Topic of the Week - Coop Heating and Fire Safety

[Angela Thomson]

No heat in my coop. It got down to 11 degrees last week and I thought sure my chickens would freeze, but they did not! I did put a lot of extra straw down and noticed they are in it and not roosting at night. I was going to run an extension cord down there until I read on here to quit spoiling them! HA!
The poor things already went through a fire when I first brought them home. I thought they were all dead when I walked in and smoke was everywhere. We caught it just in time! The heat lamp fell into their tub and the wood chips were smoldering. The chicks were all on the other side huddled. It would have burned the house down. I'm so glad I'm a member of BYC!

 

[LittleBird123]

I live in Michigan and in the winter it can sometimes get as low as -20 that is why I have been using a heat lamp in my coops for so many years. but now all of these coop burning down stories are freaking me out. Is there any way I can still provide some heat in my coop without the risk of setting it on fire?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I live in Michigan and in the winter it can sometimes get as low as -20 that is why I have been using a heat lamp in my coops for so many years. but now all of these coop burning down stories are freaking me out. Is there any way I can still provide some heat in my coop without the risk of setting it on fire?

Why do you need to provide heat? They can handle those temperatures. There are the flat panel heaters you can try.

 

[LittleBird123]

Why do you need to provide heat? They can handle those temperatures. There are the flat panel heaters you can try.

I did buy a panel heater for my bantams coop because it is smaller, and because they are smaller, I don't know if they handle cold as well as larger chickens. But I am worried that because i have been using heat for so long that if I take it away now then they will not be used to the sudden drop in temp. I also do not have any sort of insulation in my coop walls, the wall are only about half an inch thick if not less.

 

[Jimmybeam01]

From what I understand each chicken produces 5 btu of heat. As well as they are able to regulate their body heat with their feathers. Another thing I remember is that introducing heat to them isn’t good because it may weaken them in the cold months versus having them acclimate themselves to the change. My two cents

 

[LittleBird123]

From what I understand each chicken produces 5 btu of heat. As well as they are able to regulate their body heat with their feathers. Another thing I remember is that introducing heat to them isn’t good because it may weaken them in the cold months versus having them acclimate themselves to the change. My two cents

what should I do to try and wean them off of the heat lamp now without any negative consequences. It is going to get in the teens and below this week and I don't want to shock them by taking their heat away.

 

[Jimmybeam01]

what should I do to try and wean them off of the heat lamp now without any negative consequences. It is going to get in the teens and below this week and I don't want to shock them by taking their heat away.

If it’s in the teens I’d take it from them cause that’s plenty warm. As long as the coop isn’t drafty that should be enough to ween them, I know when it’s in the teens my coop is very comfortable, and the chickens are doing very well. If you got like 4-5 days to allow them to adapt back that would be fair I think, thats if it drops below teens, naturally let them adapt, 19 15 10 8 2 -3 so on and so forth..

 

[KentuckyRooster]

We are switching to a flat panel heater this year instead of lamps for the outdoor guys at my family member's home. Still using the same type of water heaters as we have for years, we have two kinds. One that is for metal waterers and is a base they sit on, that turns on when the temps get below freezing and one that is a built in to a plastic waterer. Both very safe when used as directed.

Our main problem right now is that we are re-wiring that entire coop because of mice. So the electricity is turned off, and we're having to use heavy duty cords from the barn to run the water heaters. As soon as we finish re-wiring it, I'll feel a lot better. The coop sat unused for a lot of years and mice took it over so when things went sideways here and we had to move all the birds in a hurry, the electric (which had been turned off to that area) inside of it was ruined. The mice have retreated mostly now to wherever mice retreat to with all the activity out there but they were having a party.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I did buy a panel heater for my bantams coop because it is smaller, and because they are smaller, I don't know if they handle cold as well as larger chickens. But I am worried that because i have been using heat for so long that if I take it away now then they will not be used to the sudden drop in temp. I also do not have any sort of insulation in my coop walls, the wall are only about half an inch thick if not less.

They do need to acclimate, but they may be okay with out it. It's supposed to warm here by the weekend to near 30, don't know what your forecast is but if you wait for a warm up to shut it off they should be okay.

We just had that drop into the below zero temperatures. Many of my birds are hunched up and looking cold, they will acclimate in a few days and be fine. I can see where people would get upset seeing their birds hunched and shivering, but it's a part of the process. If your birds continue that behavior long term than I might think they are too cold. I expect a few days of that behavior until they are used to the new lower temperatures.

It's uncomfortable to see that behavior, so I would assume that's why people provide heat. If my birds continued to be like that I would too, but they always get used to the new lower temperatures.

My bantam do the same as my bigger birds.

 

[Jimmybeam01]

I don’t want to get too far off subject but I guess this does fit In the realm of heating... feed your birds a mix of cracked corn mixed in with your regular feed, corn will create heat in them which will help them stay warm, in the winter months I feed my birds cooked eggs “cause they lay 18 a Day” mixed with oatmeal. They go crazy over it, high protein and that will promote warmth with the feed. My birds don’t stop laying eggs in the winter. They are like machines. My coop is not drafty and with the water issue, I don’t heat my water as well. I put snow in their water dish and they eat that for water, my whole life growing up on the farm we have done this and now that I got my own farm I do it too. Oats, cracked corn, regular feed and eggs and oatmeal for treats! Your birds will be happy and healthy.