| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lilangelacres |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 12:43:35 PM
Hi This is my first post on the forum. I have 15 chickens and two ducks that I have raised since this last Spring. We had chickens when I was growing up in Oregon (western side of the Cascades) and winter wasn't much more work than the rest of the year. We get really cold temps in Iowa (tomorrow night is forcasted to be in the 20s). I have read so much about caring for chickens in the cold, but there is a lot of contradictory information.
I really need to know if I should have heat lamps for them or not? There actual coop is in the barn (they have a protected place to go outside also)
Any help will be greatly appreciated so that they come through winter healthy.
Thanks
Leslie
Ah Farm Life - Wouldn't want to be anywhere else! |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Annab |
Posted - Oct 12 2009 : 03:34:38 AM
OF COURSE!
If temps are really super low and you can get hands on your flock, paste their combs and wattles with petrolium jelly.
Protects from frostbite.
I have had a few roosters whose comb tips have turned black from this. Didn't phase them in the least, but made me feel badly anyway
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| windypines |
Posted - Oct 11 2009 : 04:35:42 AM
Sometimes you will have some frostbitten combs. It happens. You can also throw around some corn for them. They love to scratch in the bedding, and it it helps keep them warmed up and active. Having a light on in the coop, overnight helps with laying.
Michele |
| lilangelacres |
Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 2:55:18 PM
Wow! Thanks to all of you, there are some great suggestions here and lots of things I didn't know before. Last January we had a day that we were 35 below. The actual coop is in the barn so the drafts can be kept to a minimum and if I need to I can stack straw around the coop to help insulate it. We spent the morning cleaning and building to make it better for them for winter and I think we have it as good as it can get structurally. I will put lots of shavings in and then just keep my eye on them. I worry about frostbite on their combs, also. If it is really cold then all five horses are in the barn along with the barn dog. Don't know if that helps with the heat, but we shut all the doors so the wind stays out. I am sure I will have lots more questions as winter continues. We actually had a 1/2 inch of snow this morning. I really appreciate all of the input from everyone - THANKS!
Leslie
Ah Farm Life - Wouldn't want to be anywhere else! |
| Lessie Louise |
Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 09:44:58 AM
Thank you everyone for the advice, I am never sure in the winter about my girls, I do put the heat lamp ion in the low 20's. One thing I found to be helpful is I rake up my leaves and save them in large black bags, and dump them in the coop through out the winter. The chicks love scratching around in them and it piles up nicely in the coop. And in the spring it makes the best compost. You all take good care, Carol
how sweet it is to love some one, how right it is to care |
| sherrye |
Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 09:34:19 AM
i agree with the suggestions here for sure.i find draughts and wind and wet are the problem. i live in the high mountains called the cascades and we get to minus 10 at night. my girls have a tight insulated house. this is an advantage. you can use the deep litter system which i used to do. you allow the droppings in the coop to remain and build up. you add shavings to keep the top clean and dry as needed. the deep litter starts to break down creating large amounts of heat for your girls. as long as you have no leaks and it is just chicken litter it will not smell. i would like to refer to the book Sol-Viva. written by a woman in marthas vinyard area. she uses the 4 to 5 btu of heat each chicken creates to heat a large greenhouse through the winter. chickens produce large amounts of heat so in a coop they heat each other. hope this helps you out. lights must be used in winter even on new girls bent on laying. chickens have to believe spring is here to lay a egg. the egg is her baby and moult in winter is what they do without lights for at least 16 hours. |
| Autumn Leaves |
Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 09:07:21 AM
I also just keep plenty of warm bedding. My coop is closed on 3 sides and open on 1. The open end to the run is away from approaching weather so it stays dry inside. I put the feeders and one of the waterers inside during the winter that way they don't have to go out if they don't want to. When the waterers freeze I haul out warm water to melt the ice. So far I've never had a problem with anyone getting too cold. We get really cold periods here and snow off and on. Oh, almost forgot I increase the srcatch or corn that they get in the fall and that fattens them up a little more for winter to help with the cold. Hope that helps. Enjoy your winter little feathered ladies!
Warm Wishes
Jennifer
Never let yesterday use up too much of today - Will Rogers
http://jenscountrylife.blogspot.com |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 6:40:37 PM
Grace, the fire marshal said it was defective, possibly, and that it shorted out, poped the bulb and sparked the fire. At the time, it did not matter to me how it started, I blamed myself, and still do, and I will never use another one in any of my barns. There is nothing worse than knowing that the animals that died, had no way out. Now I make sure everything is draft proof and with extra bedding, and to date I have lost none to the cold. No we do not have the winters that you have, but at 3800 ft, we do get some nasty weather.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 5:53:09 PM
So how did it catch on fire??? I had a friend who had a fire in her lambing barn from a heat lamp - what the fire department found was that the lamp got dislodged from the clamp and fell. We all learned that year of better ways to secure the lamps. She felt horrible because they both are on the fire department and just did not take those extra steps. Do you know what went wrong??
I once had a ewe melt her wool to a heated bucket - strangest thing ever but that was the last year we used heated buckets - luckly the ewe and everyone else was fine but she had this big blue plastic patch till spring shearing. 
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 5:27:50 PM
I have many fire extinguishers in every barn and out building, and my heat lamp was new, woke up to my neighbors at my door several years ago, and my coop was on fire, which spread to another building in seconds. I only used it when the temp dropped below 20 degrees, also I keep low watt lights on in all my coops/barns etc at night always, they are on timers. I don't mean to scare anyone, I went thru hell knowing animals burned to death, cause I took a chance.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| Annab |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 5:19:29 PM
You can provide deep bedding in the coop, like pine shavings or straw and of course as already stated, keep everything as draft free as you can.
All our coops are 3 sided structures.
If it gets too bad, we board up all but the one entracne side.
Two coops are also movable, so these are shifted to catch most of the day's sun early on too |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 5:07:46 PM
I do give my girls a heat lamp. Several reason's - first we can get some bone chilling winds and my coop is not insulated. Next, this gives the girls that extra light with a purpose to keep them laying thru the winter. Also, I have found it keeps them drinking - and if an animal just like a person keep hydrated they have a better time keeping themselves healthy, happy and productive. I figure the pennies it costs to run a heat lamp is well worth the life and production of my girls.
Also, the risk of fire is very low if you keep the lamp in good condition, do not place it close to the shavings, secure the lamp where there are several safe guards in place and you should have a fire extinguisher at every enterance and exit in your barns, coops and sheds - that is just plain common sense no matter if you have a heat lamp or not.
Good luck and stay warm - we already have had snow and temps in the low 20's.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 4:29:18 PM
No drafts, or water leaking in, and as Kelly said sawdust, shavings and straw and they should be fine. With heat lamps you always take a chance of a fire.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| 4HMom |
Posted - Oct 09 2009 : 2:06:36 PM
I don't usually put a heat lamp in with the girls unless it's going to get below 10 degrees or so. They have plenty of sawdust and straw and their coop is insulated. I wouldn't worry too much about the 20's.
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi |
