# Heat?



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

I was reading on another forum about lights in their coop. So I got interested and am starting a thread of my own about this. I keep a heat lamp on a specifically designed part of the coop meant for heat lamp. I leave it on 24/7 cause of the harsh weather in New England. I know people have different opinions about this, so I would live to hear yours and your set-up!


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What happens if your power goes out? Or the lamp goes out in the coldest part of Winter? Your birds will be slammed in to adjusting to the colder weather instead of gradually getting used to it. 

No one believes that they should have heat 24/7 during the coldest weather unless they are chicks or under the weather. 

They have feathers that allow them to stay warm, the only parts that could suffer from the cold are combs, wattles and feet. And we can help them out there by making certain they are not in a draft, that their roosts are the proper roosts and if necessary coating wattles and combs with a bit of vaseline to keep them dry and more protected.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Yeah, I know most people don't like to leave heat on their girls, but all my friends I know have heat lamps in their coops. (to be fair only 3 of my friends have chickens  ) but I think that EVERYONE thinking its a bad idea is a bit of an stretch  my gals are real spoiled!


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Also we have 5 big heavy duty generators and 2 smaller ones for back up, I think we're good! Haha, after that big ice storm of 08 we aren't taking any chances!


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I raised birds until recently that sold for high dollars. A dozen eggs yielded nearly a hundred dollars. 

Wouldn't you think that if I was concerned about cold and such valuable birds I would not also provide them with heat? No. A healthier bird is one that can live as close to nature as possible. 

And ask yourself this question, before electricity chickens lived in slapped together coops without the benefit of heat or light. Because of that they have developed the necessary tools to survive cold weather. If they're chilled they lift their feathers a bit away from their bodies to trap body heat. Essentially what we do when we put on a down coat or sleep under a down comforter. They are much more adept at keeping their body heat regulated than us weaker humans.


----------



## Mamachickof14 (Aug 28, 2012)

I'm from far being an expert...just my opinion...I use a light with the days getting shorter, for the laying. I have it on now from 4:00AM to 7:30AM...we live in the Southern Tier of New York. It gets pretty cold here. I'm sure that light puts off a little heat...I have a nice coop with good ventilation. I keep it dry, make sure they have all the feed they want and water. This is my 3rd year with chickens and haven't had any problems...oh, on the coldest days I have been known to feed them warm oatmeal...love my girls... My problem was somehow this last week my older girls got Cocci...I had to put them down but I saved the young 5 Barred Rocks and my rooster. I'm the one that wrote in about the dosage of Corid... Back to the cold...they snuggle together at night and seem to do OK. I'm interested in hearing what others have to say too! Jen


----------



## Mamachickof14 (Aug 28, 2012)

Robin416...I like your answer...they aren't humans! Jen


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Yeah, like I said most people don't agree with it. But hey, thats fine! My chickens have lived through it and seem to be enjoying it, right? I'm not going to change my ways, I am just interested in what other peeps think  get it?


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Mamachickof14 said:


> Robin416...I like your answer...they aren't humans! Jen


I know.... but I treat them as my dogs. After all they come to me when I call and cluck when I have treats. Can barely tell the difference!


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And you're getting the answers. Those that have raised them for far longer don't provide heat because its healthier for the birds.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

I asked for peoples stories and what they do with their chickens, not for what I should do. I have my own system and it works for me. Just interested in seeing how other people do it.


----------



## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

My story...(and why I feel the way I do.)

http://www.chickenforum.com/f13/flock-management-214/


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

That's very sad  maybe the owner should have informed the buyer a BIT more.


----------



## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

The owner pasted over (untimely accident - death) ... The house, barn and animals were sold via auction. The friend did know how the horses had been kept but his barn was not climate controlled.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Oh gosh that just makes it even worse. Dd you know the person?


----------



## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

He was a friend of a friend ...


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Oh, I'm sorry for the loss. It really is sad though. I don't think I will have to worry about dying though.... my parents and I know how to set up everything, heck even my 6 year old sister knows how to!


----------



## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

chickett said:


> Oh, I'm sorry for the loss. It really is sad though. I don't think I will have to worry about dying though.... my parents and I know how to set up everything, heck even my 6 year old sister knows how to!


It wasn't only about the owner dying ...


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

I know. It was you trying to give me a story to show me why you dont keep heat on your chickens. But the reason why those horses died was because of the owners death. Thanks for sharing this story with me


----------



## kessy09 (Jun 16, 2013)

I will not be heating or lighting my coops. The whole point of getting chickens for us in the first place was so that we could raise natural meat/eggs. I intend to stick with that thought process that the best way of life for chickens (or any animal) is to live the way nature intended as much as possible. I'm not quite set up yet to allow then to free range but that's the ultimate goal. For now, I will stick to trying to do what's best (keeping as natural of an environment as possible). I live in Canada, our winters get to -40 Celsius (which is also -40 Fahrenheit) on a very regular basis. I chose breeds that are winter hardy.


----------



## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

chickett said:


> I know. It was you trying to give me a story to show me why you dont keep heat on your chickens. But the reason why those horses died was because of the owners death. Thanks for sharing this story with me


You are welcome and Best of luck.

