Keeping My Chickens Warm at the Farm
Today is expected to bring more flurries and frigid temperatures here to the Northeast.
At my Bedford, New York farm, my outdoor grounds crew checks the animals several times a day to make sure they are all warm in their stalls, coops and enclosures. When it comes to my chickens, I have four coops that house about two-hundred fowl - a variety of chickens, turkeys, two Pomeranian geese and a handful of Guinea hens. From the moment they arrive, I make sure they are housed properly, fed all the best, most nutritious foods, and have enough room to roam and range happily in their pen. This winter, I also wanted to develop a more efficient way to keep them safe and warm without overcrowding their coops with too many supplies.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- Chickens do well huddling together in their coops, but during extremely chilly winters, I use additional heat-producing bulbs that can safely warm them. Inside this coop, you can see a hanging feeder as well as the heat lamp behind it above an additional dish of food.
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- Here is a hen perched on one of the rafters in the coop watching all the activity.
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- This hanging lamp is perfectly safe and heats the coop just fine; however when the birds fly from one side to the other, they often hit the lamps, which could potentially break the bulbs and cause harm to the flock.
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- Pete devised a way to mount the heat lamps so they could be kept out of the way, but still do the job.
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- Pete and Dawa created these lamp frames out of plywood and galvanized metal flashing available at any hardware store or at The Home Depot.
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- The flashing is cut to the exact size of the plywood piece – about two-feet by one-foot. The flashing is then secured to the plywood with one-inch finishing nails. The heat flashing protects the wood from heat generated by the lamp.
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- A hole is created in the center to fit the lamp’s socket. The flashing surrounding the hole is cut into triangular pieces, so it could also cover the sides of the hole with metal – everything must be covered as a precaution.
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- Here is the other side of the hole. The pieces can now be drawn through the hole and attached to the wood.
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- Pete carefuly draws each metal piece through the hole and affixes it to the wood using more finishing nails.
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- I try to repurpose and reuse whenever I can. Here you can see how the flashing covers all sides of the hole.
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- The heat-bulb socket inside the metal shade is then pushed through the hole.
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- Since all my chickens come here as baby chicks, they are very accustomed to the sounds made by the crew. In fact, these birds are filled with curiosity and love approaching visitors when they arrive.
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- Here come my two Pomeranian guard geese that keep watch over my flock. They are very protective and very noisy, especially when greeting visitors.
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- This is a Lemon Cuckoo Neiderrheiner, a very rare breed from Germany. This breed is friendly and docile, with stunning plumage.
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- Pete places the new heat lamp under the nesting boxes, so it faces the center of the coop.
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- Two heat lamps in all – one at each end of every coop.
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- Pete secures the heat lamp to the wall. Each bulb measures about six-inches in length with a five-inch diameter and should provide an average of about five-thousand hours.
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- Pete makes sure the red heat-producing bulb is secure. Chickens are very hardy, and covered in fluffy feathers, so the temperatures have to be very low to require such supplemental heat. Some chicken experts recommend a temperature around 40-degrees Fahrenheit as ideal for hens.
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- The subtle light of a red bulb helps to keep the chickens calm as well as warm. Because it’s not perceived as daylight, chickens can be exposed to red light with no ill effects.
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- If using heat lamps, make sure the wiring is also secure and never have any part of a heat source near dry sawdust and hay – this is very dangerous. Coop fires have devastating effects and any lighting system should be set up with every precaution to avoid fire.
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- This light is secure, and will keep all my birds very safe and cozy warm at night.
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- This is a Splash Ameraucana hen below and a Cuckoo Bluebar hen above – a breed exclusive to My Pet Chicken, where I have been getting my chickens for many years. https://www.mypetchicken.com/
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- Chickens prefer to roost on high levels. In their fenced enclosure, the chickens are provided ladders and natural roosts made out of felled trees. As you can see, my chickens are very happy birds. This is the rare Cream Legbar rooster – watching over his hens.
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- At my farm, I have a mélange of types and breeds that are really interesting to look at and fascinating to study. It is always a comfort to know they are happy here and enjoying life at my farm.
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