Autonomous heating of the chicken coop. Heating the chicken coop in winter with infrared lamps. The choice of equipment for the chicken coop

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In winter, due to low temperatures in poultry, the likelihood of catching the disease increases sharply, and their ability to carry eggs also drops sharply. Additional insulation and heating of the chicken coop, which can be easily done by oneself with the necessary tools, materials and devices, will help to solve this problem in winter. In this article, we will look at the simplest and most affordable ways to increase the temperature in the birdhouse.

Features of heating the chicken coop in winter

When breeding birds, their temperature preferences must be taken into account. This will help not only keep the chickens in good health, but also maintain their egg production in the winter season.

When caring for birds, the following temperature conditions must be considered:

If you are also breeding birds, then you need to know about the permissible temperature conditions for chickens. Birds need to be kept warm until the first 21 days. environment at least 21 degrees. In the future (up to 50 days), the temperature can be reduced to 16 degrees Celsius.

Important! Too hot air is also harmful to the health of birds. Violation temperature regime will entail a decrease in the number of eggs given, and in especially severe cases - the death of birds.

Room insulation

An important point in heating the chicken coop is its insulation. If there are many places where cold air will come from, then heating it with electricity or gas will greatly affect the home budget, but will not give a serious result.

Only after the room has been insulated can additional heating be installed. Let's look at a few ways to insulate a chicken coop on your own.

Wall insulation

It is necessary to insulate the walls in the first place, since they are the main cause of heat leakage. Modern building and finishing materials will allow you to retain heat and thereby increase the temperature in the chicken coop.

Often, for insulation, they prefer to use one of the types of mineral wool - glass or stone wool. This material has many positive properties - thermal insulation, incombustibility, high resistance to physical, chemical and biological influences and ease of installation.

Warming with mineral wool is carried out according to the following scheme:

Important! Mineral wool may contain additional ingredients that adversely affect the health of living beings. It is recommended to use it for external insulation work. If the work is carried out indoors, it is necessary to take care of the complete insulation of the insulation.

A more environmentally friendly material for warming a chicken coop is polyethylene foam. Some types of polyethylene foam have a foil coating, which is an excellent heat reflector.

Note! Most insulation materials prevent the penetration of cold air into the room, and foil-coated PPE reflects heat and keeps it in the room. Combining it with other heaters, you can achieve almost complete thermal insulation of any room.

The main disadvantage of such insulation is the high cost of the necessary materials.

If you do not plan to spend a large amount on insulation Money, you can use the budget method - mix clay and sawdust. In order for this insulation to retain its properties for a long time, it is necessary to strictly observe the proportions.

The whole process will look like this:

Floor insulation

To raise the temperature and heat the chicken coop in winter, you can increase the thermal insulation of the floor with your own hands. If the building for chickens is located directly on the ground, then it will not be possible to get a high air temperature in it until these works are completed.

The most affordable and effective materials for floor insulation are:

• Mineral wool.
• Expanded clay.
• Wood sawdust.
• Styrofoam.
• Foamed polyethylene.

You can understand the basic principles of increasing thermal insulation using an example in the relevant material on our website.

An additional bedding should be placed on top of the finish coat. It is usually made from a mixture of wood chips and sawdust in a ratio of 1:3. Straw is spread over it.

Note! breeding specialists poultry recommend the use of spruce sawdust, as they have a small disinfectant effect. This will help slow down the reproduction of some disease-causing organisms.

Ceiling insulation

When building a chicken coop in cold regions of the country, it is recommended to give preference to gable roofs. This design will help reduce the load with a large amount of precipitation, and the resulting attic itself will serve as thermal protection.

For additional insulation all the same materials that were used for thermal insulation of the floor will do. Detailed instructions on that are set out in the material at the link. Be sure to read it before starting insulation work.

Also, a large amount of heat can escape due to bad doors and windows, gaps and cracks in the frames. All existing shortcomings should be eliminated and work should be carried out on.

