Topic of the Week - Heat Sources: Yes or No?

[5Australorpasaures]

No heat, I keep cold hearty type birds. Had a flock of RIRs who roosted in a high hedge all winter. Did use the coop during rain and snow and to lay though.

 

[Winderdear]

Would you mind explaining your "battery power"? Sounds interesting.
Thanks!

Sure! We have a transportable battery bank that can be charged off ac, dc or solar. I think ours is a Bluetti AC200MAX, but there are a lot of them on the market. At full charge it can run two chicken panel heaters all night on the heat setting (the higher setting, not brooder). The panels together drew about 400w. The battery bank has its issues, but it’s reliable enough. We used this method a couple years ago with our first four chickens and it worked well, because we didn’t have power to the coop at that time.

 

[Nanook33]

Thank you so much for your information. This is something we'll look into. Our electric company wants to get rich fast & this looks like a great alternative. Our 6 hens & 1 rooster thank you, also!

 

[Winderdear]

Thank you so much for your information. This is something we'll look into. Our electric company wants to get rich fast & this looks like a great alternative. Our 6 hens & 1 rooster thank you, also!

So glad I could help!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I really appreciate this response. I have had chickens for 11 1/2 years now and have never used any sort of heat, but this is the first year I've been thinking of adding one of those radiant heat panels to our coop. I have 2 older girls...one is 11 1/2 and the other 9 1/2 and I'm thinking they might benefit from a little extra warmth on colder nights. Do you have a radiant heat panel that you recommend? Also, did you typically add heat just for a portion of the night?

We'll see! I got two.

 

[tarahharlin]

We'll see! I got two.
View attachment 4257887

This is the same one I just got!

 

[MamaPoult]

I live in a place where it has gotten to -60f but winter usually stays at about -20f. If it is crazy cold I have preperations for heat but otherwise I don't use it. I have cold hardy breeds and a well insulated coop that stays about 20 degrees warmer then outside. I've been judged at times for my method but my chickens have never gotten any frostbite anywhere and seem perfectly happy lol. They acclimate to harsh temperatures just like us.

 

[Finchbreeder]

As anything under 0C is really rare - no heating - just wind protection.
But auto retic to keep them hydrated in our up to 45C (104F) summers.