Another coop heating question but abnormal situation

[Eggman5232]

Hello to all,
Been raising chickens for about 10 years and never heated the coop. Here in Maryland we generally never get colder than 10 degrees. I raise mostly Orpingtons so they’re pretty cold hardy. My situation is that unfortunately I’m down to one hen and she is molting.Typically multiple hens keep each other warm but she has no coop mates. I had hoped to get a couple more hens by now but as you know can’t just throw them in there and my additional adjacent coop plans didn’t happen in time. ANYWAY, Since she is molting and has no coop mates, I feel the need to supplement the coop this winter. I’d welcome any arguments against this, but I’m leaning towards heating the perch. Heated perches that I see advertised are not appealing. Usually they are round and too small in diameter and/or too hot. I use a 2x4 with rounded edges for perches. My best solution- assuming that I even decide to heat- at this point would be to attach these heated perches underneath the perch and let the heat conduct into the perch. Unfortunately this would be a “disposable” solution of sorts since I hope to never be in a single bird situation again. But she looks at me as her flock, follows me around even when I’m working in the garage so l owe it to her. She’s 3 years old so hope that she’s around for awhile. Thanks in advance and happy holidays!

 

[NatJ]

Hello to all,
Been raising chickens for about 10 years and never heated the coop. Here in Maryland we generally never get colder than 10 degrees. I raise mostly Orpingtons so they’re pretty cold hardy. My situation is that unfortunately I’m down to one hen and she is molting.Typically multiple hens keep each other warm but she has no coop mates. I had hoped to get a couple more hens by now but as you know can’t just throw them in there and my additional adjacent coop plans didn’t happen in time. ANYWAY, Since she is molting and has no coop mates, I feel the need to supplement the coop this winter. I’d welcome any arguments against this, but I’m leaning towards heating the perch. Heated perches that I see advertised are not appealing. Usually they are round and too small in diameter and/or too hot. I use a 2x4 with rounded edges for perches. My best solution- assuming that I even decide to heat- at this point would be to attach these heated perches underneath the perch and let the heat conduct into the perch. Unfortunately this would be a “disposable” solution of sorts since I hope to never be in a single bird situation again. But she looks at me as her flock, follows me around even when I’m working in the garage so l owe it to her. She’s 3 years old so hope that she’s around for awhile. Thanks in advance and happy holidays!

Molting usually doesn't take too many weeks. So I would treat this as a very temporary situation, not something that will last all winter.

Maybe start by keeping an eye on the weather forecast until she is done molting-- she might finish before the weather gets cold enough to matter.

If there will be a really cold night while she is still looking naked, yes that might call for some heat. I'm not sure what kind of heat source would be best: flat panel heater, heat lamp, the heated perch you mentioned, or something else. In any case, I would not try to keep the area it very warm, maybe just above freezing. And I would only use the heat on cold nights, not warmer nights and probably not days either (maybe a few days if there's a cold snap while she's really naked.)

Once she has a full set of feathers again, I would expect her to be fine with no heat, just like your hens have been in the past.

 

[StinkyAcres]

How cold is it getting there now and how far along in the molting process is she?

My best solution- assuming that I even decide to heat- at this point would be to attach these heated perches underneath the perch and let the heat conduct into the perch.

A wooden 2x4 will not conduct heat.
If you insist on heating, I'd recommend a radiant infrared heater like a Sweeter Heater. https://www.sweeterheater.com/ This heater can also be used for chicks in the future.

 

[AntiqueB]

A heat plate can be mounted on the wall, so she could get as close or far as she wants. It can also be repurposed as a brooder plate, as StinkyAcres said.

 

[ChicNmom]

https://www.amazon.com/Cozy-Product...-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

I have a couple of these. They don't put out a lot of heat. Just enough. Mine has 2 heat settings and as mentioned you could put it where she can be closer if she's cold but move away if she's too warm.

 

[Eggman5232]

Molting usually doesn't take too many weeks. So I would treat this as a very temporary situation, not something that will last all winter.

Maybe start by keeping an eye on the weather forecast until she is done molting-- she might finish before the weather gets cold enough to matter.