Additional heating of the chicken coop

In regions with a cold climate, conventional insulation may not be enough to maintain the desired temperature. In this case, you have to use additional tools and devices to increase the level of heat in the chicken coop.

Consider the main ways to additionally heat the chicken coop.

Heating with electricity

Electrical appliances for heating are considered the most efficient way to heat any room. To accomplish this, minimal communications are required, and the electrical appliances themselves are easy to install and install.

Infrared lamps and heaters are especially popular with bird owners.

One infrared lamp with a total power of 250 W can heat a room up to 12 sq.m. In winter, when the amount of sunlight is minimal, the infrared lamp will be an excellent source of the necessary spectrum of light.

When installing lamps, it is necessary to take into account the distance from them to the place of heating. The minimum distance to objects is at least half a meter. If the lamp is located closer, chickens can get burned, which will not affect their health favorably.

The second most popular are infrared heaters. They are more convenient to install, as they can be built directly into the ceiling. For small chicken coops, one heater with a power of up to 500 watts will suffice.

Infrared devices have the following general advantages:

• Objects are heated, not air.
• Lamps and heaters do not burn out the oxygen in the room.
• Floor mat dries faster.
• IR lamps are also light sources.
• The devices are easy to install.

Advice! To save electricity and maintain the desired temperature, it is recommended to install systems with an automatic thermostat or purchase such a device separately. It will turn off the heating devices when the desired temperature is reached, and then return them to work when cooled down.

Other electric heaters show low efficiency.

Stove heating

Some poultry farmers prefer to heat chicken coops in the oven. This is effective if you have access to a large number cheap heating materials. And the simplest of the types of stoves is a potbelly stove.

To make this heater yourself, you can use the drawings below. However, if you do not have experience in assembling such devices, we recommend that you purchase a ready-made adjusted device.

Stove heating significantly increases the likelihood of a fire, which means that it is necessary to place the heater away from flammable materials. To protect chickens from thermal burns, it is necessary to additionally isolate the heating device.

Important! The combustion and heating process must always be under full control. Otherwise, you risk getting a fire with all the ensuing consequences.

Other methods of heating with stoves:

These simple ways will help you organize the heating of the chicken coop in the winter with your own hands. Thanks to the warm air, the birds will be able to feel comfortable. And, as a result, their egg production can increase, even in the most severe frosts. If you know of other effective ways to insulate and heat a chicken coop, share them in the comments on our website.

Birds, like many other pets, do not like the cold. When breeding them in a backyard, you need to solve the problem of warming the chicken coop so that the productivity of the hens does not decrease. In this article we will talk about the winter heating of the chicken coop, which you can do yourself without the help of specialists.

Chickens do not tolerate winter cold well and can easily catch respiratory diseases. Cold draft, water and long walks in the snow have a bad effect on the bottom. If there are severe frosts in your area in winter, you will have to insulate the house. The temperature in the building should not fall below 7 degrees. The weak point of chickens is their legs, which, due to the lack of feathers, easily freeze.

In cold regions, it is necessary to insulate the chicken coop with various heaters; in areas with a mild climate, it is enough to organize a deep bedding, which is easy to do with your own hands. But in any case, heating is indispensable.

It has been established that the egg production of chickens depends on heat by 40%, and when broilers are grown in a cold house, the daily weight gain is sharply reduced.

At low temperatures, birds require more food to keep, while they get fat and become lethargic. Also, heating the chicken coop is necessary if you are breeding chicks - in winter, the heat of the chicken itself may simply not be enough to incubate eggs. Thus, even in the southern regions of the country, it is desirable to take measures for heating the house during the winter.

How to DIY

There are two ways to insulate a chicken coop: natural and artificial. The first way is not
requires special costs, but is not suitable for severe frosts. The essence of natural heating is to maintain a comfortable temperature in the building without the use of heating devices. In addition, chickens can partially warm themselves if they are provided with a complete winter diet.

