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This is exactly why I'm holding off as long as I can. We get hurricane-force winds routinely, and lose power often. I don't want them to be acclimated to even 35-40*F when it's 35-40*F BELOW. Power goes out, that could be an 80* drop within minutes. I KNOW they won't be able to handle it. I have 4 separate buildings... I cannot afford to heat them all if I wanted to, so I'm glad that they are doing well. It is currently -5*F, and a handful of chickens are still sitting outside at 9pm. With all the birds in the coop, it is a balmy 30*F inside, and everyone is quite cozy. My heat of choice is more chicken-bodies.
It's ultimately your choice if you heat or not. I just wanted to let newbies know that they don't have to panic when the temps drop below freezing, because the birds will be fine. Over the last 3 years I've seen a lot of posts about coop fires... we've had our own close-calls, with lamps accidentally dropping down and starting to char shavings, or hens burning the feathers off their back because they sat directly under the lamp and got too close. Infrared lamps can literally cook your birds, so just be safe. Be aware of dust levels, and make sure there's good ventilation for the moisture that will build up. Be safe.
I will continue to post about our conditions and how the birds are doing as our Winter progresses. You can see what breeds I have in my signature. For a little background info... I have a layer coop (insulated, but ventilated) that has roughly 70 miscellaneous breeds, young (4 mo) and old (3 years) and roosters. I have a hoop-pen covered with tarps that house my growing turkeys and pheasants and a couple of miscellaneous chickens. I have another hoop-pen covered with a tarp with a small house attached (about the size of an outhouse) with ~ 20 mallards. And the 12x20' breeder coop (insulated and ventilated) that is mostly empty right now... 10 Orpingtons (young) 2 Millies, and 3 silkies and a bunch of quail. So far the only birds with heat are two Millie roosters that are about 3 months old and are so small that their body mass can't keep them warm yet. It's only a 60w bulb, directly above them on the cage, but the room still falls below freezing. They're fine so far.
This is exactly why I'm holding off as long as I can. We get hurricane-force winds routinely, and lose power often. I don't want them to be acclimated to even 35-40*F when it's 35-40*F BELOW. Power goes out, that could be an 80* drop within minutes. I KNOW they won't be able to handle it. I have 4 separate buildings... I cannot afford to heat them all if I wanted to, so I'm glad that they are doing well. It is currently -5*F, and a handful of chickens are still sitting outside at 9pm. With all the birds in the coop, it is a balmy 30*F inside, and everyone is quite cozy. My heat of choice is more chicken-bodies.
It's ultimately your choice if you heat or not. I just wanted to let newbies know that they don't have to panic when the temps drop below freezing, because the birds will be fine. Over the last 3 years I've seen a lot of posts about coop fires... we've had our own close-calls, with lamps accidentally dropping down and starting to char shavings, or hens burning the feathers off their back because they sat directly under the lamp and got too close. Infrared lamps can literally cook your birds, so just be safe. Be aware of dust levels, and make sure there's good ventilation for the moisture that will build up. Be safe.
I will continue to post about our conditions and how the birds are doing as our Winter progresses. You can see what breeds I have in my signature. For a little background info... I have a layer coop (insulated, but ventilated) that has roughly 70 miscellaneous breeds, young (4 mo) and old (3 years) and roosters. I have a hoop-pen covered with tarps that house my growing turkeys and pheasants and a couple of miscellaneous chickens. I have another hoop-pen covered with a tarp with a small house attached (about the size of an outhouse) with ~ 20 mallards. And the 12x20' breeder coop (insulated and ventilated) that is mostly empty right now... 10 Orpingtons (young) 2 Millies, and 3 silkies and a bunch of quail. So far the only birds with heat are two Millie roosters that are about 3 months old and are so small that their body mass can't keep them warm yet. It's only a 60w bulb, directly above them on the cage, but the room still falls below freezing. They're fine so far.
