How to Keep Chicken Coops Warm
Backyard chicken raising is steadily gaining favor even in urban areas.
People decide to raise chickens for several reasons; some do it to have meat, eggs and garden fertilizer.
Others do it to ensure their own supply of free-range organic eggs, while some use it as a source of supplemental income.
For chicken farmers living in climates that experience very cold temperatures, keeping chicken houses warm is necessary to keep the flock comfortable and primed for optimal egg production.
In this article, we provide you with some instructions on how you can keep your chicken coops warm when it is freezing outside.
There are two basic approaches to keep chicken houses warm: insulating the interior of the chicken coop and installing a heat lamp.
These two approaches are not necessarily exclusive; they can be applied simultaneously, depending on how low temperatures can get in your area.
To insulate chicken coops, you can use any home insulation material that you may have lying around.
Ideally, however, you should use Styrofoam insulation that is 1-1/4 inches thick.
This material does not only keep the chicken coop warm during winter; in summer, the Styrofoam will help with ventilation.
Make sure that you cover the installed insulation with an inner wall made of wooden boards, so that your chickens cannot peck or eat the insulation material.
If you need your chicken coop to be further insulated, you can place bales of hay along the outside walls of the chicken house.
This would protect the chicken coop from the elements such as snow and wind.
Also line the floor and other surfaces of the coop with straw or pine shavings, so that the hens can have extra warmth while they roost.
If insulating the interior of the chicken house is not enough to keep your chickens warm and cozy during winter, you can install a heat lamp that is especially intended for chicken coops.
These chicken house lamps are designed to emit only heat, and not light.
As you know, chickens can only sleep when it is dark.
Using a heat lamp that is not intended as coop heating equipment will prevent your chickens from getting their night time sleep.
You can also install a thermostatically-controlled power outlet together with your heat lamp.
A thermostatically-controlled power outlet will automatically engage the heat lamp when the temperature drops to 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and then turn it off once the inside temperature gets to 45 degrees.
This will help you save on electric costs.
People decide to raise chickens for several reasons; some do it to have meat, eggs and garden fertilizer.
Others do it to ensure their own supply of free-range organic eggs, while some use it as a source of supplemental income.
For chicken farmers living in climates that experience very cold temperatures, keeping chicken houses warm is necessary to keep the flock comfortable and primed for optimal egg production.
In this article, we provide you with some instructions on how you can keep your chicken coops warm when it is freezing outside.
There are two basic approaches to keep chicken houses warm: insulating the interior of the chicken coop and installing a heat lamp.
These two approaches are not necessarily exclusive; they can be applied simultaneously, depending on how low temperatures can get in your area.
To insulate chicken coops, you can use any home insulation material that you may have lying around.
Ideally, however, you should use Styrofoam insulation that is 1-1/4 inches thick.
This material does not only keep the chicken coop warm during winter; in summer, the Styrofoam will help with ventilation.
Make sure that you cover the installed insulation with an inner wall made of wooden boards, so that your chickens cannot peck or eat the insulation material.
If you need your chicken coop to be further insulated, you can place bales of hay along the outside walls of the chicken house.
This would protect the chicken coop from the elements such as snow and wind.
Also line the floor and other surfaces of the coop with straw or pine shavings, so that the hens can have extra warmth while they roost.
If insulating the interior of the chicken house is not enough to keep your chickens warm and cozy during winter, you can install a heat lamp that is especially intended for chicken coops.
These chicken house lamps are designed to emit only heat, and not light.
As you know, chickens can only sleep when it is dark.
Using a heat lamp that is not intended as coop heating equipment will prevent your chickens from getting their night time sleep.
You can also install a thermostatically-controlled power outlet together with your heat lamp.
A thermostatically-controlled power outlet will automatically engage the heat lamp when the temperature drops to 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and then turn it off once the inside temperature gets to 45 degrees.
This will help you save on electric costs.