The easiest way to insulate a building with your own hands is to caulk all the cracks in the house for the winter. There will be no drafts in the chicken coop, and the vent will allow you to regulate the freshness of the air. At the same time, the walls are preferably double, with insulation inside. Usually glass wool or foam is used. Doors and windows are insulated with rags, and the ceiling with roofing material or mineral wool.

The floor in the poultry house is also needed double, with a 10-centimeter bedding of straw, peat or sawdust. The litter on the plot is also good because over time it can be used as garden compost. Initially, in the middle of autumn, the floor is sprinkled with slaked lime (1 kg per sq. M.). A layer of bedding 7 cm thick is placed on top. As it is trampled down, it must be reported. About once a month, it is advisable to stir up the litter with a pitchfork, since by spring its level can reach 25 cm.

The advantage of bedding is that it generates heat during the composting process and the house temperature is maintained at around 12 degrees. Heat also decontaminates disease-causing microbes and slows down the decomposition of manure. The main thing when laying the litter is that the building has proper ventilation. Otherwise, harmful ammonia will quickly accumulate in the chicken coop. At the same time, in severe frosts on the ventilation pipe, you will have to briefly close the plug so that the heated air does not leave the building.

If persistent frosts below 10 degrees are kept outside in winter, the chicken coop will have to be insulated artificially. There are several ways: electric heater, stove and gas heating, infrared lamps and heaters, water heating. Let's briefly describe how to implement one of the methods yourself.

An electric heater is the most expensive way to heat a chicken coop in the winter. Can be used different kinds: oil coolers, fan heaters, convectors,
heaters. The power and number of devices depends on the livestock and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bconstruction, but the main thing is to place heaters away from perches and nests. Modern appliances have automation, so that when the desired temperature is set, the heater itself will turn on and off when necessary.

Gas heating of the poultry house is very practical, but in large poultry farms. It is not advisable to buy an expensive boiler for a small chicken coop for 20 chickens. Do not forget also that the gas boiler needs constant maintenance and supervision.

It is advantageous to use stove heating, for example, with the help of an ordinary "potbelly stove". In private households, this is a very popular way of warming, but unfortunately, due to high humidity, the potbelly stove quickly becomes rusty. When operating the stove, some requirements must be observed:

• The chicken coop should have a separate chimney.
• the combustion process and the addition of fuel must be monitored
• the household should always have firewood or coal
• elementary fire safety rules (especially if the building is wooden and the bedding is straw)
• insulate heating parts of the oven

Safe to use diesel oven. It does not produce smoke, and besides, its power is quite large. Bulerian is also often used - an air-convection stove that can work effectively on almost any fuel.

According to farmers, it is very convenient to insulate the chicken coop with infrared heaters and lamps. Their peculiarity is that it is not the air in the house that is heated, but objects. When using electric heaters (especially fan heaters), warm air quickly leaves the building due to ventilation, and heated objects will retain heat for a long time.

Infrared heaters are convenient in that they can also be attached to the ceiling. There are also options for vertical placement. Small private poultry houses are recommended to be insulated with infrared heaters no more powerful than 500 watts. Also, the device must have a thermostat. When operating, set it to 12 degrees Celsius. Some models of infrared heaters have a swivel mechanism to insulate the entire space of the chicken coop.

The poultry house is often heated with infrared lamps, at a height of at least 1 m. They are versatile and easy to use, serve both for heating and for lighting, and do not burn air like electric heaters. Heating takes 90% of the energy of the lamp, and lighting - 10%. They also reduce humidity that is harmful to the chicken coop. The efficiency of the lamps is high (98%), and the red color, according to reviews, has a calming effect on birds. Recommended power of one IR lamp per 12 sq. m. - 250 W. In winter, when there is little daylight, the lamp can be left on at all. It has been noticed that IR lamps improve the digestibility of feed by chickens and strengthen their immunity.

