Heat in The Hen House: 3 Good Sources say No
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Heating The Hen House: 3 Good Sources say No
When I became a chicken keeper over 10 years ago I had a lot to learn. Over the years and long Maine winters I watch as folks debate the proper way to care for chickens in the winter season. Some say it is wrong to use supplemental light to encourage laying all winter. Some say it is fine. The bigger debate that involves safety is whether or not you need to add warmth to your hen house in the winter.
Heating the hen house in the winter is not something I would do. Every winter there are scores of news stories about coop and barn fires. Believe it or not chickens do have the means to keep themselves warm during the winter. The big concern for winter is frostbite and a balanced nutritional caloric intake.
Here are some sources that I have trusted over the years for my education about raising and keeping healthy chickens. Whether you decide to use light or not. If you heat your coop it is a decision I hope everyone reads up on with an open mind and carefully makes their own decision. I have rounded up several sources to help you see why coop heating is not necessarily the right or safest choice.
https://accordingtobrittany.com/do-chickens-need-heat-in-winter/
https://www.fresheggsdaily.blog/2016/12/how-do-chickens-stay-warm-in-winter.html
https://www.fresheggsdaily.blog/2012/01/to-heat-or-not-to-heat.html
Lipstick and Chickens did a video on Facebook about her deep litter method
BackYard Chickens was my go to source for a lot of my chicken research when I first started learning
From Mother Earth News How to keep your chickens warm without heating your coop.
Pro’s & Con’s of Coop Heating
As well as whether to heat your coop or not I can tell you chicken sweaters are cute for photo ops maybe. But chickens do NOT need sweaters to keep warm!! In fact they may prevent them from fluffing up their feathers to provide their own body heat.
DIY Upcycled chandelier solar light 4 the chicken coop
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I’ve never thought about this. Interesting #TrafficJam Weekend