What temperature does is too cold at night? When to add heat lamp and door on coop?

[aart]

just a huge gap from what most say on this form and those requirements.

That's the beauty of a forum, you can find real life experiences.

 

[SirSquirrelNutz]

I think you'd have to have a thermometer inside the coop to know if it's below 35F. I would have guessed it's been lower than that in ours at times in the last three years but then I'm not taking into account their own body heat, the heat of their poop and breath. I haven't lost a hen yet to the cold.

But when we cold-brooded ten chicks in September in our mudroom, we used hot water in big plastic water jugs when they needed heat to cuddle up to at night. We moved the chicklets to a coop outside when they were about 7 weeks old and just put those bottles in at night. We stopped when they were old enough, but when it got brutal lately, we used them again and changed them every 3 hours or so.

Because we have the older ones in the "summer coop" in a big fenced yard which is not meant for over-wintering, we took hot water jugs out to them also one night and banked up the floor heavily with straw and chinked up gaps. That has helped tremendously. Another thing you can do is make sure that during the day, they have a warm place in the sun. We got a greenhouse tarp and draped it over a homemade PVC pipe and chicken wire chicken tractor we no longer use. I put a layer of straw down and faced the opening away from the northwards and they hang out there all day on the cold days because it's so nice and warm. Then we also draped a small swings frame with traps, open at one end, and I feed them there out of the wind.

This is giving us time before we integrate them with the younger ones who are currently living in the "winter coop" which has the more durable coop and pen.

Maybe these are some things you can do to ease your fears about freezing your chickens. But while they can get frostbite, remember, the main thing is to keep them dry and out of cold winds and draughts. They still need good ventilation in the coop at the top, but if they are dry and out of the wind, they should be fine.

I should add that "supplemental heat" does not mean a heat lamp or brooder lamp as that is the cause of coop fires everywhere. Be careful HOW you add heat. Better to make sure they can retain their heat than ADD heat.

Sooooo I must confess the coop has three temp probes.
1 in the camera, location is upper part near roof
2 hanging in the nest area (this measures humidity too)
3 is a probe hanging by the roosting area. This is attached to a controller that could regulate a heater like a sweeter heater or other radiant heater
So far the Run temps (outside) have been down to 12oF and coop has been 22oF around where chickens roost. They are Buff Orpingtons and not have any issues so far. Will this be the case when is it is -15oF?

I appreciate your experience and advice

 

[SirSquirrelNutz]

It's sad to hear such mis-information coming from that kind of source.
I suppose it might be valid for commercial setups that wants eggs all year around.
The info about using petroleum jelly to prevent frostbite is also not accurate.


I've had chickens for 10 years in prolonged freezing temps, at times below zero F.
Never heated the coop. I do provide electrolytes at times to help with cold stress.

It's sad to hear such mis-information coming from that kind of source.
I suppose it might be valid for commercial setups that wants eggs all year around.
The info about using petroleum jelly to prevent frostbite is also not accurate.


I've had chickens for 10 years in prolonged freezing temps, at times below zero F.
Never heated the coop. I do provide electrolytes at times to help with cold stress.

Oh yes, heard electrolytes does help. Do you mix in food or doses in drinking water?

 

[SirSquirrelNutz]

Their advice sounds like it's more oriented towards more commercial set ups, (though they specifically labeled it "small scale poultry") where it's common to have a standardized approach to everything from amount of light to temperature regulation to type of feed.

Going by their assessment my birds are too cold even though I live in a moderate climate. Yet there's quite a few members here in Alaska and in Canada that have chickens in unheated coops (aw well as ones that must have heated coops and enclosed runs, because it does get crazy cold where they're at).

Stupid cold is what my wife calls it

 

[aart]

Oh yes, heard electrolytes does help. Do you mix in food or doses in drinking water?

I mix it into rolled oats, I give no open waterers in winter.
Deets here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Debbie292d]

... while others say it's just a matter of time before you kill your birds when you give them heat.

​

That sounds familiar. I'll bet you're talking about the Wisconsin Chickens or other Wisconsin poultry groups on Facebook as usually people here aren't so dramatic.

I was on this thread days ago liking most replies as I too believe the vast majority of chickens are fine if they have dry, vented shelter, but now I saw your reply, so my two cents for what it's worth.

We heat our coop to 40F with a thin oil-filled radiant heater, mostly for me so eggs and a 5-gallon waterer don't freeze as our coop is a distance from the house. It has a GFCI electrical outlet inside in case of some electrical issue, but the heater itself couldn't start a fire. I have this same heater under my desk. We've done this for 7 years. Do they need heat? No, but I do. If our power would go out, which it rarely does, I don't worry. The water and eggs might freeze, but it's insulated and full of chickens so if the temperature outside is 0F, the temp in the coop will drop slowly, and from 40F to 15F. Been there, done that, last winter. 20-30 degrees is nothing, and they're used to that anyway as they're (silkies) outside free-ranging on nicer days at 20F and up. We have a generator, but didn't even bother.

The only usefulness those Facebook groups are to me is when I'm looking to buy or sell chicks or eggs. Other than that, I stick with BYC.

 

[SirSquirrelNutz]

That's the beauty of a forum, you can find real life experiences.
[/QUOT

That sounds familiar. I'll bet you're talking about the Wisconsin Chickens or other Wisconsin poultry groups on Facebook as usually people here aren't so dramatic.

I was on this thread days ago liking most replies as I too believe the vast majority of chickens are fine if they have dry, vented shelter, but now I saw your reply, so my two cents for what it's worth.

We heat our coop to 40F with a thin oil-filled radiant heater, mostly for me so eggs and a 5-gallon waterer don't freeze as our coop is a distance from the house. It has a GFCI electrical outlet inside in case of some electrical issue, but the heater itself couldn't start a fire. I have this same heater under my desk. We've done this for 7 years. Do they need heat? No, but I do. If our power would go out, which it rarely does, I don't worry. The water and eggs might freeze, but it's insulated and full of chickens so if the temperature outside is 0F, the temp in the coop will drop slowly, and from 40F to 15F. Been there, done that, last winter. 20-30 degrees is nothing, and they're used to that anyway as they're (silkies) outside free-ranging on nicer days at 20F and up. We have a generator, but didn't even bother.

The only usefulness those Facebook groups are to me is when I'm looking to buy or sell chicks or eggs. Other than that, I stick with BYC.

Thanks for you reply. That makes total sense why you heat. So far my chickens will stay in the covered run (roof & sides) if the temos is less than 30oF. When it over 30 they are out in the open run (predator protected, no cover roof or wind block.). Coop is very dry and located in the covered run area, so ventilation is good but drafts are minimal. I have GFCI power for the heated water right now, but may add a heater... Not really for chickens but my wife