A passive solar air heater for the coop!

[CentralOregon]

This is the passive solar air heater that will be warming my coop this winter. It's a fully custom DIY design. There's a few other images of the building process in that same gallery, if you're interested. Check the descriptions for details on how it works.

 

[JackE]

I would not use that for the coop. The chickens do not need it. You would actually be doing the birds a favor, to let them naturally acclimate to the weather, as it turns colder. Chickens are built to handle cold weather, especially the breeds you have. I have the same breeds, among others, and they spend the winter in an open-air coop. We get temps into the low single digits, not including windchill, and the birds thrive. Use the heater for your garage.

 

[CentralOregon]

I would not use that for the coop. The chickens do not need it. You would actually be doing the birds a favor, to let them naturally acclimate to the weather, as it turns colder. Chickens are built to handle cold weather, especially the breeds you have. I have the same breeds, among others, and they spend the winter in an open-air coop. We get temps into the low single digits, not including windchill, and the birds thrive. Use the heater for your garage.

Last winter it got down to -30° here, not including wind chill factor, so I don't mind using the heater for the coop. The garage doesn't need one. Can you tell me what favor I'd be doing for the birds by not heating the coop at all? I'm not seeing the favor you're referring to.

 

[JackE]

You can read in the link below, about chickens being kept in open-air coops, in -40 temps. With no added heat. The chicken, like other birds already have a perfect insulating suit, with their feathers. That, and an average body temp of 105 degrees, means they are well suited for cold weather.

The favor I'm talking about, is letting them acclimate to the colder weather by growing in the proper feathering for the weather. By adding heat, you mess that up. And you make them dependent on that added heat. They will be uncomfortable, when they go outside their heated coop, on a cold day, unnecessarily so. All that can be avoided by letting them adapt, as nature intended.

Your coop, the # of chickens in it, if your ventilation is not right, and with you adding heat, you are looking for potential respiratory problems. They need fresh air, and plenty of it, even in winter. By closing your coop up, and adding heat in some misguided attempt to "Keep them warm" You are actually doing far more harm than good.


http://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood#page/n0/mode/2up

 

[CentralOregon]

I'm sure chickens can withstand much colder than what I plan for a coop temperature, but I will take a look at it. I'm not sure where you got the notion I'd be closing the coop up; I'm adding passive heat to the coop, not sealing it off by any means.

 

[CentralOregon]

I did take a quick look. The book subtitles itself as "a practical book on modern common sense poultry housing..." Unfortunately, "modern" in relation to this book refers to 1912, when it was published. I'm sure the information contained therein was modern in its time, but I'm unable to accept it as current best-practice standards given that it is over 100 years old. Nonetheless, thanks for the link.

 

[JackE]

I seen the pics of your coop. I am familiar with the design. I assumed, because you are adding heat, you would want to keep the heat inside by shutting the windows. If not, then what is the point of adding heat at all?

 

[JackE]

I did take a quick look. The book subtitles itself as "a practical book on modern common sense poultry housing..." Unfortunately, "modern" in relation to this book refers to 1912, when it was published. I'm sure the information contained therein was modern in its time, but I'm unable to accept it as current best-practice standards given that it is over 100 years old. Nonetheless, thanks for the link.

Being 100 yrs old means nothing as far as the book's info on chickens. Open-air coops were proven, and were the standard for the egg industry back in the day. And they can still be used .
Now today, in the egg industry, the chickens are packed in little cages, in giant warehouses, with force fed ventilation and climate control. Never seeing the light of day, and laying their eggs onto conveyor belts. Funny, but I believe the chickens were much better off in those "Old" open-air coops.
It's funny to me, to see people, not necessarily you, make housing mistakes with their chickens, worrying about them getting cold, and shutting their coops up tight. When it was shown 100yrs ago the importance of fresh air, and a lot of ventilation. So go ahead and dismiss time tested and proven info, and reinvent the wheel.

 

[CentralOregon]

Look, I'm not saying the book has bad information -- I'm simply saying that I, personally, cannot rely on it as current standard because it is outdated. My birds are raised in none of the conditions you depicted when you (again, wrongly) assumed that I would be reinventing any wheels. You should consider that there are many ways to achieve the same results (no matter the task) and your own preferred methods are not gospel. With time, better ways are found to do virtually everything. If everyone always relied on "tried and true" simply because it worked in the past, then we would probably also be using oblong wheels.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

That is neat- I think I saw something like that using painted black aluminum cans behind glass, awhile back.