What is your Take on coop heaters? (My Experience Re heater purchase)

[barngem]

For christmas my honey purchased a little chicken coop heater that is supposed to go in the bottom of the coop.
It never arrived, he contacted them and they told him it must have been lost in shipping and sent another. It arrived within 2 days but had the same tracking number as the orginal. When it arrived we opened the box and the wrong instructions were in the box with the item. The instructions for an entirely different heater was in the box. I called the phone number that is prominently displayed on a sticker on the heater, the recording says to email or leave a message that would be replied to by phone within 3 days. No call. The Heater, consists of 2) 12x12 pieces of ceramic tile with a iguana tank heater sandwiched between the tiles and glued together. There is 4 rubber legs to attatch to the bottom. We could not believe that was what we got for the 70.00 bucks including shipping. I think I have sucker written all over my face.

It was supposed to be a 90 degree heat source, it is barely warm at all after being plugged in 24 hours. Also the area that heats up is only about 4" in diameter. We then look at the return policy they only offer store credit, nothing about return shipping is noted and we really do not need anything else they offer. I did try to call them again but have gotten no response. I guess they really only respond to email???

I had contacted them via email previous to my honey purchasing this for christmas and the reply email told me to by the radiant heater for large coops (my coop is 4x4x4) at the low sale price of 90.00 plus shipping bringing it up to about 125.00 would do the trick for me, and if that was not enough to heat my coop I could purchase something else at a later date.

I really wanted to keep my chickens warm not cook them........Anyway, I could not believe the reply assuming that I could just purchase some other overpriced item. I really dont think they even read the email since I explained that when I had two chickens in the coop last year I was able to keep it around 35-40 in below zero temps with a 100 watt bulb but this year I have more chickend (6) and I dont have room to safely suspend a light. Now if I can heat it with a 100 watt bulb why would I buy a "large" coop heater?

Anyway you all get the picture. Has anyone ever purchased items from them or purchased the heaters?

 

[nature nut]

The stinkers

So you can only return it for store credit? I haven't bought a chicken coop heater but when I was thinking about it earlier this year I thought the flat panel heaters sounded good but they may take up too much of your space. I decided not to put in a heater after reading lots of posts with people from up north like you and even as far up as Canada that do not put a heater in their coop. You may find that with six they keep each other warm.

 

[pkeeler]

Are you sure it is a coop heater and not a waterer heater?

 

[ND Sue]

I'm from ND and we just had a week of 30 below temps. I'm really glad I got a heater before that storm!

I have a heat lamp, but only used it during that cold snap. I also got one of those white flat panel heaters at a Fleet Farm supply store for 35 bucks and I am so glad I did!
It is approx. 2'X3' and hangs up on the wall. I hung it by my dropping boards so it was a little lower than they are when they are on the roost and not near any bedding. I know others have hung theirs lower since heat rises. It gets pretty hot to the touch, but not hot enough to cause a fire. Also the chickens don't peck at it or stand real close. It seems a lot safer than the heat lamp, so I will only plug in the heat lamp for extremely cold nights.

During the cold snap of 30 below, the coop was around 0 - 5 degrees with both the lamp and heater running. Now that the temps are around 20-30's, I have both off except at night if they predict it will get colder, I switch on the panel heater.

I think the next time I go to town, I will pick up one more of the flat panel heaters and lose the heat lamp, because I see the rooster's comb is black tipped now, so he's probably going to lose the tips of his comb to frost bite. The panel heater does a better job of heating than the heat lamp too. Radiates over a larger area.

I have 8 hens and 6 laid every day and 2 every other day, during the cold week we had. I'm not sure if they would have if the coop got too cold.

 

[ND Sue]

Another thought, would your heater be used as a nest box heater to keep the eggs from freezing?
I also have a plastic pet bed heater (meant for dogs or cats in a kennel) in a small plastic dog house that I use in my coop as a communal nesting box. It keeps the eggs from freezing and I think must be much more comfortable for them. I have it in a sheepskin liner with a little straw on top for them to arrange how they want. They do dig a nest and where they lay is bare to the sheepskin and the eggs are directly on the sheepskin.
So far in 2 1/2 months, none of the hens have pooped in there! Hope it stays that way! They just get in lay eggs and leave. Maybe it gets too warm for them to stay all morning. There's enough room that 3 can go in at a time and they do.

My point is, I also give rave reviews for having a nest box heater if you are in a cold area. Maybe you could use your tiles for that if it can't be returned and doesn't work well enough for a heater.

 

[meloncholy88]

Hello, I am the owner of Shop The Coop. I believe your item arrived to you broken. I do not know where this is coming from, as this is the return policy since 2005:

Return / Refund Policy

If an Item is received DAMAGED or BROKEN EMAIL MELONIE AT [email protected] SO THAT WE CAN FILE A CLAIM AND REPLACE THE ITEM. PLEASE KEEP THE BROKEN ITEM IN CASE UPS OR USPS CONTACTS YOU REGARDING THE PACKAGE AND NEEDS TO INSPECT IT.

Please contact me if you need me to replace this for you. I am a pet chicken owner, and this is my hobby business. I get over 150 phone calls a day, and most of them are with really nice folks with simple requests. I answer emails everyday, and can get back to people in a much more eficient and timely manner this way. I started this to help folks out, and that is what I try my best to do!

Chickens will lay througout the winter, when you have the coop at the correct temperature for the breed of bird. Some birds are more cold hardy than others, for example Silkies should not be subjected to harsh temperatures unless in extreme emergency.