my coop burned down, need heating ideas

[equus2]

If I lived closer, I'd come and help you. My parents live in MN and I've been spending quite a bit of time at Mayo with them - you all have had a brutally cold winter. Take care.

 

[chickenannie]

OMG, that's awful. Sorry you lost the hens and the building.
I read about someone on here using a ceramic heater. It was a ceramic coil and I got the impression is was much safer than a bulb or other heating source, but you might want to verify that.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

How devastating. I'm so sorry.

I always hang heat lamps by a metal chain, to something like a rafter or beam. Other people have recommended having more than one attachment point on the fixture, as well. Even a clip on lamp can have a safety chain on it, to keep it from hitting the floor. These ideas are good for brooding, too.

If you need particular roosters for breeding, it's tough. If you don't, then I would try to pick a breed with a smaller or different style of comb. Some of the winter hardy breeds still have some pretty big single combs on the roosters. Maybe look at some of the roosters with pea or walnut combs.

You've already gotten some good building ideas. You could also think about making a more sheltered roosting area, that would keep a little more of their body heat in. They can be made out of different materials and be permanent or seasonal. Basically, it's a three sided box with a roof, positioned over the roost.

Good luck with your planning. I think you'll continue to get a lot of great ideas and support.

 

[SoccerMomof7]

I too heat my coop, I just can't bear the thought that they are outside freezing when things are freezing around here, which they are at times. I have 2 heat lamps that are nailed and a oil heater. The oil heater alone can keep it warm enough it just takes sometime to warm the coop up with it, but the girls brush shaving and everything else on it and still had no problem. That is my biggest fear with the chickens, that a lamp will fall and burn the coop down. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[denimangle]

OMG ! sorry about your coop & girls ...
I don't heat the coop down here but do heat my pups useing a shop light type fixture with just a 100W bulb.
but still don't need it much.
Cheryl

 

[jubylives]

Of course the question here is not whether to heat but other heating suggestions.

I use heat lamps and have had no issues with them getting knocked down. You just gotta make sure it is properly secured.

There are other ways of to house a heat lamp. I was going to install one of these in my bathroom during the remodeling but I chose against it as I just added a heat register.

I found these for around $25. They can be found to handle up to 700 watts. This one is for 250 watt bulbs. It has been down to -28 F here this winter and with a lamp have had eggs freeze. So I am glad I used them.

Just remember to secure the lamp and wiring and use lamp housing and wiring rated at or above what you are going to be using.

jeremy

 

[patandchickens]

Of course the question here is not whether to heat but other heating suggestions.

Well, the REAL question is how to keep the coop *warmer*, right?

Electrical devices are only one of MANY ways to keep a coop warmer. They are also the only way that can cause a fire and the only one with significant ongoing expense.

Thus, it seems to me that it is real sensible to first explore/exhaust all the *other* ways to keep a coop warm in the winter.

Furthermore, the more liberally one defines 'warm' the easier the task becomes. (For most typical breeds, keeping the coop above freezing is really unneccessary - if you're getting frostbite in the 20s, it's generally because you've got inappropriate breeds or a draft or too-humid air)

JMHO,

Pat​

 

[54smokepole]

This is kind of digressing from my question. I did have winter hardy chickens. The northern plains gets weather like most people won't ever experience. Winter temperatures hit -40 F here and typical winter overnight lows are -20 F(20 below zero F), that is normal, not extreme.

I never had problems when it was 20 degrees. My coop was built like a house, 2x4 stud walls with fiberglass insulation with 1/2 plywood on the exterior and 7/16 OSB as an interior liner. The ceiling was made from 2x6's with batt insulation also and I had an insulated steel door. Even with all this insulation, 12 chickens can't keep an 8' by 12' coop warm. My water would even freeze occasionaly when under a heat lamp when it got to that -30 below (F) outside. If I don't have a water heater base under the waterer, I can't guarantee the water won't freeze.

Even if the chickens can handle the temperatures, your eggs are frozen solid before you can pick them up. Even with a well built coop, without heat up here your water freezes, your eggs freeze, and you can get frostbite on your chickens.

My experience shows that heating is not really an option.

 

[54smokepole]

By the way, thanks to all who offered ideas.

 

[azelgin]

You know, and I'm not sure it is even still available, but cable ceiling heat might work for what you need. It used to be very popular in the 1970s. It came in room specifice sizes and worked off a wall thermostat. It was either sandwitched betweed two layers of drywall, or plastered over after being installed on only one layer. It doesn't get hot enough to even discolor paint and works like the radiant floor heat, only it's on the ceiling instead. Not the most efficient, cost wise, but, it won't start a fire.


Edited 'cause I don't always spell so well.