question::heat vs health

[christine crick]

~~Just joined the site--glad to be among other chicken lovers!

A question:

Is it better for my 30-some variety of ages and chickens/banties to have red bulb heat every night in their un-insulated coop which forces them to lay abundant eggs--not a complaint! ??

or does this stress them out too much when their natural cycle is to slow down laying this time of year?? as in shorten their healthy life expectancy and laying eggs?

which is better for my birds in the big picture??

we're in N Colorado when is usually is in the teens to 20's at night with occasional artic cold snaps when I do heat them for sure. Even with heat, some of the roosters' combs freeze ;-( a little bit

thanks for any feedback

 

[TwoCrows]

to BYC!

Just because your coop is not insulated, does not mean you need a heat lamp in your coop. Chickens can tolerate brutally cold temps as long as they are out of the wind, rain and snow, and the coop has proper ventilation.

Never offer your chickens 24 hours of light, which includes daylight. They need to sleep deeply and the lack of sleep can kill them. An occasional use of a heat lamp is ok, but not on a regular basis.

Forcing chickens to lay continuously will cause them to stop laying earlier in life as they are only hatched with a certain amount of yolks. So be aware of this.

BUT...all this being said, great to have you aboard and enjoy BYC!

 

[gander007]

to BYC!

Just because your coop is not insulated, does not mean you need a heat lamp in your coop. Chickens can tolerate brutally cold temps as long as they are out of the wind, rain and snow, and the coop has proper ventilation.

Never offer your chickens 24 hours of light, which includes daylight. They need to sleep deeply and the lack of sleep can kill them. An occasional use of a heat lamp is ok, but not on a regular basis.

Forcing chickens to lay continuously will cause them to stop laying earlier in life as they are only hatched with a certain amount of yolks. So be aware of this.

BUT...all this being said, great to have you aboard and enjoy BYC!

Big X2

And

glad to have ya

 

[roostersandhens]

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello Welcome To BYC and Happy Holidays! X3, Healthy chickens don't need extra heat, as long as they have a dry draft free coop. With adding extra light, if you plan on replacing your birds every couple of years when they slow down laying, you might as well add extra light so you get as many eggs out of them as you can in the time you have them ... if you plan on keeping your birds as long as possible, don't add light and the older ones will slow/down stop laying in the winter, so they will lay fewer eggs in a year, but for more years.

 

[sourland]

X 4 on no heat needed if kept dry, draft free and well fed - welcome to BYC.

 

[christine crick]

thanks for the welcome and the responses

confirms intuitions & observations

this is gonna be a great site!

>- >- >-
>- >- >-

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[drumstick diva]

If your coop isn't ventilated enough, condensation forms and that is what causes frostbite inside. Outside you can help somewhat by putting a coating of Vaseline on combs.

 

[NinjaRooster]

This IS a great place!