red 250 watt bulb

[ikatiemay]

IM NEW TO TO CHICKENS ALSO. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF A RED 250 WATT BULB WILL KEEP THE GIRLS AWAKE? I WANT TO TRY IT FOR HEAT IN THE COOP. THE COOP IS INSULATED, HAS A 4X8 IN VENT HIGH ON EACH END AND THREE 2X2 WINDOWS. I HAVE BEEN CLOSING UP THE CHICKEN DOOR AT NIGHT AND LEAVING THE WINDOWS CRACKED ABOUT 2 IN. i LOOK FOR MOISTURE IN THE AM ON THE WINDOWS AND HAVE PUT A THERMOMETER WITH A HUMIDITY GAUGE INSIDE. I JUST DONT KNOW IF IM DOING ALL THE RIGHT STUFF!! THESE GIRLS SEEM HAPPY

 

[NonnasBabies]

No it won't.

 

[silkiechicken]

Where do you live? Most places do not require you to give the chickens heat. My birds only start to go inside to sleep when it is in the teens. Many people in the mid west do not heat their coops, and they have winters with negative temps and their girls do fine.

 

[ikatiemay]

I Live In Northern Utah At About 7000 Ft. We Get Cold With 4 To 5 Feet Of Snow On The Ground. I Would Rather Not Heat But I Haven't Figured How Cold They Really Can Handle. It Isnt Unusual To Be In The Teens To Below Zero. I Would Love All The Help On This I Can Get. I Would Hate To Make The Mistake That Would Cause Damage To The Flock!!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Part of your decision might depend on the kind of chickens you have. Some are more winter hardy than others. Also, how many birds to you have in how big of a space. You may have enough ventilation up high and can close the windows. With insulation, you might not have to heat at all. Chickens put out a lot of body heat.

 

[ikatiemay]

we have buff orphington,barred rock, australorps, laced wyandottes,RIR, americaunas and red sex link. 10 in all in a 8x10 coop. Im afraid that i may close it up to much at night. I try to keep my eye on moisture and i have lots of bedding. i have a tray system under the roost with chopped corn litter in it, it seem to be working well. The corn litter collects and clumps the poo to its easy to remove. i have been experimenting so when winter sets in i wont have many suprises!! at least that is the plan. It wouldnt be the first time great plans have gone south though!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Well, you have big fluffy birds. I don't know anything about corn litter. I use pine shavings on the poop board and on the floor of the coop. I scoop out the big wet clumps of poo daily. I add shavings as needed and turn them. I add DE to help dry things out. What I've read is that it is more important to keep things dry than to keep the coop warm. It's the humidity plus cold that causes frost bite.
My coop is not insulated, but it is fairly small. Sometimes we get a good snowstorm. Sometimes the temps get down into the low teens. This will be my first winter with chickens as well and I'm just going to keep a close eye on things. But I don't intend, at this point anyway, to heat the coop. We'll see....

 

[woodmort]

Those birds will be fine down to 20 below or lower as long as the coop is dry and well ventilated. You should not need any heat, especially at 250w bulb. There is too much danger of burning down your coop doing something that is unnecessary. BTW, leaving the poop in the coop to compost produces heat as well--I leave mine in all winter and wait until spring to clean the coop out. As long as the floor litter stays dry it is fine--if it is getting wet then it'll produce too much moisture which give rise to frostbitten combs/wattles.

 

[ikatiemay]

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP. MAYBE I WILL RETHINK THE HEATED COOP. i JUST DIDNT KNOW WHAT PEOPLE MEANT WHEN THEY SAID COLD!! I ONLY KNOW WHAT IS COLD TO MY BONES IN THE WINTER AND I HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BE CHICKEN AT TIMES. 20 BELOW IS PRETTY COLD. I WAS TOLD THAT THE COOP NEEDED TO BE HEATED WHEN TEMPS GOT DOWN TO ZERO. THE FORUM REALLY HELPS, I GET A BETTER FEEL FOR WHAT IS SO!! THE BIRDS ARE LOOKING NICE AND FLUFFY AND THE TEMPS ARE IN THE 20S AT NIGHT. WHERE DO I GET DE AND HOW DO I USE IT?

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I use DE to help keep my small, raised coop dry. I got it in a 50 lb bag at the feed store. It lasts seemingly forever. Pure, food grade DE (you must get food grade) is bright white. The most common brand is Perma Guard. You can get it online in smaller quantities but it is way too expensive that way.
After scooping out the big wet clumps of poo, I sprinkle it on the roosts, the poop board and on the pine shavings on the floor. I fluff up the pine shavings with the DE. Everything dries out and gets crumbly after awhile. And the coop stays dry and doesn't stink.