Well if this isn't the best picture I've ever taken of the coop ❄️🩵❄️

[Echelontheory101]

Do you have pics of your "huddle box?" It doesn't generally get that cold here (Thank Goodness for small favors!) but I'm sure there are plenty of BYCers who would love some pics and maybe a how-to. It would make a great article!

Yes! Ill have to put together a legit "how to" in article form maybe this weekend but for now below is the box and general set up. When it was -9 it was 38 degrees in the huddle box while all 11 chicks were in there sleeping! So it does a great job of trapping their body heat to keep atleast where they sleep warm while the rest of the inside of the coop is frigid.

(unrelated but the brooder plates aren't in the nesting boxes behind there anymore those have since been taken out.) That thing on the floor is a Cozy Coop panel it's a radiant heater, it's zero clearance so it can be face down in bedding with no fire risk or at least very little fire risk anything that is plugged in has some risk but this is meant to be in close contact with bedding, and it doesn't heat the space they have to sit right in front of it or be touching it to get warm. I only put that in front of the box when it's supposed to be below zero or single digits and sometimes very low teens otherwise just the box is plenty for them. The top box is what they were in for weeks 6 through 8 of age for all 11 of them and when I noticed it started to get a little crowded in there I graduated to the bigger box that my 150 Liter hemp bedding block was shipped in but a few of them like to hang out in the old box during the day when the sun hits it through the window so i leave it on top.

I close the top and bottom of the box and cut that little door flap open so that it's completely incased and then I just throw hemp bedding and eaton pet and pasture nesting herbs in there. On really cold nights I'll throw a couple of regular oxygen activated hand warmers in there, they only last for six or so hours but they like sitting on them. When it's really really cold I can also plug a seedling mat in there those little 12x20 inch flat black mats that are meant to warm up seedlings for planting plants but they really don't need it.

I throw more bedding in there every other day and once a week I replace all the bedding in it.

Next year I think I'm going to build one out of actual plywood instead of using the Amazon boxes so it'll be a little more permanent I can take it out and hose it down etc but the boxes work great this year.

They prefer this to the roost bar when its single digits and below.

 

[Echelontheory101]

You could sell 'em. Let me know!

OK I will! I sell christmas cards with my art on them on my website (also admins if even mentioning this is against BYC rules let me know I'll delete the reply and dont plan to put any links or shop names etc anywhere) so I'm pretty used to making them! I usually make all my christmas inventory around August so Ill set myself a reminder to DM you when I do!

 

[Debbie292d]

Yes! Ill have to put together a legit "how to" in article form maybe this weekend but for now below is the box and general set up. When it was -9 it was 38 degrees in the huddle box while all 11 chicks were in there sleeping! So it does a great job of trapping their body heat to keep atleast where they sleep warm while the rest of the inside of the coop is frigid.

View attachment 4264740

(unrelated but the brooder plates aren't in the nesting boxes behind there anymore those have since been taken out.) That thing on the floor is a Cozy Coop panel it's a radiant heater, it's zero clearance so it can be face down in bedding with no fire risk or at least very little fire risk anything that is plugged in has some risk but this is meant to be in close contact with bedding, and it doesn't heat the space they have to sit right in front of it or be touching it to get warm. I only put that in front of the box when it's supposed to be below zero or single digits and sometimes very low teens otherwise just the box is plenty for them. The top box is what they were in for weeks 6 through 8 of age for all 11 of them and when I noticed it started to get a little crowded in there I graduated to the bigger box that my 150 Liter hemp bedding block was shipped in but a few of them like to hang out in the old box during the day when the sun hits it through the window so i leave it on top.

I close the top and bottom of the box and cut that little door flap open so that it's completely incased and then I just throw hemp bedding and eaton pet and pasture nesting herbs in there. On really cold nights I'll throw a couple of regular oxygen activated hand warmers in there, they only last for six or so hours but they like sitting on them. When it's really really cold I can also plug a seedling mat in there those little 12x20 inch flat black mats that are meant to warm up seedlings for planting plants but they really don't need it.

I throw more bedding in there every other day and once a week I replace all the bedding in it.

Next year I think I'm going to build one out of actual plywood instead of using the Amazon boxes so it'll be a little more permanent I can take it out and hose it down etc but the boxes work great this year.

They prefer this to the roost bar when its single digits and below.

We have, I think, four cozy coop heaters for our growout pens. They are the cats meow! The coops have different heaters though.

 

[Echelontheory101]

Do you have pics of your "huddle box?" It doesn't generally get that cold here (Thank Goodness for small favors!) but I'm sure there are plenty of BYCers who would love some pics and maybe a how-to. It would make a great article!

Here's them last night, it only got down to 28 so I think the huddle box was a little warm for them so theyre spilled out of it a little sleeping

 

[Echelontheory101]

We have, I think, four cozy coop heaters for our growout pens. They are the cats meow! The coops have different heaters though.

I have 2 mounted on the wall behind the roost bar on a tempurature guage outlet thing that turns on when it drops below 30 degrees but they seem to like the box more atleast for now haha theyre great!