My coop caught on fire!! *Pics added in Post 15*

[Lesalynn]

Larry's right, ya'll. Once our chicks are fully feathered, they don't need the heat lamps. I haven't provided mine with any past 4-6 weeks, myself. This will be my first winter to even use the christmas lights, and that's strictly to keep up egg production. As long as you have a well secured coop and minimize cold drafts to your best ability your chicks should be absolutely safe. Of all the little ones I've added to my main flock, I've not lost one yet to the cold. Myself, I don't think I could sleep very well at night with a heat source of any kind going without supervision. Kind of like letting a candle burn somewhere in your house while in bed?? But that's just my opinion. Mostly I just try to make sure predators can't get to them. They're more likely to come to harm that way than freezing to death. We all live and learn. I know I've learned a lot from my mistakes. Everyone makes them. After all....we're only human. We can always do better next go 'round.

 

[woodmort]

Kat's Silly Chickens :

Quote:
No problem Larry,
We won't be putting any heat in our coop. I was just now thinking on a little light in the evening, I go outside every 2 hours to have a cig up until 1am and I will check on them at those times. A little light to see them would be nice but I can carry a flash light also.
Our barn/coop is at the back left corner of our .87 acre and it's very dark back there. If I wanted to put up Christmas lights it would be on the outside of the exterior run, not inside the coop. And only to see that there are no predators around the coop.

Thank you for your advice Larry, I will listen.

If you're considering putting lights in the coop, whether regular fixture or Christmas lights, consider either florescent, cfs or LED's--all burn cool so there is less chance of their starting a fire. While you're at it be careful how you're getting electricity out there, If the coop isn't wired for electricity don't use those light extension cords--make sure the cord you're using is at least #12 wire and fly it, don't run it along the ground, especially if you live where there is an expect snow accumulation.

BTW Whose Larry?​

 

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

Quote:
No problem Larry,
We won't be putting any heat in our coop. I was just now thinking on a little light in the evening, I go outside every 2 hours to have a cig up until 1am and I will check on them at those times. A little light to see them would be nice but I can carry a flash light also.
Our barn/coop is at the back left corner of our .87 acre and it's very dark back there. If I wanted to put up Christmas lights it would be on the outside of the exterior run, not inside the coop. And only to see that there are no predators around the coop.

Thank you for your advice Larry, I will listen.

If you're considering putting lights in the coop, whether regular fixture or Christmas lights, consider either florescent, cfs or LED's--all burn cool so there is less chance of their starting a fire. While you're at it be careful how you're getting electricity out there, If the coop isn't wired for electricity don't use those light extension cords--make sure the cord you're using is at least #12 wire and fly it, don't run it along the ground, especially if you live where there is an expect snow accumulation.

BTW Whose Larry?

Thanks again Larry was thinking in that same manner.
If we do decide to put up string lights on the outside of the run area the electric cord will be a 100+ ft heavy utility cord, and definitely be up high enough we can't strangle ourselves on it.
And that is an if we do it. No cords on the ground my Jack Russell would chew on it.

 

[wildeflowers]

I also have to reiterate that the when my heat lamp burst into flames, IT WAS NOT THE BULB THAT WAS THE PROBLEM! It is not just the heat from the bulb that is a risk. The wiring INSIDE the lamp malfunctioned, and it burst into flames. It is pure luck that I happened to be there at that moment. Otherwise, our coop would have gone down in flames.

Sorry to shout, but no ones seems to hear this.

I had it plugged into a heavy duty extension cord, and it was attached to the rafters in my coop. I had taken it down, the lamp went out and it started buzzing. The only reason I had it out there to begin with was because I was acclimating little ones that had been indoors under a heat lamp. My plan was to get them acclimated to our frigid nights and then ditch the lamp, because ANY electricity in a structure like a chicken coop is a risk. Wiring can fail at any time, especially cheap wiring like heat lamps and Christmas lights, and does not take much to start an electrical fire. I have no idea what I'm going to do about the water situation in the winter. It is so cold here, water outside doesn't last for long before freezing. I am very nervous to put a water heater in the coop.

I would hate for anyone, self included to lose a coop to fire.

 

[dirtsaver]

Quote:
No problem Larry,
We won't be putting any heat in our coop. I was just now thinking on a little light in the evening, I go outside every 2 hours to have a cig up until 1am and I will check on them at those times. A little light to see them would be nice but I can carry a flash light also.
Our barn/coop is at the back left corner of our .87 acre and it's very dark back there. If I wanted to put up Christmas lights it would be on the outside of the exterior run, not inside the coop. And only to see that there are no predators around the coop.

Thank you for your advice Larry, I will listen.

If you're considering putting lights in the coop, whether regular fixture or Christmas lights, consider either florescent, cfs or LED's--all burn cool so there is less chance of their starting a fire. While you're at it be careful how you're getting electricity out there, If the coop isn't wired for electricity don't use those light extension cords--make sure the cord you're using is at least #12 wire and fly it, don't run it along the ground, especially if you live where there is an expect snow accumulation.

BTW Whose Larry?

Who's Larry?? That'd be me!!!!!!!!

 

[EweSheep]

I've experience coop fires and one basement "wanna-be" fires until I read up on putting up CHAINS and snaps on ends so they dont ever come apart and attached to the ceiling with metal screws and bolted in LOL.