If the chicken coop is adjacent to a residential building, you can actually extend water heating to it. Pipes are placed in the poultry house, onto which a circuit from a water-heating boiler is allocated. Heating in a residential building is turned on in any case, which means that the birds will also be warm.

There are many ways to insulate a chicken coop, and you can choose the most suitable one. It all depends on the severity of the winter in your area, the area of ​​​​the house and the planned budget for insulation. It is not difficult to heat the chicken coop with your own hands, and in winter the productivity of laying hens will not decrease.

Video “How to heat a chicken coop”

By watching the video, you will learn about a method of heating a chicken coop without fuel using a solar collector.

In areas with severe winters, in addition to the natural insulation of the poultry house, it is important to provide for the installation of additional sources of heating. In order for chickens to lay eggs all year round and be healthy, they need warmth, lighting and nutritious food. Warming the chicken coop in the winter allows you to create a comfortable environment for the birds. Modern devices are safe, efficient and economical, they do not require expensive maintenance.

Features of the organization of heating using infrared lamps

Installing infrared lamps and heaters is an economical and safe option. This type of device is most often chosen by poultry farmers. They are also used to provide extra warmth to the chicks.

Before carrying out installation work, it is necessary to clean, disinfect and insulate the chicken coop, seal cracks in windows, walls, on the ceiling and on the floor. In winter, the bedding layer should be thicker - about 50-60 cm. To prevent the floor from freezing, sawdust or dry straw will do.

Advantages and disadvantages of devices

The use of infrared heat sources allows you to quickly and efficiently organize the heating of the chicken coop in winter. Comfort temperature for chickens + 12-18 ° С, humidity - 70%.

The main advantages of the device:

1. 1. Simple, affordable way heating. A 250W lamp can heat 10-12 square meters.
2. 2. Fireproof.
3. 3. The equipment is compact in size and light in weight. Its simple to mount.
4. 4. The room heats up quickly.
5. 5. Radiation does not heat the air, but the objects that are in the chicken coop. They give off heat, creating a comfortable temperature.
6. 6. Humidity level does not change.
7. 7. Lamps serve as an additional source of light, do not irritate the eyes of chickens, do not harm their health.
8. 8. Experts say that red light has a calming effect.
9. 9. Devices do not absorb oxygen.
10. 10. Lighting is easy to mount with your own hands and replace elements as needed.
11. 11. Heating can be kept on all the time.
12. 12. Fungus and mold will not appear on the walls.
13. 13. Silent operation.
14. 14. Devices do not emit harmful substances.

However, this type of lighting has several significant drawbacks that can make the buyer think about the benefits of the device:

1. 1. Heating consumes a lot of electricity.
2. 2. The room is heated unevenly. The temperature rise is slow.
3. 3. When permanent job elements are burned out and need to be replaced.
4. 4. High-quality lamps from trusted manufacturers are not cheap.

Many companies offer ready-made lamps (reflectors). They have a protective grid, a ceiling covered inside with a reflective material. They are easy to install, just fix them to the ceiling.

IR heaters

The second option for organizing heating is the purchase of an infrared heater. It is energy-saving, fireproof, productive, does not require maintenance and replacement of components. Usually the device is mounted on the ceiling or a free wall.

Modern models are equipped with a thermostat that allows you to set the required heating temperature and constantly maintain it, it works silently, evenly heats the entire area. In this case, overheating does not occur, and power consumption is reduced.

The case is durable, has a protective mesh screen. You can direct the device to heat a specific area in the chicken coop. If necessary, the heater is transferred to another location. The device starts working immediately after switching on, it does not need time to warm up. The price of devices is higher than for lamps, but their service life is longer.

The operation of the device depends on electricity: if there is no light in the room or there are interruptions in its supply, you will have to choose a different type of heating.

