Rescued Barred Rocks

[tylersfresheggs]

Thanks for all the responses As for the heating part it's been a very cold nov. and dec. with below zero temps in the night almost daily. So I feel bad for them and thats why I heat the coop, and I also need the eggs for my customers.

 

[zark]

I am not a chicken expert and I am not trying to sound like one. If you want to heat the coop there certainly is nothing wrong with that. I am sure the chickens will be happy and healthier with it. Heating should also cut out egg losses from freezing. The only problem I can think of would be to heat for a few months and then turn it off suddenly. The chickens would no doubt have trouble adjusting to a quick and drastic temperature change. Good luck with the egg layers, “keep us posted.”

 

[speckledhen]

You can certainly heat your coop if you want; nothing wrong with it. The only downside would be if you had a power outage during the winter and the birds weren't used to really cold weather-the situation zark mentioned. I also like to think my girls are fairly comfortable, so if the weather turned especially bitter, I might leave the heatlamp over the waterer on all night rather than a couple of hours in the morning. Between their own body heat and that lamp in the insulated coops, they'd be okay. I think we were just saying they would be fine without heat, but it is absolutely not wrong to want your birds to be comfortable.