I hope the story will give others something to think about.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Thanks! And yeah, if people are trying to decide whether to put heat on the girls I would say no. I dont want to stop using the light though cause the gals are used to it and I spent a few bucks on it. Would have asked on here if I found this app earlier!


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

*Things to ponder:
*
I've found that most of today's flock owners identify with their chickens to the point that they think chickens feel the weather like they do, so they try to provide what they would want in their own home.

Dogs don't need warm houses, chickens don't need warm houses, cats nor horses need warm houses in the winter. I'll tell you why...all these species have fur or feathers. That's a clear indicator they are meant for living outdoors in all weathers. Humans, on the other hand...nekked. That's why we need warm houses. 

I do know this...the reason folks in warmer climes have more trouble will coccidia and other illnesses of that ilk is because those bacteria thrive in warm, moist conditions. The reason they have more trouble with internal parasites is because there is not cold enough weather to kill larvae in the soils.

Here we sit in New England, where it frosts and even gets into single digits and folks want to mimic tropical conditions in their coops...and then seem surprised when their chickens get illnesses and high parasite loads. But, of course, if all their friends are doing it, it must be right... 

Another detriment to the birds is in moving from a warm environment to a cold environment out in the run and then back again. The rapid adjustments needed and the humidity created by that can cause respiratory difficulties in the form of viral infections.

But, hey..they make meds for all that, right? Easy peasy..if you make the birds sick you can always just give them medicines all the time to keep them well. No worries.

As for me and my coops, no lights, no heat. God didn't design these birds to need such things to live a naturally healthy life, so doing anything differently just messes up that wonderful design. Why work against their natural healthy life to impose our own ideas of what is healthy or necessary when chickens have been thriving since the beginning without that sort of intervention? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm going to hit on something you said, Bee. Viral respiratory issues are not treatable with antibiotics, I know you know that but we have those that don't. 

One other pet peeve I have with medications are the untrained hitting their birds or animals with drugs and have no clue. They end up treating with the wrong drug or treating when nothing at all is the better choice.


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

robin416 said:


> I'm going to hit on something you said, Bee. Viral respiratory issues are not treatable with antibiotics, I know you know that but we have those that don't.
> 
> One other pet peeve I have with medications are the untrained hitting their birds or animals with drugs and have no clue. They end up treating with the wrong drug or treating when nothing at all is the better choice.


Exactly. My point exactly...some things there just aren't meds for and some things there just aren't enough words for. Poor chickens are the ones who have to suffer in the end...all in the name of "love".


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Bee said:


> Exactly. My point exactly...some things there just aren't meds for and some things there just aren't enough words for. Poor chickens are the ones who have to suffer in the end...all in the name of "love".


You got it. Well, I knew you did.

While my birds are treated with care, I still have the first birds I got when I got in to this Silkie raising thing years ago. I let my birds be birds. They were never cage kept unless ill. If they wanted to roll around in mud puddles then that's what they got to do. That's why I still have birds that defy the odds since they are so highly bred.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Yeperooski. I don't keep heat on just cause my friends do, I do it because at the chicken store I got them at said I should throw a heat lamp on em in the winter. I'm not gonna change my ways so please don't try! Also, none of my chickens have ever gotten sick in the winter, in fact none of my chickens have ever gotten sick until this past day and even that was a minor blip. Even if they were I wouldn't feed them meds, there chickens and if its there time its there time.


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

That's a great way to learn about chickens...do what the feed store tells you and not change your ways no matter what.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

No! I am sorry if you took it that way! I don't want to change my ways because my chickens have had this for a while now and I dont want them to die like those horses did in that story.


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

But a post ago you said if it's their time to go, it's their time to go. Now, you think a heat lamp is going to keep them from dying in the winter due to cold. But, you won't listen to people who have raised chickens in the cold for the better part of their lives and can attest that no chickens died from cold, illness or any other reason related to cold weather. 

I think you're a little confused about your goals and it might help if you read a lot from folks who raise chickens in the colder climes without the aid of heat lamps. And it might be more helpful if those people have raised chickens a little longer than a few years...a few years is nothing in chicken years. 

Heat your birds if it makes you feel better, but you do need to know that it may not be the wise choice for the long run and for your chickens. That's what the folks are trying to convey. I've lived in these mountains all my life...no chickens have died due to cold in three generations of our family. 

What I do read, however, on another forum, are stories of chickens always sick in the winter months, burned down coops due to heat lamp accidents, etc. as people try to treat chickens like humans. It rarely ever works out for the long term. There are always exceptions, but those are called exceptions because they are just that.


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What I noted is that once those that have been raising them for years without heat post their experiences its not what the OP wanted to hear. There really ended up being no need to ask the question since the OP is going to do what the OP wants to do, good, bad or indifferent as they say.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Yeah, I know there are people on here who have been raising chickens a LOT longer on here then me!  but, like I said this was not a thread to ask whether or not I should keep heat on them, just to see what other people do. I have my own process and if people dont agree with it so be it, after all not everyone has to do it the same way right?


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Sure thing. I'm curious..why do you want to know what other people do in the winter?


----------



## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

Time to take a deep breath folks ... We are here to help the best we can. We can give our view but it up to others as to what info that want or take from a post.

I hate to lock threads but I will.


----------



## chickett (Sep 29, 2013)

Just to see the general idea of what people do. I got interested on another thread about it so I started my own.


----------

