Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Who’s using this heater in their hen house . Wattage ? If so what size coop L xWxH . Insulated or not . Ventilation . How many chickens ? Temp inside , temp outside at same time . Water froze or not . Pros & cons for you ? Any added info .
For myself & others . Thanks Ross

The ones we use look similar to the picture but are ceramic with the element completely enclosed. They are made in South Africa and were available in Home Depot. The more common metal ones are not as high wattage and get much hotter. The wattage on the ones we have is 400W. I use them with a base board thermostat and we set them at about 5 deg C that way they don't turn on unless necessary. These things come with mounting spacers and fit about 1.5" from a surface. I have checked them and they don't get hotter than about 40 deg C when on so they aren't a fire risk. We have several coops the biggest one is 7' long x 5' wide x 6' high. With 8-9 chickens in the coop, it is well insulated, it maintains it high enough to keep the water liquid. Now with the temperature outside at -35 deg C the water is starting to freeze. Since you have to put in an outlet to plug the heater in you can also run a heated waterer from the same thermostat.
There is ventilation in all the coops either windows with 4" vents at a higher level or 2 4" vents in the doors and 2 4" vents in the eaves. The doors aren't that tight a fit although not draughty. One of the smaller coops where I have a heated bucket has the window cracked open in addition to the vents because I don't want dampness. I do have heated waterers but haven't needed to use them yet this year because of the moisture problem and fractious shut-ins filling them with shavings.
Love this type of heater, they can be easily cleaned too. Wouldn't be without them!

We wouldn't be without our flat panel heaters either. 400 is the standard wattage for the larger ones, although you can get 600 watt ones, or at least you could a few years back. TSC had the 400w ones on sale again a few weeks back. Our main coop is about 4 x 8, half of a re-purposed shed, is partially insulated and houses 7 birds at the moment. Our flat panel heater doesn't heat the coop per se, but it does take the edge off, and there's usually at least 5 degrees difference between the interior of the coop and outside temps, unless it's really windy, or the the mercury drops beyond -20 for extended periods. It doesn't keep our waterer from freezing either, so we also have a heated base. However, when the temps go below -20 it can't keep up either: the main reservoir freezes solid and the only free flowing water is in the base. And there is often some ice in it in the morning, so I switch it out then.
We also have a smaller 200W flat panel heater in our baby coop. (3 x 3)

Should have mentioned that our coops are fully insulated including floor so that helps a lot!

Nice guys thanks . This is for those out there wondering about heatersdoing the job & safety very helpfull . KB & Jaye when you run both the wall hanging heater & the water heater can they both work on one 15 amp outlet at the same time or do you split up or larger fuse .

I had to ask DH whether they are both on one 15 amp outlet - and they are. He tells me it can take up to 1500 watts, and we are still well within the max, I think: 1 50W water heater, 1 DIY coffee warmer heater for the waterer in the baby coop,1 400W FP heater and 1 200W FP heater, plus led lighting.

(Edited to add details)

Anybody else have ?s on how or what of usage of these or any other type heater go ahead ahead .

I have used the oil filled electric radiator type heaters in my barn for approx 15 years. I have tried everything and find them to be the most economic and safe to use in a poultry environment. They work by heating up the oil inside the metal radiator , they are on an internal thermostat .. no exposed heating elements so no chance of dust build up and or feathers ect touching anything to ignite anything . They are economic to use with them only coming on when the temp goes below the setting . I pick them up in the USA cheap ( like $30-35 US Funds) but see them on sale at Canadian tire all the time for $50-80 . A great investment .. that last for approx 3-7 years. As mentioned in previous posts I have a ventilation system ( homemade) that keeps the air "good" in my pen.. this works well with these heaters as it does not suck all the heated air out but works in unison with the exchange of air. My water never freezes . I would not consider my barn to be hot.. but more comfortable than anything( more for me than the birds .. I hate cold and damp) . Control of humidity is the key to poultry health in combination with a bit of heat .. My pen is insulated all 4 walls and the ceiling ( dropped ceiling )
Just what works for me
TL

Yep always figured oil filled radiators to be safest , just dust regularly . Thanks all some great safe ideas .

Flat panel heaters are also fully sealed, so just as safe as oil filled radiators, plus they take up very little space, which is a consideration for many. They are also really easy to clean, and their purchase price is around the same as oil filled radiator heaters - maybe a bit more expensive, but not much. And you can paint them to match the decor.