SnuggleSafe to heat the coop - anyone tried it?

[vermontgal]

A SnuggleSafe is a disk you heat in the microwave, to release heat over the course of the night. Obviously it would not heat the entire coop, but I am thinking of hanging it or making a stand so that it would be available for snuggling next to while the birds are sitting on the roost. I have read about people making an extra "hen" out of a ceramic flowerpot with a lightbulb inside - this would be a similar concept but without electricity actively in the coop.

http://www.snugglesafe.ca/

Any opinions? Available online for around $27 including shipping.

 

[A.J.'s]

with 40 hens in my chicken house, how many would you think i would need? and how long does the heat hold?

 

[dlhunicorn]

There are cheaper alternatives (I have several little pcks that only cost a couple dollars each > they are not "bite proof" but then you wouldnt need that for chickens?)>Handy for putting in nesting boxes but I do not think it suitable for actually heating up the surrounding space > only the immediate area directly surrounding in contact with it.

 

[Kitchenella]

If you notice in the video it is only used inside the house or car. I would expect it would lose its heat pretty quickly outside in a coop if the temp gets anywhere below 60 degrees f.

Just a thought.

Peggy

 

[morelcabin]

I wouldn't heat the coop, it just makes for weaker immune systems in your birds. We have had -34C here the last few days and my coop is uninsulated and not heated and my birds are doing fine. Heat would just make them sick. It is really not a good idea. they simply need draft free well ventelated space and they will be fine

 

[TerriLaChicks]

I use them for our wild barn cats & I also used it in my brooder a few weeks ago because we do not have electricity in our barn & it was the first week the young ones had been moved to the "outside" brooder & wouldn't you know it we had a freeze that night--but it very rarely ever gets colder than upper 20s here. They hold the heat for about 12 hours, work very well for our purposes. We got ours at PetSmart.

 

[JennsPeeps]

You could probably get a box of thick tiles at some place like Home Depot, pop them in the oven on the lowest temp until heated through, and then put them into the coop in strategic locations. I'd get glazed tiles so that you can wash them.

Cost would be much less.