What kind of heat is good for the coop?

[ozark hen]

I am in complete agreement with Miss Prissy. The Amish around us do not have heat lamps in their coops. I was a bit worried last night...my first cold season with poultry...my chickens were locked in their coop and they did quite well. my dh insulated (with plastic sheeting and in another room he used that white paper that new homes are wrapped in while building) the north and outside walls only. They do generate a lot of heat as Miss Prissy stated. My dh said he would hand a reg. light bulb over the water bucket when the temp drops as to freeze the water. He bought three more bales of pine shavings this morning to prepare for the cold. I want my chickens to be hardy.

 

[Cheryl]

My 5 chickens will be 7 weeks old on Tuesday...still in the basement, but the coop is "hopefully" one more week-end away. The walls have 1/2" pink styrofoam insulation in between the plywood inside and the shiplap outside...(it is 4' x 6') But DH designed it with a BIG window, so I am still worried about their young bodies freezing to death in NH, but it seems most everyone is against a heat lamp...good point the amish don't need it! So what about ceramic heat emitter bulbs when the temp dips down? Or should I just turn on the heat lamp occasionally? I plan on deep litter...

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I only turn a red heat lamp on in my henhouse if the windchill and temps dip from the teens to zero...they will be fine....feed them alittle scratch or cracked corn in the evenings to help keep them warm...corn in their crops produces heat...they are tougher than we think