Question for those of you with sweeter heaters in coop

[Justagalwithchicks]

I purchased a cozy coop ambient wall mounted heater last year. I have three hens and one was ill for 9 months. She survived and has done wonderful. Their little coop had plenty ventilation and they stayed warm enough even for her but my problem was during the day. She wanted out with her sisters but it was to cold. We wrap our main run in the winter with corrugated clear plastic on north side and plastic shower curtains on rest and raise them as needed and leave ventilation at top . So I mounted (well my husband) our heater under the coop vertically in the run. She would sit by it during the day on the colder days. Did it help her really? Idk. But she did lay right up next to it so I like to think so. Just sharing what I use it for.

 

[The Good Grumble]

Thanks, I think the chickens don’t need heat thing is very stupid. Every animal has a natural limit for cold tolerance and chickens come in all shapes and sizes. Some are better at dealing with it than others. The question really shouldn’t ever be do chicken needs heat but rather when. I was looking at the cozy coop heaters but am just not sure which would be the better option. I like that the cozy coop ones put out heat into the air but at the same time my coop is 8’x8, and I’m not sure if it’s better to provide sweeter heaters the length of the roost bars or several cozy coops on the wall. It also doesn’t help that the sweeter heaters are super expensive!

Most Extensions (Kentucky, Minnesota to name a couple.) recommend supplemental heat under 20-32 degrees, as does my avian vet. That’s generally where I get my advice from. The backyard forums are brutal. lol

 

[Debbie292d]

Most Extensions (Kentucky, Minnesota to name a couple.) recommend supplemental heat under 20-32 degrees, as does my avian vet. That’s generally where I get my advice from. The backyard forums are brutal. lol

The folks here seem pretty split on heat or no heat but unlike Facebook, those that don't heat or do heat are respected for their choices.

It isn't always about the chickens, either. Even if we didn't have silkies and frizzled silkies and say we had really hard-core tough chickens, we'd still keep our coop to just above freezing so the water and eggs don't freeze, and I'm not alone there.

For someone worried about a few sub-zero days for their tough chickens, I'd recommend a flat panel heater like Cozy Coop as those are cheap to run and shut off if tipped over. They don't heat the coop but chickens can stand or lay by them for a little warmth if they're cold. We have a couple for our grow-out and breeding pens.

 

[juls_farm]

We had some rough winters last year in the -20s and some of my chickens really struggled. I’m going to be adding some sweeter heaters in the coop. I see they have wall mounting and ceiling mounting options. Does anyone have the ceiling mounting ones? Do your chickens try to roost on top of them? I want the ceiling ones but I’m concerned about the chickens trying to sleep ontop

Yes, chickens will definitely try to roost on the top of these heaters and tops will become messy. You will need to attach something to prevent them from roosting.

 

[emyancey]

We had some rough winters last year in the -20s and some of my chickens really struggled. I’m going to be adding some sweeter heaters in the coop. I see they have wall mounting and ceiling mounting options. Does anyone have the ceiling mounting ones? Do your chickens try to roost on top of them? I want the ceiling ones but I’m concerned about the chickens trying to sleep ontop

Hi! I know this is a late response, but I use the ceiling mounted sweeter heaters above my roosts and they worked wonderfully all winter. No one tried to roost on top of them. My roost bars are already up higher above a droppings board and the heaters were up higher as well. How did the winter go for you?

 

[The Good Grumble]

Yes, chickens will definitely try to roost on the top of these heaters and tops will become messy. You will need to attach something to prevent them from roosting.

I use sweeter heaters. None of mine ever tried to get on them. They move….thats scary stuff.