Security measures

All devices powered by electricity must be safe. The following rules should be taken into account:

1. 1. When buying lamps and heaters, you need to choose the right power. To do this, measure the area of ​​​​the poultry house. A low-power device will be inefficient, too powerful will waste a lot of electricity and overheat the room. Information can be read on the packaging of the goods, in the instructions or get advice from the seller.
2. 2. Wiring in the chicken coop must be able to withstand the load of the device to prevent short circuits.
3. 3. Ceramic cartridges must be used. Lamps have high power, plastic melts during constant operation.
4. 4. The plinth can have a different diameter. It must exactly match the diameter of the cartridge.
5. 5. A protective cap for lamps should be made of metal mesh or wire so that the chickens do not get injured and do not damage the structure.
6. 6. Heaters are installed at a height of one meter from perches and other objects to prevent them from overheating.
7. 7. When buying, you need to study the certificate and warranty card, it is better to purchase goods from trusted manufacturers. Chinese devices will not last long.
8. 8. The store checks the purchase for damage. All parts must be tightly fastened.

Not only cold air, but also overheating can harm the birds. For control important indicators a thermometer and a device for measuring humidity (hygrometer) are hung in the chicken coop.

It is not difficult to organize the heating of the poultry house, it is enough to choose a device that is suitable in terms of power, to conduct the wiring. Modern manufacturers offer a wide range of lamps, fixtures and heaters that have different cost and specifications. Installation of the heating system can be done by hand.

If you've just started raising chickens, you've probably already been told how important it is to keep your chicken coop warm in the winter. After all, birds, like us humans, need warmth and comfortable conditions. So you can guarantee not only their convenience, but also the ability to carry eggs. There are many ways to keep your chicken coop warm in winter to keep your chickens comfortable.

In this article, you will get to know them. After a detailed review of each of them, you will be able to understand which one to choose for your chicken coop.

Heating in the chicken coop, but is it necessary

Many say that chickens do not have to create mansions for their full existence. These are birds, they will survive without heating. But, for a chicken, winter time is quite difficult. She can easily catch respiratory diseases. Cold drafts, moisture and long walks on snowy ground - all this negatively affects individuals. Therefore, for the Russian region, heating the chicken coop is simply necessary. The minimum temperature inside the chicken coop is not lower than 7 degrees Celsius.

Note! The whole body of the chicken is covered with feathers, so they do not feel the cold in the body. But the weak part of them are the legs. It is in them that chickens in a chicken coop without heating so often freeze.

It is a well-known fact that the egg production of chickens is as much as 40% dependent on heat. As for broilers, in a cold chicken coop without heating, they gain weight much more slowly. At lower temperatures, the chicken will eat more, as food contributes to the production of heat, and, accordingly, feed consumption will increase. Chickens start to get fat and be lethargic. A chicken coop heater is especially important if you are raising chickens. For planting eggs in winter, the chicken must be helped to generate heat. There are several options for how you can insulate your chicken coop and make it heated.

Keeping the chicken coop warm

As in the case of home insulation, here you need to be guided by the following principle: heat is not where it is heated, but where heat does not come out. Indeed, heaters in the chicken coop are very necessary. But, no matter how energy-saving, powerful and efficient the device for warming the chicken coop is, without thermal insulation it will simply heat the street. It turns out that all efforts and funds will be wasted, and the chickens will freeze.

To prevent this from happening, it will be necessary to perform minimal work to reduce heat loss. What is included?

If you take at least these steps, then you will significantly reduce the heat loss of the chicken coop. Moreover, in summer period it will get colder.

Note! The optimum temperature for chickens in a chicken coop is 10-15 degrees Celsius. If you achieve it, then your chickens will thank you with generous egg production.

Types of heating in the chicken coop

Now that you have done everything so that the heat does not leave the room, you can think about how to heat the chicken coop. Just want to notice that there are two ways to heat the room:

• natural heating in the chicken coop;
• artificial heating in the chicken coop.

Further work will depend on the heating option you choose. Each of the above methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. Ideally, combine them to achieve the best degree of insulation for chickens. Let's look at each type of insulation separately.

