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Do Chickens need heat??

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picassomcp

Member
Do Chickens need a heat lamp when it gets cold out? I have 2 chicken coops, each with an open door. Each coop has nesting boxes and plenty of spots to roost. The nesting boxes have hay in them. These are 2 year old Rhode Island Red hens, they have free access to each coop.

Last year I hung a heat lamp in the one coop, about a foot above the water dish to keep the water thawed. That didn"t work too well as the water froze anyway. So late last year I just unplugged the heat lamp and all the chickens did fine. This year, I haven"t used a heat light at all. I just put fresh water out each day. The hens look tough!, missing feathers, combs that look frost bitten, etc. I feel kinda bad about this, but I don"t think they got much benefit out of the heat lamp last year, and I don"t wanna run a heat lamp for nothing. I"ve also noticed that most days they don"t leave the coop at all. I figure that with snow on the ground and no bugs, why would they leave the coop?

Do you have heat in your chicken coops?
 
I do not use a heat lamp. However I keep lots of fluffed up hay for them. Being able to snuggle into the hay I believe makes the difference. I also have them closed up at night and hay bales on the outside to break the wind. No water inside the coop - I open them up in the morning and they have to stp outside to get drink. Cold/Frozen water inside the coop just makes the coop colder.
 
I realize that chicks do. These are 2 year old hens.

Also I should mention that I am in Central MN, it is supposed to be 20 below zero tonight with a brisk wind.
 
My parents have raised chickens for the past 50+ years and they at least have a heat lamp in the coops every winter. The lamps may not get run every night but at least there is the option. If you are not wanting to heat the coops at least cut drafts down as much as possible. Chickens are not naturally a cold climate bird and can get frostbite. Another thing to keep in mind is the colder the coops are the lower your egg productions will be, because the hens will use more of their energy growing feathers and trying to stay warm.
 
Its been a tough one this year hasn't it? Cats are looking tough too, cattle are getting pretty slow.

Couple years ago there was a promotion somewhere and I got an odd little foot mat that plugs in for about free. It heats to maybe 50-60 degrees, its for standing on in a cold shop. Never really used it.

2 cold snaps ago I dug it out, put it on the shed floor, see if the cats wanted it. First day or 2 they stayed away mostly.

Now there are 4 parked on it most all the time, with the others looking on, waiting for their turn.....

Paul
 
No heat needed for adult birds. Have had two different varieties , Rhode Island Red and Barred Rocks. The RIR's had a rooster with them and as a result a lot of feathers missing. They looked miserable but all lived through the winter last year.

This year we tried BR's with no rooster. All are fully feathered and look and act like chickens should.

Chickens will not come outside in snow. Only had them come out if I shoveled a path and scattered shelled corn.

My main concern is our coop without doors. Try to provide fresh air without creating drafts.

I use a heated waterer.

This is our current coop............. the other one is an 8x10 on skids, Amish built.

<a href="http://s614.photobucket.com/user/DaninOhio/media/July12013Eggcartnchickentractor009.jpg.html" target="_blank">
July12013Eggcartnchickentractor009.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo July12013Eggcartnchickentractor009.jpg"
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Insulated plastic side panels are installed during cold weather.
 
Chickens/turkeys take on the temperature of their environment, as opposed to mammals which generate their own heat by digesting what they eat. If your chickens are two years old, I think they"ve pretty well run their course. Soup time. My folks got out of chickens in the mid 50s when I was 10, so I don"t remember much other than we got new poults each year. I hated chickens!
 
We have an outdoor heated water bowl. When it"s empty, the cats curl up in it! Yeah, high of -13 today!
 
They don't NEED extra heat but they sure do better with it. We had a 8'X8' insulated chicken coop growing up in NE Iowa back in the day. Closed it up tight when it got cold with 2-3 heat lamps that kept it well above freezing.
 
Chickens don't need any heat, A heater under the waterer is a good idea. Don't let the wind or drafts get to them and feed them whole or cracked corn along with their regular feed.
 
My slightly (ehem) opinionated view is if you have livestock you take good care of them, including housing. It will pay dividends. That's the way I raised hogs and it paid off in better gain. Use anything you can get your hands on to stop the draft. Stapling cardboard to the inside of a drafty wall works good and it's cheap. South facing windows help keep them warm during the day. If they are allowed to go outside keep the door real small, just big enough for them to get through.

Our 15 layers are in a tight insulated coop with a heat lamp shining on the roosts. We've had plenty of nights with temps in the minus figures this month and the coldest it's been in there is 25 degrees in the middle of the building three feet off the floor until today when it dropped to 15 degrees. We have a heater under the water so they have plenty of water at all times. Our egg production since September has been 6.8 eggs per chicken per week or 98 percent and they're still laying just as well now as they were in warmer weather. They all look healthy. Once in awhile a hen will be sitting on the roosts with it's feathers fluffed but usually they don't act cold. Will insulating that shed and making it tight pay off in the end? No, but the birds are being pampered so I feel good about it. Jim
 
No, and it gets cold here in eastern NY, I only use brood light when I'm starting chicks, adult hens will tuck there head under there wing when roosting in the cold. Roosters don't and I've had some get frost bitten combs.
 
RI Reds are more cold hardy than they are heat hardy. I've never lost any in the cold but when it hits 100 outside all bets are off.

As long as they have something to roost on that their feet can wrap around they are good. They settle down on their feet for the night and keep their feet warm.

If it is going to be in the teens or lower I get them lots of cracked corn (hog feed) to help them have enough high energy feed for warmth. Not sure whether it actually does any good, but all of the other animals are that way so that's what I go with. I keep the waterer on one of those heated bases. Dehydration is as much or more of a problem for animals than in summer weather.
 
