Where to hang sweeter heater?

[aart]

This is how I did it.

@Scotty from BI
Nice that ceiling was prefect distance form roost...did you plan it that way?
Wonders what you have for ventilation....

....and....because I don't know what "BI" is...

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[aart]

@DoeAndGander ...how did it work out?

 

[Scotty from BI]

Thanks Bruce. I am retired so it's me and my chicks.

 

[Scotty from BI]

@Scotty from BI
Nice that ceiling was prefect distance form roost...did you plan it that way?
Wonders what you have for ventilation....

....and....because I don't know what "BI" is...

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
View attachment 1660010

I built the coop inside of a shed and the shed is next to and behind our garage which acts as a wind block. Here is the view of the coop from inside the shed viewed from each direction. The coop is entirely open on one side and from the bottom under the poop tray on the other. So the air is still on the perch but there is enough movement to prevent condensation in winter and allows it to be cool in summer.

I did not plan on the ceiling height for the heaters. I built the coop about 8 or 9 years ago and I bought the heaters last year. I was inspired to buy the heaters after some of my hens came up with frostbitten black combs the previous year. Problem solved.

BI stands for Bainbridge Island which is near Seattle, Wa.

 

[aart]

BI stands for Bainbridge Island which is near Seattle, Wa.

Ah yes...my son lived there for awhile.
I knew it rang a bell(a very tiny one buried in the way back of my brain).
Does it even freeze there?

 

[Scotty from BI]

The forecast is for temps around 21 degrees next week with scattered snow flurries. So yes we get some freeze, but not that often.

 

[DoeAndGander]

@DoeAndGander ...how did it work out?

Pretty good! Aside from the fact they were afraid of it for a while. I decided to mount it from fly rafter over the roost far left side of coop as that’s their favorite side to sleep on, so I figured that was my best bet. It was about 13” from roost.

The first night - they all slept in a pile under poop board.. they never sleep there.
Second night - an hour after sundown half were sleeping on right side (not under heater) on roost and the rest huddled in a pile on the hay on poopboard. I disrupted their beauty sleep and placed them on the right side under heater and put a piece of plywood over right side of roosts to hopefully deter them from using that side. After a few hours one stayed under heater and the rest were in a pile just below.
The third night - 3 slept under the heater and the rest piled just below it. I just left them thinking they were keeping each other warm during this hell freeze.

The coldest was -35 with -40 - 60 windchill. By night 3 and 4 you could sure tell it was taking a toll on them. Slower moving and quiet. Inside the coop all guineas and if you know of them, that is rare. my temp gun clocked the inside walls at -44 degrees. Outside of coop just flashed LOW which is below -50.

From what I can tell only two with frostbite. One pretty bad on her waddle and the other on her leg. Going out to put Green Goo on them in a bit. Hopefully they allow it

All in all I’m glad I got the heater. I cannot honestly tell you if it helped or not especially at night but it definitely helped me get through this LOL I did witness them raising up against it so I know they enjoyed it. I was hoping they would have taken more advantage of it at night but that was a failure on my part. I should’ve bought it sooner so they were used to it.

 

[DoeAndGander]

This is how I did it. They are flush mounted against the ceiling of the coop about 14 inches above the birds heads. The heaters don't actually heat the air in the coop, just things that will absorb heat like the birds. My thought was that the birds feathers protect their bodies and they sit on the flat perch to protect their feet so the only thing that really needs help is their vulnerable heads. The heaters put out a fairly uniform heat that raises the temp about 10 or maybe 15 degrees depending on ambient temp. Prevents frostbite and the chickens sleep comfortably through the night. I have mine set on a device that activates the heater when temps go below 32 degrees and turns the heaters off when the temps go up to 35 degrees. The birds may not even need it but I sleep better knowing they won't have black combs and waddles from frostbite and the coop won't be burned down in the night. the birds in the picture were about 4 months old so slightly smaller than they are now but you can see the proportions somewhat given the odd camera angle I needed to shoot upwards toward the heaters.

That was my thought as well... having it above roost being they can protect their feet. Nice coop! Very interesting way of doing it.

 

[DoeAndGander]

sleeping comfortably
View attachment 1659405

I really need to mount my camera! It would save me so many trips. I did notice your roost is a bit narrow (or looks like it is). A wider plank will help with frostbite prevention as well. How do you keep it so clean?!?

 

[Scotty from BI]

camera plays tricks with the appearance. The width is about 5 feet. probably a little more narrow than I would have liked but I had limited property in which to build the shed and coop and run which are nested like Russian dolls. I have cameras through out their spaces and love watching them. It also helps to know if they need attention.

One possible solution to teaching your chickens to go to the heater is to put the heater where they want to sleep and then slowly move it to where you want them to sleep instead of trying to herd them to the heater where you want it to be. Also another way to get them to go to the heater is to put a very, very low wattage red light shining where you want them to go at night. They seem to follow lights like moths. I have a 2 watt red Christmas light on a timer that I used to get them to go on their perch when they were young. Worked quite well. If you can't find a two watt light bulb, you can put something over it to filter it down. Too much light will not achieve your goal. Just a thought.

The beauty of the heater panels is that they can be flush mounted to the underside of the poop board with out concern for fires. Also, I used these same panels for them when they were day old chicks. They were hatched in October so it was pretty cool for 1 day old babies. I just went to the hardware store and bought a length of light weight chain like what comes with it but long enough to suspend the panel from a high ceiling to where it needed to be for the chicks to huddle under it. Worked great. Let us know how it goes. Good luck. Those temps sound crazy cold for anything living outside.