Think it's too cold for your chickens? Think again...

[bruceha2000]

just a thought! A Dietz #80 cold blast hurricane lamp puts out 1,400 BTU. If electricity not available, and there is a safe location to hang one or two, as I said in another post. It will take the frost off the pumpkin. It would also control humidity. When I lived on a boat, two kept it warm, one kept it dry. It is low tech, has its negatives but it works. You still can find kerosene at some filling stations.

Open flame dangers not withstanding, don't use kerosene. Get liquid paraffin from a boat chandlery. Might be available other places as well.

Many benefits over kerosene, one being it DOESN'T STINK. Another being if you spill it on wood, it is now waxed, not stripped.

Bruce

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

you are rightabout open flame, I have used liquid paraffin, it is a form of refined kerosene, not the wax paraffin, it burns a lot cleaner, I do not remember how or what it is made from, I think coal. Smart & Final carries it at a competitive price. The hurricane lantern is safer then a table or oil wall lamp, BUT, it is still a flame with a fuel source. You need a safe place to hang one. I have used hurricane lanterns for 45 years, and I am always concerned about fire.

 

[Hozer]

Anybody know what happened to MRS AKbirdbrain?  the person who started this thread????

I don't know her very well, but she is no longer running a hatchery. I think she wants to put more time into her family.

As far as heating the coop, right now it's about 5 deg F outside in Homer, AK. I have 2/250 watt red heat bulbs on my chickens and one on their water. The waterer is 5 gal metal on a metal heated base. I also need to keep a 250 watt bulb on their water can to keep it thawed at this temp.

The coop is 8 x 8 uninsulated with open eaves. It is made out of rough cut local spruce and log slabs. Needless to say it's a little bit breezy. Out of 17 hens, I'm getting about 11 eggs a day. Some of my hens are a little older (3). Some of the hens roost under the lamps and some roost up high near the open eaves. I figure it doesn't hurt to take some of the chill off if they want it. I also figure energy that goes into staying warm does not go into making eggs. I also believe they would need to eat more if they had no heat. My hens lay better in the winter than they do in the summer, which is the way I like it. Everyone has eggs in the summer. The local feed store buys eggs and in the spring they have to refuse to buy some because they can't sell them all.

They stay in the coop when it is this cold and will come out when it warms up to about 20.

They would do just fine without heat, but they would not be laying much, plus they would eat a lot more.

 

[chestypuller]

to sell your eggs do you have to have some kinda fda approval in alaska?

 

[bruceha2000]

I have used liquid paraffin, it is a form of refined kerosene, not the wax paraffin, it burns a lot cleaner, I do not remember how or what it is made from, I think coal.

Found this on Amazon:
"Northern Lights Pure Liquid Paraffin Lamp Oil is extremely clean and safe to use. Pure liquid paraffin is simply candle wax in liquid form at room temperature. Extremely safe to burn, Northern Lights Lamp Oil is both odorless and smokeless."

Don't know if all "Liquid Paraffin Lamp Oil" is the same or not. I also don't have any idea how low the temp can go before it isn't "room temperature" any more. Hadn't thought about that. I've only used it in the house for "emergency lighting" during power outages and light on a sailboat that was used only in the summer. So I've never used it at anything near freezing, let alone well below. I suspect you would have to thin it with something.

Bruce

 

[Hozer]

to sell your eggs do you have to have some kinda fda approval in alaska?

 

No. Just sell them. Local groceries will buy them also. We don't have many regulations up here. It's one of the things I like about Alaska. You have a problem dog...shoot it. I talked to our local state trooper about problem dogs. He said, "Shoot it." They'll back you up.

The feed store puts your initials on the carton so they can trace them if there are any problems. I have Welsummers, ameraucanas, brown, and 1 white egg layer, so my eggs sell fast. Sometimes the staff buys them before they get into the cooler.

One thing that bums me out is so many people won't ship hatching eggs to Alaska. There are no regs....just ship them. Every thing shipped priority mail gets flown up here. It usually takes 2 days....3 from the east coast or Florida. By truck is not an option. I have gotten live chicks in less than 20 hours from Maryland.

 

[Clover Run]

No. Just sell them. Local groceries will buy them also. We don't have many regulations up here. It's one of the things I like about Alaska. You have a problem dog...shoot it. I talked to our local state trooper about problem dogs. He said, "Shoot it." They'll back you up.
The feed store puts your initials on the carton so they can trace them if there are any problems. I have Welsummers, ameraucanas, brown, and 1 white egg layer, so my eggs sell fast. Sometimes the staff buys them before they get into the cooler.
One thing that bums me out is so many people won't ship hatching eggs to Alaska. There are no regs....just ship them. Every thing shipped priority mail gets flown up here. It usually takes 2 days....3 from the east coast or Florida. By truck is not an option. I have gotten live chicks in less than 20 hours from Maryland.

I agree - I would be happy to ship eggs to Alaska - sometimes it is faster than lower 48 due to flying everything in etc. My silkies are laying right now and my incubator is full.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Found this on Amazon:
"Northern Lights Pure Liquid Paraffin Lamp Oil is extremely clean and safe to use. Pure liquid paraffin is simply candle wax in liquid form at room temperature. Extremely safe to burn, Northern Lights Lamp Oil is both odorless and smokeless."

Don't know if all "Liquid Paraffin Lamp Oil" is the same or not. I also don't have any idea how low the temp can go before it isn't "room temperature" any more. Hadn't thought about that. I've only used it in the house for "emergency lighting" during power outages and light on a sailboat that was used only in the summer. So I've never used it at anything near freezing, let alone well below. I suspect you would have to thin it with something.

Bruce

Thank you, very interesting. My knowlage is only as good as my sources. My life has been influenced by my high school teatchers, most retired collage professors. They thought me to enjoy the discovery of new information. One (holding several doctorates) of them worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls an other documents, he stated "we are in love with the bible, to rewright it, not with God" An other one of the writters that wrote our text book, he said it was full of crap, according to his sourses it was correct, today, most of what we are learning is wrong or misleading. It was a Brittish school in St. Louis, MO.

 

[Triplell]

Well we are at 20 degrees F, my Black Australorps are having a ball being let out in the barn. I had to move everyone around to give my layers more space and be able to let the BA's out. Out of 15 layers I am getting 10-15 eggs a day with only heat lamps on their waters plus only 100w light above for 4 pens. I have sent eggs to Alaska before and they made it in 2 day's. If anyone wants some BA's I would be glad to ship you some eggs. I am not starting my bators until Febuary do to the cold we get. I have 2 brooders that will take a combined 20 chicks but I have no place to keep them until they are all feathered out. I this thread is so fun to read and see many peoples thoughts and ideas.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

GREAT! Now I am totally confused!. Just looked it up.......Lamp oil, liquid paraffin, coal oil.... kerosene. In England on thing, US another.... Made from mineral oil, made from candle wax...... Good grief! I'm not a chemist