Winterizing - open their door or keep it closed?

[Molbaygun]

With the cold temps approaching, I have been getting the girls ready. The heat lamp thing makes me nervous....especially leaving it on at night. They hate the red lamp and seem to fight more with it on. Should the door opening to the run be closed or left open? What about making the opening smaller? Would hanging something - fabric wise - and making vertical slits in it help? I also covered their perches with the pipe insulation and they love it...nice and cushy on their toes! I taped it by thirds to stay in place. ANy thought son the door and red heat lamp would be great.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I just keep a heat lamp on the waterer, and use 2x4s flat for roosts and the girls have no problems staying warm. There is a big door for me, and a smaller door big enough for a large rooster to go through, and I cover it with a hanging towel to cut the drafts. They go in and out as they choose.

 

[Molbaygun]

Do you get nervous with the heat lamp? and can you use heated water bowls?

 

[Mrs MIA]

I've used the heat lamp for two years now. It is clamped to a cross-bar above the waterer, but hanging from a place that the chickens can't get to it. I check it now and again for dust, but I'm not really worried about it. If you hang a lamp too close to a roost, the chickens will sit so close to it that they will burn their feathers, so you have to make sure they can't get close to the bulb. Otherwise, it's fine.

You could probably use a heated bowl, too. I use a 3 gallon galvanized waterer, hanging in the corner. I would think that the girls would kick too much bedding into the bowl, though.

 

[cajunlizz]

I read where people that have 3 ft. of snow on the ground NEVER put heat or heat lamps in their coops ...

 

[Mrs MIA]

You can have 3 feet of snow on the ground at 32F. It's when you get to -40F that the heat lamp really comes into play.

 

[cmom]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

I've used the heat lamp for two years now. It is clamped to a cross-bar above the waterer, but hanging from a place that the chickens can't get to it. I check it now and again for dust, but I'm not really worried about it. If you hang a lamp too close to a roost, the chickens will sit so close to it that they will burn their feathers, so you have to make sure they can't get close to the bulb. Otherwise, it's fine.

You could probably use a heated bowl, too. I use a 3 gallon galvanized waterer, hanging in the corner. I would think that the girls would kick too much bedding into the bowl, though.

I agree with Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain. I do the same thing.

 

[lurky]

We chain and lock the heat lamp to whatever it is hooked to so it is not able to get knocked off. Unfortunately i share your fear of fire and lose sleep thinking about things like that. You can use a heat lamp safely.

 

[pdpatch]

Different breeds of chickens are hardier then others, in winter. Some handle the cold better then others do, just as some handle the heat better.

When deciding on how much to winterize you need to take into consideration the breed and how hardy it it. Where you live and how cold it can gets. Depending on if you don't mind hauling water a couple of times a day when it freezes a heated water is something to also consider.

My brother and sister in law live in southern Kansas they have about 30 Barbed Rocks for layers. At the coldest part of last year they were down to about 4 eggs a day. They don't heat there coop.

Here in the Middle of Nebraska we have Red Sex link, Buff Orphantions, and Barbed Rocks for layers. We used heat and kept the coop at around 25 to 30 degrees when the temp hit that -30 range. The red sex link never seemed to miss an egg. The buff maybe once every two weeks, and the Barbed Rocks missed an egg about every three to four days.

On the coldest day and when the wind blew we stapled plastic over the windows and doors. to keep the cold wind out.

Tom

 

[newchickmom]

I hang my heat lamp with a chain. I also make sure it has a guard on it and is not too close to the roosts.(we have had singed feathers before)