This newbie built a small coop! Where do I put a heat lamp?

[ctchopper]

So, my chicks are in their second cardboard brooder box inside the house. The coop and run are almost done. The coop is about 4x4 (minus the nesting boxes) and it sports two roosting bars. There is a beam that runs through the center of the ceiling between (and above) the bars. My question is...
I have 5 chicks (one might be a rooster, so probably 4 hens). I want to install a heat lamp. I live in the high desert and winter nights get down to about 20 degrees. Hanging lamps look like they'd take up too much room hanging from the ceiling and would interfere with space when the hens are on the roosts. Floor space is more limited that I had imagined and most of it will end up being under a roosting bar (Don't want a poop covered light). Does anyone have an idea for a heat lamp that would be low profile, tight against the ceiling so that I don't take space from the birds?

We are almost done building the coop and need to come up with a solution so that we aren't pulling down anything to incorporate the heat light later. Thanks for your ideas.

 

[Odelia]

If you pick birds that are cold hardy you don't need the heat lamp. If you still want it then I would suggest installing a porcelain light fixture to the coop's ceiling.

 

[Hokum Coco]

If you pick birds that are cold hardy you don't need the heat lamp. If you still want it then I would suggest installing a porcelain light fixture to the coop's ceiling. Good Advice

How old are your birds? If they are day old chick what ever heating device you choose I would be extra careful in making sure it was double secured from tipping or falling I would also have it connected to a GFI circuit. Fire is very unforgiving. Fire seems to strike the BYC family every year either directly or indirectly.

 

[LPeaslee]

If you only get down to 20 degrees in the winter, then I don't think you need to worry about adding heat in the coop.

 

[Sonya9]

From what I have read heat lamps are a real fire risk with adult birds. If adult birds were to fly into them the birds themselves catch on fire and then ignite the bedding etc.... Even a couple of feathers flying up and hitting the lamp could set the bedding on fire. The thought is so horrible that I wouldn't even want to imagine what the poor bird/s go through!



Photo and more can be found here: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/11/surviving-winter-with-chickens.html

. Only supply enough heat to raise the coop temperature a few degrees- the coop should not feel warm to you. Chickens are not served well by walking out of a toasty hen house into a freezing cold run. The more time they spend inside the coop, the more droppings accumulate inside the coop, the more moisture there is inside the coop, the less exercise they get, etc.

 

[ctchopper]

Thanks everyone! You raise some excellent points regarding fire, whether I even need one, etc. It sounds like I don't. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thanks everyone! You raise some excellent points regarding fire, whether I even need one, etc. It sounds like I don't. I appreciate the feedback.

You don't need one at all. We often get down well below zero in the winter (-15 this year, and that's daytime temps!) and we don't use supplementary heat. We also have white Leghorns which are not cold hardy at all, and they are often the first ones out in the snow.

Chickens are much more heat-sensitive than cold sensitive. After all, they're wearing a down parka every day of their lives, and can't take it off for the summer. I'd be more concerned about having enough ventilation in your coop than about adding heat. Ventilation is needed even on cold winter nights, or you get a build up of ammonia and other gasses that are hard on sensitive bird lungs. Also, if you don't have enough ventilation you get moisture build up which rots your coop and can cause frostbite if the temps get cold enough.

 

[ctchopper]

Yes, I've heard that I should be more concerned about excessive heat. We have a window towards the top of the coop and I've asked my husband to put in some ventilation holes on the opposite side for some cross ventilation. The coop is in shade most of the time, which is actually a concern to me - I know they like the sun. We haven't roofed it yet so I'm thinking of having the run covered in clear roofing and the coop with opaque. They flow together so it would be same roofing material (that heavy plastic wavy stuff), just different colors. What do you think? They can also go underneath the coop, which ought to be cooler, too.

 

[Sonya9]

I live in Georgia where it is VERY hot much of the year. This is my first coop, others may have better ideas but what I did was have two windows cut out on either side of the coop and the pieces hinged back in. I am putting hardware cloth inside and using a chain to adjust the opening.

Hinges are on top so in warm rainy weather I can leave them partly open for air but no rain gets in, I could also open them all the way OR close them entirely depending on the weather (I can hook the chain at any height as I choose). Here is the front, the back side has a window opening just like it for cross ventilation (coop is still being worked on and painted etc...)

 

[Phoenix76]

Like that design was thinking of adding something similar to the new coop I am building. Have mine screened as well on top of cloth currently.