Never again would I put in lights in a coop. I would rather knit or buy doggie sweaters for the girls if it is that bad. I never had to supplement heat at all except to give them warm water in the morning and evenings, along with warm oatmeal and scratch before going to bed.

And raise the chicks in the summer was a better deal for me with Momma Orp, she raised them well and all of them survived to this day. At this time in the 30's in the nights, they are pretty much feathered and growing some more. Some of them are in the molt stage but that's ok.

 

[dieselgrl48]

Wow glad your bird's are ok.Sadly When We were newbie's at it we lost a brooder of about 40 chick's almost one coop and possibly our house if We had not been home.I dont think I ever cried so much that night I tried to recoup half of the chicks all night but lost them all

.Even after a couple of years We had an almost fire problem with a double brooder box son in law had built in horse stall for us.Now I make sure all lamp wire's are wired to something secure.I have brooded some duckling's in a building since quite a few times' but make sure no other birds in to knock anything around and wire that cord up good.It happen's sadly thing's can happen in a flash.Just glad your bird's are ok.I have 3 brooder's in basement now and constantly worry about them still.Some good bedding hay etc. will usualy be ok if they have a closed in coop area.I just sold 6 2 month old cochin and OEGB's that has been in coop for a bit now and they did really good this last couple of week's of cold temp's by themselves.

 

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

Sorry dirtsaver, I got you mixed up with woodmort. It may have been his abrupt manner that caused my confusion. Woodmort I don't always type what I'm thinking (I have MS and don't always word things right), and I think you read more into my Christmas light agreement than was necessary. When I ask for advice I like not to be yelled at in CAPS. But Thank you All for your advice

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Quote:
Using CFL bulbs is NOT smart!


When CFL bulbs break, they spread poisonous MERCURY all about. This is a danger to YOU, your child, and your chickens.


Google CFL bulbs and mercury for more information on this very real danger.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Mandy,


First of all, I am very sorry you had this happen, but at least glad that it wasn't worse and that your chickens are OK.


I know you are looking for fire safe alternatives, so here are a few:


If you are only interested in lighting to increase egg production, then a goodly amount of clear indoor/outdoor christmas light strands hung around the coop ought to do it. You almost never hear of fires caused by Christmas lights nowadays -- in fact, I don't think I have ever heard of one in recent years. Back when I was a child, Christmas lights were designed totally different, they gave off alot of heat, and they could catch fire from time to time. But they changed the technology a decade or two ago, and now the Christmas lights no longer get warm, and they just about never, ever, ever cause a fire.


If you are interested in heat, there are a few pretty safe options:


1, Ceramic reptile heaters. Here's a link:


http://www.amazon.com/ReptiCare-Cer...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1287813776&sr=8-1


I am going on my third year using one of these in my chicken tractor. They are a bit pricey, but when you consider that they are supposed to last five years, that only ends up being about four to five bux per year, and they are low power consumers.


They put out infrared light, so it doesn't keep the chickens awake at night. The amount of heat they put out is less than a comparable 150 watt heat lamp like you would buy at feed store, but they are ALOT safer. You just screw them into the same heat lamp reflector that you would screw a regular chicken's heat lamp into.


Of course all the normal safety measures should be taken with the lamp -- you know, things like powering your coop safely, mounting the ceramic heat lamp securely where there is no way it can fall or be bumped by rambunctious roosters, etc.


2, Ceramic panel heaters like the ones that Shop the Coop sells.


Here's a link:


http://www.shopthecoop.com/mm5/merc...re_Code=STC&Product_Code=1FP&Category_Code=He


I have two of these mounted very safely on the walls of my 13 foot by 7 1/2 foot by 6 1/2 foot tall chicken coop. They do very well at providing supplemental heat for my gals even in the worst of last year's southwest Tennessee winter. (Last year was an unusually cold winter for our area).


Both of these are options that I am using for my own chickens, and I am happy with both the performance AND the safety of these heaters.



3, To keep the chickens waterers from freezing up, they make chicken waterers with heaters built in them. I used these the first year I had chickens, but I didn't like them because the 3 gallon waterers were really difficult to fill. (The idiot engineers actually put the filling hole at the BOTTOM of the waterer, so you'd have to fill this 3 GALLON waterer, plug in the hole with the rubber plug, then flip the waterer over -- spilling water all over the place -- THEN you had to plug the waterer back into its electric cord, and plug that electric cord back into the power strip, AFTER spilling water all over tarnation. Blah! Never again!)


So last year, cold as it was, I didn't use my heated waterers. Instead, I used regular 3 gallon waterers (more water means it takes longer for the water to freeze), and I placed them right near those panel heaters in the main henhouse so they'd get lots of heat.


My one gallon waterers (like the one in the chicken tractor, and the extra waterers in the main henhouse) were more subsceptible to freezing since they were not directly underneath a panel heater. So I'd go out in the early morning and put warm water in each of them. That seemed to be enough to keep them from freezing in our Tennessee cold.


Of course none of these options will suffice if you house your chickens in a huge barn built back in the 1800s. But they should work for most of us who have smaller chicken flocks and city/suburban/small-farm sized coops.