that at least 4 coop fires...just ran across another that happened on Christmas Eve. I hate these things...once again chickens were lost and some injured.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1146263/coop-fire-help-please
 
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Stuff like this popping up out if the blue looks like work of Russian hackers putting out disinformation that others latch onto as fact.


I want to see some real fact finding to back all the stuff up! I seldom use heat lamps outside of the brooder house setting and only as experiments with juvenile through adults under conditions where fuel is kept away from heat source so do not take me as an advocvate of using heat lamps. What I do not like seeing is this hyping up and use of scare tactics coupled with not acknowledging the chickens deal with extreme cold because they have to, no choice. I really do not want to see anymore folks posting how tough their birds are because they can handle -25 F in a coop because they are not experiencing -25 F in most coops.

How many birds suffer deathloss to fire as a result of heatlamps?

How many suffer deathloss due to cold? This number is more likely to be under reported as may appear due to negligence.

How many suffer frost bite?

These will not be cut and dry answers. Breed, number of birds, coop size and design need to be factored in.

This hype of extremes must be backed up. This hole mess needs to be used to set guidelines for actual minimum temperatures the birds experience as well as humidity when area is enclosed.
 
If it helps, we built our coop using he Wichita Cabin Coop plans. The entire coop/run is 5ft by 10ft, the enclosed coop is like 5ft by 4ft (I'd have to measure to be sure and it's snowy...).

Here's a picture:
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Hi Katie. New to your thread, though I did glance in previously. I agree with other posters, that a heat lamp is most likely the reason why you are seeing aggression issues with your birds. I am in a similar cold environment. During the 2 years we had the "polar vortex" when temps stayed below 0*F for weeks on end, I did supply a bit of supplemental heat, but only when I saw evidence that the birds were hypothermic. (decreased activity, and actually eating less instead of more). In a small coop (4 x 8 with 5 birds) I gave them a flower pot heater. This kicked the coop temp up 5 - 10* but did not add any light to the coop. The following year, I gave them a heat lamp several hours/day, with red bulb. My general opinion is that as long as the birds are acting fine, they don't need supplemental heat. The more important thing is that there is adequate ventilation to prevent frost bite. Do you have a nice deep litter in your coop? Is the run partially closed in with plastic to cut the wind chill and allow solar gain? In such a small coop, I'd never use a heat lamp due to the fire risk so well documented by my friend Blooie. To my knowledge, she has never visited Russia, and she does not speak or read Russian. There is an excellent thread dealing with documentation of coop temp and humidity in relation to outdoor temp and humidity. Lots of objective information being documented here. You might want to take a look at it. Heat lamps pose a serious safety risk. Last spring, a local woman was killed by a fire that started in her brooder.
 

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