What Kind of Heat Lamp for Coop??

[sunshineyarns]

Hi! In a couple of weeks I will be moving the 8 girls to their coop outside. Inside we have weened them off of their 250 watt bulb and they are now comfortable at room temp (most of them are 4.5-5.5 weeks old). They spend part of the day outside in the run anytime its above 50 here in Colorado.

So, I won't need this for this Spring (I'm thinking ahead to next Winter), what kind of heat lamp should we put in our coop? The coop isn't very tall -- its about 4x5 on the ground without the nesting boxes (and probably 4 feet high).. and we just added a piece of ply as a small second level that is about 1.5x5 beneath the roost (for easy cleanup). But, my concern is that from the roost, they will be pretty high up there and I'm looking for some kind of shallow light, that won't take up alot of room. Thoughts?!

We are also adding a small enclosure off the front of the coop, so that if we are gone all day, they still have some added protection (and also a space we can cover to keep it more dry in the winter). This enclosure will be within their 40 foot by 11/12 foot run.

Thoughts on the light and all of this?!

 

[Tiramisu]

I'm not sure what you are asking. Most lamps will be the same, just different styles depending on brand. Or are you asking what kind of bulb?

 

[snomonkey33]

I assume there isn't space to back the lamp into a corner? It's hard to picture how much space there is above / around the roost without pictures

you could cut out part of a wall to mount the lamp sideways, but then you might have to shield the back of the lamp from the weather.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

For my coops I use a 100 watt bulb in the winter for the adults when it goes below freezing (very damp and windy conditions where the coops are with no insulation and wind whistling through some).

I just buy regular brooder lamps with the guard (CERAMIC sockets). I find them at the feed store and Home Depot. Make sure you secure them at least two ways not dependent on the clamp (think flying chickens).

 

[sunshineyarns]

Thanks! Yeah, I was wondering wattage and also style/size... We have our lamp from the brooder with a chain, but hubby thinks something that big won't work. I'm guessing we could just get a smaller bulb/socket and back it into the corner of the coop. He suggested a reptile lamp of sorts, but we would have to make a guard for that.

We don't even have our chicks in the coop yet and we are making changes here and there! I think our coop is pretty awesome (dad does remodeling and built it for us), but wish it was a)slightly bigger and 2)I found this site before we built it! If we have plans to add any more chickens in a few years, we'll probably sell the one we have and start over