As much as I am "anti" routine use of heatlamps for normal chickens in a decently managed coop in weather warmer than the minus digits F...
...I should also point out that heat lamps DO NOT cause condensation. On the contrary, they decrease condensation and lower the relative humidity of the air. Honest. (Perhaps there is a confusion between absolute and relative humidity here -- it is relative humidity that matters in the coop).
That said, IMHO they are still an unnecessary fire risk and electricity waste in most cases. Reasonably winter-hardy breeds in still, DRY air (which depends mostly on good management and good ventilation, although climate plays some role too) should not be getting frostbite til you get down towards 0 F and really most are fine for considerably below that.
Put the chickens in HUMID air, though, such as what happens when people shut off most or all of their ventilation in a misguided effort to 'keep the warmth in'... and you can get frostbite just a few degrees below 32 F.
The moral of the story being, concentrate on good ventilation and good management so you have DRY air with no condensation (see note below) and you really should not need heat until it gets QUITE cold out.
(note: even if the coop air is acceptibly low humidity, you will sometimes get unavoidable condensation [frost] on the windows -- it should be ONLY the windows -- if there is a truly massive temperature differential between inside and outside, like if it is -10 F inside the coop but -40 outdoors. While a layer or two of bubblewrap on the windows will help, there is sometimes a limit to how much you can do about it and *just* the windows frosting over will not kill anyone. If frost is forming on the walls and ceiling, though, you seriously need better ventilation or more insulation or both)
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
...I should also point out that heat lamps DO NOT cause condensation. On the contrary, they decrease condensation and lower the relative humidity of the air. Honest. (Perhaps there is a confusion between absolute and relative humidity here -- it is relative humidity that matters in the coop).
That said, IMHO they are still an unnecessary fire risk and electricity waste in most cases. Reasonably winter-hardy breeds in still, DRY air (which depends mostly on good management and good ventilation, although climate plays some role too) should not be getting frostbite til you get down towards 0 F and really most are fine for considerably below that.
Put the chickens in HUMID air, though, such as what happens when people shut off most or all of their ventilation in a misguided effort to 'keep the warmth in'... and you can get frostbite just a few degrees below 32 F.
The moral of the story being, concentrate on good ventilation and good management so you have DRY air with no condensation (see note below) and you really should not need heat until it gets QUITE cold out.
(note: even if the coop air is acceptibly low humidity, you will sometimes get unavoidable condensation [frost] on the windows -- it should be ONLY the windows -- if there is a truly massive temperature differential between inside and outside, like if it is -10 F inside the coop but -40 outdoors. While a layer or two of bubblewrap on the windows will help, there is sometimes a limit to how much you can do about it and *just* the windows frosting over will not kill anyone. If frost is forming on the walls and ceiling, though, you seriously need better ventilation or more insulation or both)
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
