What temp do they need in the winter?

[awesomefowl]

If the coop in dry, and draft-free, they shouldn't need extra heat.

 

[Judy]

Somewhere on here I read that below -30F is when you might need to do something. I believe it was a post by someone from Alaska. If they are free of drafts but the warm humid ammoniated air they put out can get up and out, they will tolerate the cold fine. Things people do to keep them safer: wide roosts, so they can touch their whole foot to their body to prevent frostbitten toes, and Vaseline on large combs/wattles (I believe the more cold tolerant breeds have small ones.) Also, if you provide any heat and lose the heat source, they will be worse off as they will not be acclimatized to the cold.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
It is not a simple single number, it depends a lot on breeds, humidity levels, type of shelter, how much risk of frostbite you're willing to accept, and to some extent a little bit of luck.

See my "cold coop" page, link in .sig below, for more on subject.

I found some thermostatically controlled outlets that turn on and off at various temps (35F/45F, 20F/30F, 0F/10F) and I can use either a ceramic heat bulb or a Sweeter Heater. I just want to know what the low end inside temp should be. Outside temps during the coldest part of the year will drop to daily highs around 0F and lows -20F, but never that cold for more than a few days at a time.

I'd suggest skipping the thermostat and simply keeping an eye on the chickens. If you think they're starting to have problems, turn the lamp on. You are smarter than a heatlamp about being able to interpret how they're doing

I'm also considering trying to rig this baby up to run on solar....

Ha, not going to happen, sorry, unless you have upwards of a thousand bucks to put into it. Heatlamps draw MAJOR wattage. It's not cheap even just to set up a solar-and-battery system to keep a 75w heated waterer going.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​