Heating a chicken coop naturally

This is a simple option that will help you make your chicken house warmer and more comfortable without the use of electrical appliances. So, you need to make a warm floor. After all, as mentioned earlier, it is the paws of chickens that freeze the fastest. Here's what can be done.

Powder of slaked lime is poured onto the surface of the floor. At the same time, it is important to adhere to the ratio: 1 kg of slaked lime is required per 1 m 2 of area. It prevents the appearance of ticks and fleas. After that, some kind of insulating material needs to be spread on this layer. Most often, straw or sawdust is used. In addition, moss peat, manure or withered leaves can serve as a natural heat insulator. As the chickens tread on the bedding, you need to add a new one. At the same time, remember that you can’t remove manure, just pour new straw and loosen it.

Advice! If you do not remove the manure, it will serve as a natural source of heat. During the process of its decomposition, heat is released, which raises the temperature in the chicken coop. And in the spring, you will have excellent compost to fertilize your lands.

Heating a chicken coop artificially

The second method is to use heating equipment. These are different types of heaters. The method is good because it is fast and does not require any additional effort from you. You only need to spend money on heating the chicken coop with heaters. Whatever one may say, it is impossible to heat the room in a natural way, without a proper source of heat. This is exactly what heaters can provide.

Here is a list of equipment that can be selected for these purposes:

1. IR lamps.
2. IR heating devices.
3. Radiators.
4. Stoves working on coals or wood.
5. Water heating system.

To begin with, let's dwell on the IR lamps, which are most often used for the chicken coop. The method is simple and fairly affordable. Nevertheless, there are some nuances, the observance of which is very important.

IR lamps

The first is to avoid buying products from little-known firms. They can release defective goods that won't last long. It is better to choose from already proven products. The second point concerns the power of the lamps. They can be different, but the choice depends on the room, more precisely, on its size. For example, for 10 m 2 you need to get an IR lamp with a power of 250 watts.

Below are the advantages of the products:

1. During operation, the lamp does not burn out oxygen inside the chicken coop. Thanks to this, the level of humidity is at an optimal level.
2. The lamp perfectly dries the litter layer.
3. Capable of heating everything structural elements chicken coop without touching the birds.
4. Her light does not negatively affect the chickens, but acts in reverse, calming them.
5. Installing the lamps is quite simple. The same goes for replacing them.
6. Strengthens the immunity of individuals.
7. Low cost. Everyone can afford these devices, you just need to run electricity to the chicken coop.

Advice! It is necessary to carry out the installation of lamps at a distance of 50 cm from the feeder, perch, nest, bedding or other objects.

IR heaters

These products are quite efficient and produce excellent heat. However, the energy consumption and product cost are much higher. The product is safe to use and designed for long-term use.

For a medium-sized chicken coop, equipment with a power of no more than 500 watts will be required. main feature such infrared heaters is that they do not heat the air in the chicken coop, but its surface. Ideally, purchase a heater with a thermostat that can control the temperature inside the chicken coop and keep it at an optimal level. This will reduce energy consumption during heating.

Note! Radiators, on the other hand, heat the air in the room. They also work on electricity, but IR models are still preferred.

Potbelly stove for chickens

This is a budget option that will allow you to heat the chicken coop from the inside. You just need to install the oven. However, this method has a number of disadvantages. The main one is Fire safety especially for wooden chicken coops with flammable straw bedding. In addition, you will need to take care of the exhaust and installation of the chimney, and insulate all heating parts. Yes, and it will not work to control the temperature indicators.

But water heating is done when the chicken coop is adjacent to the house. The process is very labor intensive. It is necessary to lay pipes in the chicken coop and bring the circuit from the boiler to them.

Summing up

So, you have learned how important it is to insulate the chicken coop for the winter. And to do this, several methods have been presented to you. Which one to choose is up to you. It is not necessary to stop at any one option. You can combine the artificial heating method with the natural one. Just remember that before you engage in insulation in the chicken coop, take care of its high-quality thermal insulation. Then the chickens will be provided with ideal conditions.