Question Heat in the Coop or Not?

[Kbr42]

I didn't heat my coop and Oliver my EE rooster has terrible frost bite. I'm kicking myself for letting that happened. I've heated my coops every other year. So, back out when the heat. They are happier and so am I. I use heat lamps on something called a thermo-cube from Premier 1 fencing.

[modern17]

I have heated my poultry barn for years.. been through all the types of heaters with many types being of major danger of fire concerns as they can and do build up with dust and catch fire.. not good. Had several close calls ..... Currently I use oil filled radiator type heaters ( sealed units) ... By no means is my barn summer like but the water never freezes. 55 F is about the temp most time with the exception of deep freeze weather but as mentioned my water does not freeze. Controlling air quality I have found is a must for healthy birds and humans. With that I have installed a humidity control system . It is nothing fancy but I did consult a professional commercial poultry house ventilation specialist from the USA ( a friend of mine) prior to setting up my system. My barn measurement is 28 x 12 with 7 .6 foot ceiling height this ceiling is a false ceiling . The space above this false ceiling is insulated and ventilated by two louvered vents ( 18 x 18 ) at each end of the barn ( one facing east the other facing west ) . I bring in air from these vents into the main barn on 3 different levels.. utilizing 4 inch black pvc pipes though the ceiling thus not creating any direct to outside air flow.. but more over buffered air . I cover the ends of these pipes with fine 1/2 x 1/2 wire so no mice ect can come down the pipe. The pipes come into the main barn on 3 different levels( on the south side of the room) in different areas of the barn. One at the floor.( west end) .. one mid way down the wall ( in the middle of the building ) and the other 18 inch from the ceiling ( east end of the building ) .. I have a fan on the opposite wall( north side) ( middle of the room at the top of the wall 5 inch from ceiling ) that is attached to a humidity unit ( the humidity control unit was bought on line for approx. $70 they are used in small green houses and hydroponic applications) ( no I do not grow anything lol) ... The air is drawn out of the building through a 1/2 horse 12 in dia .exhaust fan on the opposite side of the room ( North side).. This creates turbulent air movement with out draft. The fan as mentioned is directly attached to the humidity control unit and only comes on when the humidity exceeds the perameters set ... the humidity is set at 50-65 parts per million which is what the commercial poultry houses are set for . This is my 3rd year with this system... the air is amazing in the pen .. no humidity ( the windows do not sweat , with regular cleaning there is no ammonia, dust is at a minimum ) mind you , cleaning the dust from the fan motor is a must to ensure that the fan does not burn out. The secret to no having frost bite is to keep the humidity with in the 50-65 ppm range. Most birds can stand cold but can not stand drafts or humidity .. not unlike humans.. my 2 cents .
TL

[ross]

Thanks Troy very good read . Sounds like great setup . Do you have a generater ready or what do you do in extended power outage situation .
Had this happen to me several times at a large egg laying farm I worked at . Always had tractor generater set up at post & instant message if hydro out .
A little much for hobby farm tho .
Thanks again

[Ontario Chick]

The Humidity control system sounds like something that might work in our set up.
Would you have the actual name of the system or the manufacturer?

[WLLady]

and........troy has the coop of my dreams. LOL.

[Killerbunny]

You got that right Kathy. We have huge restrictions here on what we can build in the way of barns etc, WWW can help but I think it's a minimum of 70 acres.
Sounds great Troy.

[modern17]

Ross yes.. after the Ice Storm Hell we lived through back in 2013 .. I vowed to never be with out electricity again.. I purchased a 8000 W unit that is hard wired into the panel.. start the genny , flick the switch and 70 % of the house and most of the barn is serviced.
We too have restrictions on what is built for out buildings.. I took over our garage upon buying the property ( much to my wifes dismay .. never been a car in the garage) ... so I am lucky that way .. I have built some other out buildings but all under the 100 sq ft rule of our county .
I have put a few pictures of my simple set up in the attachments .. The one entitled outside louver.. there is one of these in each end of the barn.. ( east and west) The Vent .. I have 3 of these .. they go through the ceiling to the buffered air space above the false ceiling to bring in fresh but not direct air from out side as mentioned at 3 different levels through out the building . The one listed as Fan and Humidity .. This shows the Humidity unit and the fan.. it has a humidity sensor on a wire that I keep about 10 feet from the actual fan so false reading are not occurring. The final picture is of the brand of unit I purchased off ebay.. not saying it s the best or the only one.. but it works for me... they very in price depending on who is selling them .. the supplier ect... There are lots on the market.. Hope this helps
Troy

[ross]

Thanks Troy . Real slick home away from home . Nice job . Just takes a little commonsense & planning .

[windwalkingwolf]

Love it Troy, I think when I get around to barn renovations, a unit like that one will be in the works. Right now we're turning fans on and off by hand, there's three of them, and they're not cutting the mustard this year--worst frostbite I've ever had, including the bitter winters in '13--'14. The fans draw across the ceiling and too much moisture is left near the floor. With cattle, hogs and goats in there as well, I don't heat, they give off enough heat to keep it about 10° warmer than outside...but also contribute to the humidity. Especially when someone's been playing in the water!
@Killerbunny , last I checked, Elizabethtown-kitley doesn't allow new barn and/or livestock housing construction at ALL. We can renovate existing structures, put up a giant ugly cover-all, or build sheds, garages or prefab steel buildings for some other purpose...and then repurpose them wink wink. It's STOOOPID.

[WLLady]

it is called a "multipurpose workshop". ;-P