My coop burned down

[The Great Eel Man]

So sorry for your loss! Please PM me - I own a website that sells coop plans, if you plan on building a new coop I will send you whatever plans you like, for free.

All the best.
-Maria

Hi, thanks so much for your kindness and I will definitely take a look at some plans, but how exactly do you PM people?, (Lol, sorry i'm still learning about this website)

 

[staceyj]

I am terribly sorry for your loss today!
What a miracle that you and your family and your home and your chickens are unhurt though.
It is a costly inconvenience to replace your coop, I'm sure, but honestly it's a true blessing that your home isn't a black pile of burned rubble as well!

Check out Craigslist and LETGO
Do a search for terms in the free/for sale sections.
Curb alert
Coop
Shed
Dog run
Swingset (can easily be made into a chicken tractor)
Playhouse

Any of these terms might lead you to a great surprise with just a dash of imagination!

Also PLACE and add on Craigslist starting with:
In search of....
Tell your story like you did here.
It's possible that someone has a coop or knows someone who does, that's no longer in use, but they just haven't bothered getting rid of it because it's a hassle, who would be willing to let it go if they knew someone needed it.

Very best wishes that the new year brings you good luck with your flock.
Stacey

 

[JacksonPearce]

Oh no! How frustrating and terrible. I'm so glad your chickens are okay, and glad YOUR house/the surrounding area didn't catch. Hang in there.

 

[h2oratt]

I am very sorry. It is hard when you have worked so hard on something b

 

[KentuckyRooster]

So sorry

Make sure in the future your water heaters are intended for use in a plastic bucket, this type will have a special cage on it- it does sound like your heater was the culprit. We use these type of heaters with horses in big plastic troughs and if you read the box it always says whether or not they can be used on plastic or metal.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

First let me thank you for taking the time to start this thread, so sorry you lost your coop and very glad that your flock is okay and that so many people have offered such great advice. There was an article here recently regarding this type of thing, which I read, As my girls are spoiled rotten we were using a heat lamp when the temp got close to freezing. That stopped after reading the article, unlike you I live in southern Louisiana and really have no use for heating for the girls, so we have stopped that. In around 6 years of keeping chickens, I have had to break the ice film on the water bucket only a few times. I will continue to use that method when necessary. I learned so much by reading this thread. So I must thank you again for taking the time to inform all of us about this potential danger as well as all the good people who offered important information regarding fire hazards and what to do if for any reason you find yourself without a coop. Such a great site!! Good luck with all the work you have in front of you!

 

[KentuckyRooster]

First let me thank you for taking the time to start this thread, so sorry you lost your coop and very glad that your flock is okay and that so many people have offered such great advice. There was an article here recently regarding this type of thing, which I read, As my girls are spoiled rotten we were using a heat lamp when the temp got close to freezing. That stopped after reading the article, unlike you I live in southern Louisiana and really have no use for heating for the girls, so we have stopped that. In around 6 years of keeping chickens, I have had to break the ice film on the water bucket only a few times. I will continue to use that method when necessary. I learned so much by reading this thread. So I must thank you again for taking the time to inform all of us about this potential danger as well as all the good people who offered important information regarding fire hazards and what to do if for any reason you find yourself without a coop. Such a great site!! Good luck with all the work you have in front of you!

If you can get by without a heater in your bucket, do. The less stuff you have running the better.

Here it's too cold for that. Horses and chickens alike require heaters for their water to keep it from turning to ice, sometimes it's so cold your snot freezes to your face and the horses have icicles in their whiskers and snow frozen onto their hair. Today I cleaned my horse's pasture and the poo was frozen to the ground and had to be chipped off with a shovel before it could be removed and this was late afternoon, overnight it gets way colder. The horses are alright and so are the birds, they are equipped for the weather better than we are! I do give a lil heat to my birds though. But they spend plenty of time outside in the brutal cold and it doesn't harm them any, they can handle it. They have shelter from the wind and ice and snow if they need it.

