[Do my full grown chickens need heat? I am afraid of starting my coop on fire. I have golden sex links, Plymouth rocks, Rhode Island reds, and delawares. I live in Reno and our temps are going to be down in the teens this wee
And that's a question a lot of folks have this time of year (heck, I had it too). The quick answer is no. What your chickens need is dryness and bedding to help hold in their warmth. They're wrapped in nice down comforters, so as long as they're dry and out of the direct wind, they'll be fine. However, they also need ventilation. Chickens exhale a LOT of water vapor and without proper ventilation, they'll make their coop too moist.
heat might be necessary to keep the water from freezing but if your chickens roost close enough together they can and will stay warm, but as long as you keep the heat lamp far away from any thing flammable you should be all right if you want more heat.
They have a pretty big coop I leave the doors opened about 12 inches during the day! Thank you so much I've been stewing over this for weeks! Some of my chickens will not go in the coop at night they roost outside! I've come out in the morning to find frost on their back! Just worried me a bit.
I did go buy a water warmer yesterday so they will have water and I don't have to go out and defrost it every morning! These dang chickens have become an obsession! I them!
you may have to herd the rebels, into the coop and keep everyone on coop lockdown for 2-3 days. In that time they may have learned to roost in the coop. Staying outside puts them at great risk from predators. As the temperatures drop, predators have a harder time finding prey. You don't want them to think your chickens are fast food.
