Too cold for chickens? Authorities say heat lamps aren’t needed, are a danger

When the nighttime low drops below 10, Amy Gates uses a heat lamp to keep her backyard chicken coop in Longmont's northside warm.

She explained that the heat light is timed and placed in a coop corner out of reach of the birds.

However, a number of authorities warn against installing heat lamps or other artificial warming equipment to keep the coops warm during this week's anticipated extended cold snap.

Capt. Michele Goldman, Longmont's fire marshal, cautioned against hastily installing a temporary warming device in a chicken coop: "You're just asking for a fire or some other kind of problem."

According to Goldman, any heater, heat lamp, or other warming element should be installed so that the components, as well as any wires leading to them, are shielded from chicken contact because otherwise, the chickens might bump into, knock over, or peck at them.

However, as long as their coops and bedding are dry and the birds are kept out of the snow and cold drafts, Curtis Utley, a research associate at the Jefferson County CSU Extension Office, and Sharon Bokan, a small acreage coordinator with the Boulder County CSU Extension Office, agreed that chickens may not need artificial heat.

However, there is a chance that the hens may "electrocute themselves or spark a fire" if heating equipment are fitted improperly, according to Bokan.

As long as you keep chickens out of wet weather and windy conditions, Utley said, "chickens are actually fairly resilient against cold temperatures."

They essentially huddle up together to keep warm, according to Bokan.

Utley cautioned against letting the air inside the chicken coop to get very humid when it is below freezing or even below zero outdoors. There should be adequate ventilation to enable the humid air in the facility to leave, and the bedding should be changed often to keep it dry.

"We aren't doing anything special for the chickens, other than covering up the door to their coop with cardboard," Longmont resident Angel Faull wrote in an email to the Times-Call.

When the weather turned chilly unexpectedly earlier in the fall, Faull explained, "we wrapped the coop in a tarp, making sure they still had ventilation, closed off the door, and added a panel of Styrofoam insulation to the inside roof of the coop."

As long as they are fully feathered and away from direct drafts, Faull predicted that they would be okay.

According to Bokan, the chickens' combs are typically the only parts that might be susceptible to freezing. However, Vaseline can be applied to protect chicken combs from freezing.

On the other hand, Bokan advised that people make sure their chickens have access to plenty of liquid water rather than frozen water.

Another Longmont homeowner on the northside claimed to have a time-controlled heat light installed in the ceiling of his chicken coop, out of reach even for the chicks.

He employs a red-tinted bulb in his heat lamp so the light won't disturb the hens.

With all the attention his wife, four children, and one grandson give them, Benson quipped that even without a winter heat lamp, his chickens "are pretty spoiled."

"This is my first year with hens, and I worried a lot about whether or not to heat," said Faull, whose family resides in the Longmont Estates area. But it doesn't seem like it would be in their long-term best interests from what I've read and from the mother who had them last year. They will be fine once they get used to the cold.

Benwei chicken coop lighting for egg production