I know near freezing probably feels cold to you but I promise your chickies are ok!

 

[Ursuline Chick]

If you can get by without a heater in your bucket, do. The less stuff you have running the better.

Here it's too cold for that. Horses and chickens alike require heaters for their water to keep it from turning to ice, sometimes it's so cold your snot freezes to your face and the horses have icicles in their whiskers and snow frozen onto their hair. Today I cleaned my horse's pasture and the poo was frozen to the ground and had to be chipped off with a shovel before it could be removed and this was late afternoon, overnight it gets way colder. The horses are alright and so are the birds, they are equipped for the weather better than we are! I do give a lil heat to my birds though. But they spend plenty of time outside in the brutal cold and it doesn't harm them any, they can handle it. They have shelter from the wind and ice and snow if they need it.

I know near freezing probably feels cold to you but I promise your chickies are ok!

@BabyBoss Thank you, and yes it took us a while to figure out that what we think is cold is probably nothing to our girls. God bless you for all the hard work you do for your animals in winter.

 

[Hokum Coco]

What area of new Brunswick do you live in

I live about ½ kilometer from the city limits of Moncton. because I know that it can be a lot warmer there than here I am subject to -40º not every day of course (specifically USDA zones) and I also had the cord plugged into a GFCI outlet that was pre-installed on my house and had just purchased that high quality outdoor extension cord (That just ended up getting destroyed!) because I read your other post on this issue and was concerned about any sort of problems with the connection itself. (MY COOP HAS NO ELECTRICITY PERIOD).

In a perfect world the GFCI outlet trips when there is a short to ground as you are probably aware. Which provides a good safety net against most fires. This makes me think that it was not a short that caused your loss. Sounds more like a heat source that came in contact with bedding. Of course that is only a guess and I could be mistaken. If your heat lamp fell into your bedding that also may have been a source of the fire.

However your best guess as I have read was the water heater.

Was the GFCI working properly? Mine just pooped the bed this year coincidentally after 40 years. Was the water heater submerged in water? Could the chickens somehow upset the water and expose your water heater to the bedding? Did the water heater have a 3 prong plug? Do you think there was a fault in the water heater that initiated the blaze itself? Was the water heater thermostatically controlled? Was you heat lamp on a safety chain?

Is there any possibility of another source of fire that has nothing to do with electricity?

I did heat my water at one point before I retired but my method was a thermostatically controlled electrical heater tape (that only came on when temperatures went below freezing) wrapped around the outside of a plastic bucket. Every so often my heater tape would poop the bed but it always last for years and gave me excellent service. That would be my advice to anyone wanting to keep water from freezing.

Once again I am sorry for your loss.

Accidents happen no matter what professionals are hired or safe guards put in place.

I think it is "REMARKABLE" that you did not loose your flock.

 

[Krazyquilts]

First and foremost my condolences on the loss of your coop.
It has happened every year since I became a member on this site.
It does not make the loss less tragic in any respect.
There are times when electricity is a definite advantage in your coop.

My method for dealing with winter is quite simple one extra feeder of whole corn. I live in Canada subject to -40º. I have 67 trips around the sun. I have raised various types of chickens and birds for decades.

TLC still has to be provided to birds that may not be adapting well to the diet. For the most part birds are vocal happy and do just fine. NO HEAT NO EXTRA LIGHT please and thank you works fine for me and my flock.

If for any reason you find it necessary to supply electricity to your coop via extension cord.

Please employ a "Ground Fault Outlet" also use a "Safety Chain" in conjunction to any heat lamp or incandescent bulb after mounting.
One coop fire is too many and these precautions could be the difference.

A simple action such as a rodent chewing on your extension cord could be the cause of a coop fire and a ground fault circuit could be the difference in witnessing your coop in tack or a pile of smoldering ash.

P.S. There are now a variety of ground fault extension cords available in major retail centers that also would be a wise investment.

Excellent post!