As others have mentioned about a heater under the water. A heat lamp can't heat up water as fast as the earth or concrete can suck the heat out of the water causing it to freeze.

We had a small swimming pool placed on a corn crib concrete slab years ago. The concrete would transfer the heat out of the water so quickly it wasn't even warm when we got home from work and got in it.
 
I forgot to add if there missing feathers maybe they are molting, losing there feathers to replace with new ones, I have a heated dog water bowl that works great for my chickens. I got it at tsc a few years ago. I don't see them there anymore thought, I don't have a pic of it on hand either.
 
Well when we had a lot of chickens we always heated the coops to keep them a reasonable temperature. Usually like it to be above 30 degrees for the low.

IF it gets 20 below tonight and they have an open door on the coop you may not have any problem tomorrow morning other than stiff frozen chickens.

Any animal that is producing food can only consume and convert so much energy. So if they are having to use a lot of the energy they create to stay warm you will not get many eggs or much meat on the chickens.

The things I would do if they where mine:

1) Get a heated water bowl. You can get heated ones for under $20.

2) Seal up the coop for cold weather. The number of chickens you have are not enough to worry about ventilation in this kind of weather.

3) I would also provide some heat for them. Weather this is a whole coop heat or heat bulbs but I would get them some heat. IF you search on line there are several companies making radiant Coop heaters.

4) Additional feed and/or higher protein feed so they are getting a higher energy food source. They can create more energy this way.
19.99 one at Walmart
 
All depends on if you want eggs etc. I have had chickens now since I was old enough to take care of them on and off. I close them up each night and one building has a heat lamp the other does not. Some years I have a lot of winter eggs some not. Me I prefer to at least give the bird the option of warm or cold. It has been cold here lately but I still get 2-5 eggs a day
 
I never had heat for my chickens but did make sure they were out of the wind. If it was real cold I would not let them out of the coop also heated water dish is a must.
 
They need protection from the wind and they need water. They also need fresh air; if you button up your coop tight it's going to get too humid.

By all means get a heater for your waterer.
 
I have 6 red's and I have two heat lamps on their roosts along with a heated waterer. I get 6 eggs a day and have very happy chickens. The bottom of the coup is open for air and the roosts are high enough to keep them out of any wind. I have read that the only problem with using heat lamps is that if you lose power the chickens are not acclimated to the cold and it might do more damage than good. I have a generator so power is not an issue but might be something to consider. We have chickens on the farm though that roam free and won't say in a coup and they have done fine with the cold...~Anthony
 
gets pretty cold here,
I don't use heat at all in the coop.
my coop is on a machinery pallet, so I can move it with forks.
winter, I put it in a wind sheltered spot that gets a lot of sun.
shut the door at night, and don't open it at all on brutal days.
double the amount of wood shavings in winter, very thick.
small watering tray that I swap out many times a day (freezes quickly)
checking on them at night, they all go into the laying boxes
when it's very cold. 2 or 3 chickens in each box.
 
I don't have any supplemental heat for my hens. My chicken house is draft free however. They have a small exit door that I keep closed when it's cold out. They won't come out anyway when it's cold, so why lose the heat by opening the door? I made a heater for my metal waterer that rests under the container. I made a raised metal box and run a regular 100 watt light bulb in that metal box. The waterer sets on top of that metal box. It does an excellent job of keeping the waterer unfrozen. My fourteen hens have been laying for 18 months now and I get 4-8 eggs each day now.
 
(quoted from post at 22:23:14 12/23/13) I realize that chicks do. These are 2 year old hens.

Also I should mention that I am in Central MN, it is supposed to be 20 below zero tonight with a brisk wind.
Click to expand...

Chickens are a tropical bird.-20F is dirty rotten cold , 52 degrees below freezing.
I keep a 250W heat lamp shining 24/7 on their waterer and roost. The back side of the waterer may freeze but the girls are basking in the warmth of the lamp. The coop is closed in tight except for enough controlled circulation to stay dry. One of these days I'm going to insulate the ceiling. That will make a tremendous improvement. Occasional have condensation on the ceiling.
Rooster in with them and they still have all the feathers. They are happy putting around scratching , clucking and singing.
.lots of hay, straw and sawdust to scratch around in.
Hens are old pets 2-5 years and they lay about 3-4 each per week. They are Ameraucana which are not profilic layers but the legs are a nifty blue-green.
 
YES, definately...Provide a good coop with insulated walls and air tight doors. Chickens are roosting birds and if you have provided a roost for them the roost should be made with a flat top so they will not curl their feet around it. This will make them sit on their feet and help prevent them from freezing their feet.
Put a thermometer in the coop and check it each morning.
You will also need to have a venting system that you can open and close to prevent manure gasses from buiding up. Keep it closed on real cold days [below freezing] and open it for a few hours on milder days.
I have had good luck using a heat lamp.
JUST IMAGINE YOURSELF SITTING IN AN UNHEATED BUILDING ON A BITTER COLD NIGHT>>HMMMM
 
Chickens don't need added heat any more than the wild birds flying around right outside their coop.

That being said, just because they don't NEED it doesn't mean you shouldn't give it to them.

A small heat bulb won't break the bank, and it'll take the edge off for them.

You'll find they try to get close to it - a sure indicator that they like it. So unless you're counting pennies, I say give it to them.

Just don't position it in a way that they can get too close and burn themselves on it.

Without heat, you'll have a lot of frozen combs. (obviously depending on how cold I gets where you are). If you see black patches on their combs and wattles, that's a hint that they'd really appreciate a lamp.
 
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