Snugglesafe Microwavable Heater

[dlfridie]

I bought the Snugglesafe at Petsmart for $40.00 and tried it out in the 3'x4' coop, in the cozy box.
It doesn't stay warm for 12 hours. Night temps here are around 30 degrees. Day temps are in the 50's.
In my opinion, it's not a good option for the coop.
I tried it in the dog bed (in the house), and it didn't stay warm for 12 hours there either.
Guess I'll return it this week.

Think I'll try containers of boiled water next.

 

[chookchick]

No the snuggle safe won't stay warm for that long, but there are still good uses for it. I used mine in the brooder box (under the light), so if the light went out, they would still have warmth for a while. I also use it under their water when it freezes around here--gives me a few hours of unfrozen water. I doubt that hot water will hold heat longer than a snuggle safe. But the good news it, with temps in the 30's you really don't need to provide any extra heat to your coop.

 

[Noble Rooster]

I also bought 2 Snugglesafes and while I agree that they don't hold heat for 12 hours (at least, not in a 20-degree coop), they do seem to help keep the water from completely freezing when I can't go refresh it every few hours (i.e., overnight or when I travel to my office). I've been heating and stacking both at once inside a metal popcorn tin (they're supported inside the tin so that they are directly below the lid), then placing the waterer (filled with warm water) on that. The combined effect of the 2 Snugglesafes and the warm water seems to slow down the freezing process. It was 18 degrees here last night (prob. closer to 23 in the coop); I set up the water around 9 pm and it was still liquid (though starting to get a little ice-crystally around the edges) at 6:45 am. Since they wake up around 1;30 am with a light, this means they definitely had access to liquid water when they woke up. Mind you, I only have 6 chickens and use a 1-gallon plastic waterer so I'm not sure how well this would work if you needed to keep a larger quantity of water from freezing, or if the temps were below 10 degrees.

 

[2DogsFarm]

The price has kept me from getting a SnuggleSafe for my barncat.
Interesting to hear it doesn't live up to the marketing...

What I ended up using (for barncat) is XL Hot Hands packets from Walmart @ 3 for $2
They really do stay warm for 18 hours.

You'd have to put them in something peck-proof for the coop - maybe a ziploc bag?
The material they're made of would probably not be claw-proof either.
If I could figure out a way to attach them to the roosts I'd have some cozy chickens.
Maybe a strip of duct tape at each end? The packets are about 4"x5"