If there will be a really cold night while she is still looking naked, yes that might call for some heat. I'm not sure what kind of heat source would be best: flat panel heater, heat lamp, the heated perch you mentioned, or something else. In any case, I would not try to keep the area it very warm, maybe just above freezing. And I would only use the heat on cold nights, not warmer nights and probably not days either (maybe a few days if there's a cold snap while she's really naked.)

Once she has a full set of feathers again, I would expect her to be fine with no heat, just like your hens have been in the past.

Molting usually doesn't take too many weeks. So I would treat this as a very temporary situation, not something that will last all winter.

Maybe start by keeping an eye on the weather forecast until she is done molting-- she might finish before the weather gets cold enough to matter.

If there will be a really cold night while she is still looking naked, yes that might call for some heat. I'm not sure what kind of heat source would be best: flat panel heater, heat lamp, the heated perch you mentioned, or something else. In any case, I would not try to keep the area it very warm, maybe just above freezing. And I would only use the heat on cold nights, not warmer nights and probably not days either (maybe a few days if there's a cold snap while she's really naked.)

Once she has a full set of feathers again, I would expect her to be fine with no heat, just like your hens have been in the past.

She’s been molting for a few weeks now and we’

Molting usually doesn't take too many weeks. So I would treat this as a very temporary situation, not something that will last all winter.

Maybe start by keeping an eye on the weather forecast until she is done molting-- she might finish before the weather gets cold enough to matter.

If there will be a really cold night while she is still looking naked, yes that might call for some heat. I'm not sure what kind of heat source would be best: flat panel heater, heat lamp, the heated perch you mentioned, or something else. In any case, I would not try to keep the area it very warm, maybe just above freezing. And I would only use the heat on cold nights, not warmer nights and probably not days either (maybe a few days if there's a cold snap while she's really naked.)

Once she has a full set of feathers again, I would expect her to be fine with no heat, just like your hens have been in the past.

She’s been molting for about 3 weeks now and we’re expecting temps in the 20’s for the next 10 days or so hence my concern

 

[Eggman5232]

How cold is it getting there now and how far along in the molting process is she?

A wooden 2x4 will not conduct heat.
If you insist on heating, I'd recommend a radiant infrared heater like a Sweeter Heater. https://www.sweeterheater.com/ This heater can also be used for chicks in the future.

Thanks. Yes any supplemental heating would be radiant however I’ve seen mixed reviews on reliability.

 

[Eggman5232]

https://www.amazon.com/Cozy-Products-CL-PW-Warmer-Heater/dp/B076BVP5P2/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=ZAAOH82FRDMO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Yz3prTaf4BI0pks4CatTxVwlGDeZN4USJbJuwXBW9FM5Ubn67qCQ23ZOTdgzVhuHPezI_kTwl1wKf9ulXSxoy6QfvOHFPmbFJumOiBqW97kv1c9yq2-WQZw78UwZWtDdsvYO9NYJ5j1YGR1MiLR0g-iWrhGFtJ1fkMgmmxVXvuxHZZNAW5cdBMVZ7gXNNoKH76DAiUAlXPQnoeEcqewm4PRRegpxNmq660BlqEtg7KALf7aYCC-YL5vCivQDA5QZWlI60bKtrkcjIoXePbUI2LqtgsitKJ2gwo3I2XDpXfg.9d1YVRl22JwQDGZKK1SRKbxi7GYkyXDKxHIWgerAZ-k&dib_tag=se&keywords=flat+panel+coop+heater&qid=1732578336&sprefix=flat+panel+coop+,aps,157&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

I have a couple of these. They don't put out a lot of heat. Just enough. Mine has 2 heat settings and as mentioned you could put it where she can be closer if she's cold but move away if she's too warm.

How long have you had them. Seen mixed reviews on reliability. As mentioned this hopefully will be a one off situation but will be getting day old pullets in the spring so could repurpose as a brooder

 

[Eggman5232]

Thanks for the great feedback!

 

[ChicNmom]

How long have you had them. Seen mixed reviews on reliability. As mentioned this hopefully will be a one off situation but will be getting day old pullets in the spring so could repurpose as a brooder

At least 5 years if not longer. The one on the coop wall only gets used in extreme minus temps, so maybe a few times a year.

The other has been used many times for chicks or a sick or injured bird.