# Thoughts please



## Tmmcfarland (8 mo ago)

Ok, so, I’m trying to figure out ways to help keep my coop warm come winter. I’m in lower peninsula in Michigan. I’ve got my ducks/chickens. I’ve got lots of bales of straw that I’ve been using for bedding/nesting boxes that I’ll continue to use throughout the winter. The coop was my dads work shed when he lived here. He had it hooked up so as he could turn heat on in there. It’s hooked to the furnace to the house. It has its own thermostat so as he could regulate the temp out there. Is that a good idea for it now being a coop? Also, I don’t know exactly how it’s hooked up. I’m just going off of what he told me and what I know from when I lived here as a child. Sorry so long, just wanted to let you know all the info. Please, no negative or rude comments. I’m looking for helpful info. Thank you!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Trust me, rude comments are not allowed here. 

One of the things to consider very carefully, is if the birds get used to the warm coop going out can be a shock to them. They have the best insulation going having feathers covering their bodies. You only need to worry about frostbite on their combs and feet. The feet one is easy. A 2X4 on its wide side. They can settle down and completely cover their feet.

The combs are bit more complicated. The shed can't be airtight. It needs a bit of air circulation to keep moisture from collecting in the coop. Having a small opening near the floor and one near the roofline on the opposite wall helps a lot.


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## Lillith (10 mo ago)

I live in ND, so I'm accustomed to brutal winters. We have weeks at a time of -20s temps. The usual advice is don't heat your coop in the winter because, as Robin said, they'll never go outside, and if you have a power outage you can kiss your entire flock goodbye. My last one was done with just 7 chickens total in a coop that was oversized for that few birds. It was not heated. If you have enough chickens, their body heat might keep it perfectly warm, but mine struggled a bit with frostbite, so we'll see how it goes this winter with 20 chickens. They do huddle together to share body heat, and their feathers insulate them surprisingly well against the cold.

Anyways, I wouldn't try to keep your coop warm, just draft-free and dry. My chickens were perfectly fine until the temps started to drop into the single digits and negatives for extended periods of time (weeks at a time, not just overnight), and then I started noticing frostbite. Personally, this year I'm not turning on any supplementary heat unless the temp *inside* the coop drops below 10 degrees F. If your shed has a thermostat, it'll do it automatically for you when it senses the temperature drops. 

Is the shed forced air heated? Where's the vent? My only concern would be the vent getting blocked if it's near the floor. Other options would be "Cozy Coop" panel heater, which is much like the heat plate used for baby chicks, which can also be hooked up to a thermostat. This is developed for coops and won't be a fire hazard like heat lamps.

Other things that help in the winter are insulation, which helps retain the birds' body heat. You can do a deep litter method, as the composting litter emits heat. If you can, keep water outside so the moisture inside the coop is kept to a minimum. Moisture creates frostbite. Because our winters are so brutally cold and the chickens sometimes refuse to venture outside, I have to keep my water inside, but I use nipple drinkers to prevent spills and excessive moisture outside the tank.


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## Tmmcfarland (8 mo ago)

Lillith said:


> I live in ND, so I'm accustomed to brutal winters. We have weeks at a time of -20s temps. The usual advice is don't heat your coop in the winter because, as Robin said, they'll never go outside, and if you have a power outage you can kiss your entire flock goodbye. My last one was done with just 7 chickens total in a coop that was oversized for that few birds. It was not heated. If you have enough chickens, their body heat might keep it perfectly warm, but mine struggled a bit with frostbite, so we'll see how it goes this winter with 20 chickens. They do huddle together to share body heat, and their feathers insulate them surprisingly well against the cold.
> 
> Anyways, I wouldn't try to keep your coop warm, just draft-free and dry. My chickens were perfectly fine until the temps started to drop into the single digits and negatives for extended periods of time (weeks at a time, not just overnight), and then I started noticing frostbite. Personally, this year I'm not turning on any supplementary heat unless the temp *inside* the coop drops below 10 degrees F. If your shed has a thermostat, it'll do it automatically for you when it senses the temperature drops.
> 
> ...


The coop is hooked into our furnace. When my dad built it, the vent is on the wall, in a corner. I think I’ll scratch the heating. I’ll just take you & robin have recommended. I would hate to have something happen to my birds due to something I did that could’ve been prevented. My daughter would be devastated! Those chickens/ducks are her babies. Again, thank you for all of the very informative advice. It’s much appreciated & thank you for being nice! Other places have not been so nice.


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## Lillith (10 mo ago)

It all depends on how your winters go. If your average lows never leave double digits, I wouldn't worry about it a bit.


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## Tmmcfarland (8 mo ago)

Lillith said:


> It all depends on how your winters go. If your average lows never leave double digits, I wouldn't worry about it a bit.


There are times it gets negative but not extended periods of time. We should be fine. I’m more worried about my daughter if something were to happen to her babies. Lol


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I forgot about those heat panels. Living down here it's not something I ever had to worry about. TM, they don't put out heat like a space heater does. They sort of take the bite out of the air. 

You won't find hateful here. Not if PJ and I are on top of our game.


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## Tmmcfarland (8 mo ago)

robin416 said:


> I forgot about those heat panels. Living down here it's not something I ever had to worry about. TM, they don't put out heat like a space heater does. They sort of take the bite out of the air.
> 
> You won't find hateful here. Not if PJ and I are on top of our game.


Sorry, I didn’t mean there’s negative here, I meant negative temps. Lol! Sorry! I might have my hubby look into those heat panels. That may be something to help when temps are in single & negative digits


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

My comment was in response to something you said earlier. Not about the negative temps. Although if we can do anything about that for you we'd try.  

You didn't say, did you? Is the shed insulated? I would think it is if he had heat run to it.


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## Tmmcfarland (8 mo ago)

robin416 said:


> My comment was in response to something you said earlier. Not about the negative temps. Although if we can do anything about that for you we'd try.
> 
> You didn't say, did you? Is the shed insulated? I would think it is if he had heat run to it.


There is some insulation, yes. That might be enough along with the straw/deep bedding to keep them warm


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