How to Keep a Chicken Coop Warm Without Electricity

What you end up with, and how much work it is

The result is not a heated coop. It is a coop that loses as little as possible of the heat the flock produces. That is the approach every extension service read for this site puts first, with or without power. The work is one afternoon before winter and a few minutes a day after that. The material is bedding, some wood, and plastic sheeting or a tarp. Flames are not part of it: the reasons are under propane heater in a chicken coop and DIY chicken coop heaters.

Whether this is enough depends on the flock. Three extension services say that adult birds protected from wind and wet get through winter this way. A professor of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension names the conditions in the Bangor Daily News: the birds are acclimated, the shelter is draft-free and the bedding is dry. The University of Minnesota Extension draws a line at 35 °F inside the coop, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension notes that a small flock cannot warm its coop the way a large one does. Both camps are laid out under do chickens need heat in the winter.

What to have ready

• Pine shavings or straw for several inches of bedding (how the layer is built up through the winter: deep litter method)
• A flat wooden board for the roost, such as a two-by-four
• Heavy clear plastic or a tarp for open wire sides, with battens or clips to fix it (ready-made versions: winter covers for coops and runs)
• Caulk or spray foam for cracks, used where the birds cannot reach it
• A thermometer for the height of the roost

Seven steps

1. Find and seal drafts at bird height

   The University of Maryland Extension advises looking for cracks and holes that let wind blow into the building, because air blowing directly on the birds chills them. Ohio State University Extension suggests switching on a light inside after dark and walking around the outside to spot holes. Fill them, or hang a thick plastic sheet or tarp over the area.

2. Cover open wire sides, but not to the roof

   Ohio State recommends heavy plastic or a tarp as a temporary wall on fenced sides. It blocks wind and moisture at ground level and comes off again in spring. The same fact sheet warns not to run it up to roof level.

3. Keep a vent open near the roof

   A sealed coop gets damp, and Maryland points out that damp air feels much colder than dry air. Leave an opening high up, away from the prevailing wind. The details are under chicken coop ventilation.

4. Lay deep, dry bedding

   Maryland names three to four inches of pine shavings or straw as good insulation. The University of New Hampshire Extension asks for four to six inches where the coop floor is open to the ground. Remove obviously wet areas and leave the dry bedding in place over winter (Wisconsin).

5. Fit a flat wooden roost

   Metal and plastic pipes conduct cold to the feet. On a flat wooden perch a bird sits on its toes and covers them with its feathers (Maryland).

6. Use the sun and consider insulation

   Maryland advises siting the house so that winter sun can enter and warm it. Insulation is not necessary according to Maryland and New Hampshire, but it helps keep the birds' heat inside. Ohio State adds the condition that the birds must not be able to reach the material.

7. Feed for the night and watch the birds

   New Hampshire reports that chickens may eat up to 25 percent more in cold weather. Maryland and New Hampshire both suggest scratch grains late in the day, which the birds digest overnight. Then watch them: huddling, repeated fluffing and a lifted foot are the signs New Hampshire lists.

What not to do

No gas or kerosene heater. The University of Maryland Extension states that gas heaters such as propane and kerosene can be a fire hazard in a coop surrounded by flammable wood, bedding and feathers. Ohio State lists carbon dioxide buildup among the risks of heating a coop.

No heat lamp on a long cord from the house. That replaces one problem with two. The NFPA tip sheet for backyard coops rules out extension cords in the coop, and the Maine Fire Marshal's Office names heat lamps and extension cords as the first two causes of coop fires.

No reliance on a solar heater. A 150-watt panel heater that runs through a 14-hour night uses 2.1 kilowatt-hours. A 12-volt battery with 100 amp-hours holds a nominal 1.2 kilowatt-hours, and the units sold as solar coop heaters are rated at about 30 watts. The arithmetic is on the page about the solar chicken coop heater.

No sealing the coop airtight. Ohio State's warning applies to every step above: when you block drafts, do not eliminate ventilation.

Typical mistakes

• Insulating and forgetting the vent. An insulated chicken coop still needs its opening under the roof.
• Letting deep bedding get wet. Ohio State notes that deep bedding can raise humidity and asks keepers to check moisture daily and to fluff or mix the litter.
• Judging by the forecast. The only temperature in the extension literature, Minnesota's 35 °F, is read inside the coop at roost height. Without a thermometer there, you are guessing.
• Forgetting the water. A coop without power has a bigger problem than warmth: the drinking water freezes. That is covered under keeping chicken water from freezing without electricity.

When this is not enough

A battery is no way around the missing outlet. The runtime arithmetic is under battery powered chicken coop heaters.

The sources name the birds that may need more than a tight, dry coop: bantams, molting hens (Maryland) and very small flocks (Wisconsin). If your birds still show the signs of cold stress after the steps above, the options are a different coop, more birds, or power. The signs are described under how cold is too cold for chickens, and frostbite on combs and toes under frostbite in chickens. For a sick or injured bird, ask a veterinarian.

If you do bring electricity to the coop, it should be a fixed installation by an electrician. The heater types are compared on the chicken coop heater home page.