Temperature System

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Tonight is a good test of my new temperature control system inside the hen condo! It’s now 28 degrees outside: 

And the temperature according to my WiFi temperature sensor system, in the central part of the hen condo, is 35.2 degrees. 

But I left all 4 windows open so I’m sure the temperature is lower near the windows. Nonetheless, everything is working great! My goal is not to keep them warm; the goal is to prevent frostbite by keeping them at or just above the freezing mark! So far, working great! I’ll only close the windows on frigid nights, when the outside temperature drops below, say, 20 degrees. 

So, my temperature control system is working well! When it got down to 31 degrees inside the hen condo, the heat lamp was turned on. I have it set to turn off if it reaches 38 degrees. I wanted to be able to track the temperature inside the hen condo from my phone. And I have an alarm set in the app to notify me if the temperature reaches 50 degrees or drops below 20, as a backup in case the temperature controller fails. I’m more concerned about it getting too warm, and not as concerned about it getting too cold. After all, chickens in Alaska survive temperatures below zero, at times negative 40 degrees, without a heat lamp! But, I just want to be sure my gals don’t get any frostbite. And most importantly, I want to make sure they don’t get too hot in there! That would be dangerous for them! 

My WiFi Thermometer

My Temperature Control System

Also, keeping them slightly warmer, plus the supplemental lighting each morning, will help with egg production too! The LED lights are plugged into a timer and turn on at 4 am and turn off after it’s light outside, at 7 am! And my chickens seem to be enjoying their light therapy! LOL! They love getting out there to eat, drink and lay their eggs when it’s still dark outside! 

My two LED lights, one on each side of the run! One is older; about 3 years old. And I added one more to light up the other side of the run after I built the hen condo. 

The first, older LED light, on the side near the feeding station and water basin. I have since removed the non-stick darkening film. This was needed before I built the hen condo; when my chickens were sleeping on the roosting bars that used to be there where the hen condo now is. The chickens loved to sleep outside (in the run) on the roosting bars. I used to place plastic shower curtains around the area to block the wind, and to help contain some heat from the heat lamp. But the LED light is so bright, and in line with where they slept, I had added the darkening film so it wouldn’t be so bright at that level. But now that they sleep inside the hen condo, it’s not an issue! The LED light provides light inside the hen condo through the window in that side, but this film was no longer needed, so I removed it. 


And the new additional LED light, over the hen entrance. It lights up this side of the run, where the other LED light doesn’t shine as well. 






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