Safest Coop Heater?

[OllieBollie]

I’ve done a lot of reading on how dangerous traditional heat lamps are in chicken coops and found several safer alternatives. The #1 pick from my searches have been the heat pad that can be attached to the wall, but it doesn’t heat the whole coop. Some of them can get pretty pricey at $150, and they all seem to have their issues.
What do you all use to heat your coops? We do live in Minnesota and the winters are cold.
We’re insulating their coop but I would feel much better having a heater out there to ensure they stay warm when the temps drop.
Any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Aapomp831]

There is no need for heat in the coop. As long as your chickens are fully feathered. Remember chickens have been around as long as humans, and survived hundreds of thousands of years on their own in all weather conditions all around the world. The best thing you can do is make sure you have proper ventilation... and check their combs regularly... the larger the comb the worse the threat of frostbite) but combs can be protected with Bag Balm.

 

[NatJ]

We do live in Minnesota and the winters are cold.
We’re insulating their coop but I would feel much better having a heater out there to ensure they stay warm when the temps drop.

What breeds of chickens?
How cold?

Most breeds of chickens do quite well in unheated coops.

If you do not use a heater at all, they will gradually get used to the cold, grow an appropriate set of feathers, and will usually be fine. If you use a heater for a while and then stop, they will not be used to the cold, and will have problems. (Power outage or broken heater is usually worse for the chickens than if they never had a heater in the first place.)

I am assuming that you have a coop that keeps out heavy winds, and that you have plans to provide liquid water rather than letting it freeze into ice--both of those are more important than whether the coop is heated. When the air is still, a chicken's feathers keep them warm really well. But a wind will ruffle the feathers and steal the warm air and leave the chicken cold.

 

[wyochick10]

Agree, no need for heat. It’s worse in my opinion. I’m in northern Wyoming and do not heat or insulated the coop. I even have to crack a window some for added ventilation in the winter. I do use a heated waterer so their water stays liquid.

 

[NatJ]

If the temps are below freezing would you still let them out and keep their coop door open all day?

Yes.
(As long as the wind isn't blowing directly in the door all day--if it does that, put up a wind break to block some of the wind before it reaches the open door.)

We're looking at getting a couple of the flat panel heaters to hang befind their roosts. Our coop is not insulated - I'm thinking we should at least do the wall next to where they roost.

I wouldn't, unless it's controlled by a thermostat. Seriously, I think you should NOT heat any part of the chicken coop above about 35 degrees farenheit, maybe 40 at most. You don't want your chickens to molt and loose their nice feathery insulation because it felt like spring! And you don't want them too hot at night, either.

How cold does it get in the winter at your place?

As long as they have a dry place with not wind, chickens really can do fine down well below freezing.

Just for comparison--look at all the little tiny wild birds that live outside all winter. And think about people using down blankets and down jackets. Feathers really can be great insulation!

 

[DougVC]

we live in northern Wisconsin and we have never used a heater in our coops. A couple years back we had a week where temps were consistently -20 and the chickens did just fine. Ensure the coop is not drafty, but has plenty of ventilation and they will be fine. Keeping the water from freezing was our biggest issue but we managed. I shared the same concern years back the first couple years we had chickens over the winter, but they do a good job of regulating themselves if we just let them do their thing.

 

[RoosterML]

Good old heat lamp. When I say I have tried many.... I have... I believe most times it’s not the lamps fault for causing the fire it’s the dummy who didn’t do a good job securing it. You don’t need to heat the coop a spot to go warm up is better.

 

[Araucana Nest]

I use Brinsea Eco-Glow brooders. They are very safe and won't burn the chicks. Prior to this I had a Producer's Pride Brooder/ Heater which I absolutely loved and couldn't believe the bad reviews it got until mine stopped working and burned one of my chicks that got too close. I've also tried the Cozy brooders and both failed in less than a month.
The Brinsea is a little pricey but they honored their warranties with me in the past for an incubator. Currently have three of the 600 and one of the 1200. The only thing is that they are a little small.

 

[aart]

What did everyone do with their chickens during the polar vortex?

I give them SavaChick electrolyte/vitamin solution, soaked into rolled oats to avoid wattle wettage, every 3-4 days.
But I have large(6-8sqft per bird) well ventilated coop.

 

[RainbowHen]

@aart how do you like the sweeter heater? I like to keep something on hand in case of emergency temps. -60 with a non insulated coop and young birds one year had me scrambling.