OT-Chicken coop electrical question

We are getting 6 chicks, egg layers(red star). First time for chickens. Kids are VERY excited. Anyway, I have built a 6 by 8 coop, insulated, on the back of a storage shed. I would like to run electricity to the shed for a heat lamp and lights. I live in northern MN so I am not sure if I will need to heat it somehow or if just the heat lamp will create enough heat. With that said... My questions #1- 15 amp or 20 amp breaker? #2- 14-2 UF wire or 12-2 UF wire to get to the shed? Price of wire is crazy, I have to go almost 150 feet. If anyone has any good pointers for raising chickens that would be greatly appreciated too. Thank you-SHON

here is a good website on chickens. has a forum. I do not know if they will need heat during the winter where you are at or not. Good luck.. here is the link: http://www.backyardchickens.com/
there is a lot of good information backyard chickens.

frank

If allllllllll youre gonna do is run a single circuit out there for an outlet or heat lamp (NOT a distribution panel and all that stuff) sorta like a long extension cord with an outlet, Im NOT gonna get into all our regular long winded complicated services and grounding whewwwwww

HOWEVER I wouldnt run less then 12 gauge 3 conductor (12/2 with ground) UF direct bury rated cable due to the distance fed and protected with a 20 amp 120 volt single pole breaker at the house panel. If the actual continuois load was much over 10 or 12 amps, I might even bump the wire size up to 10 gauge to reduce volatge drop TO DO ALL THIS CORRECTLY AND CALCUALTE THE WIRE GAUGE (and voltage drop) WE WOULD NEED TO KNOW THE ACTUAL CONTINUOUS MAX LOAD so before anyone has a calf these are ONLY guesses at this point and figuring the max load will be in the 5 to 10 amp range and the load is simply a heat light or two BUT IF THE LOAD IS GREATER, THEN PERHAPS I WOULD SPECIFY 10 GAUGE OR BIGGER WIRE........DEPENDS ON THE LOAD

I would use 3 pole grounded outlets at the chicken coop and GFCI protect them......

NOTE there are special NEC provisions and exceptions about grounding at remote buildings used to house livestock so they dotn ge ta tingle buttttttttt Im NOT getting into all that now..........

If in doubt CHECK WITH ANY GOVERNING LOCAL AUTHORITY they are who matters NONE OF US HERE

MINIMUM 12/2 with ground (3 wires),,,,,,UF Cable,,,,,,,,,GFCI,,,,,,3 pole grounding 20 amp NEMA 5-20R outlets,,,,,,,,,,,Bigger wire if needed to reduce voltage drop depending on the load

PS a 100 watt heat lamp should handle several young chicks, they love to huddle under them USE CAUTION TO PREVENT FIRES.

PS How about freeze protection for water out there??????? Those can draw some current so consider if 20 amps is all youre gonna need there???????? Maybe 30 amps of 120/240 single phase three wire (requires 4 wires ran out No 10 or bigger) while youre at it??????? Maybe 60 amps????????

PS Study up on lights to increase egg production but thats for the chicken NOT tractor boards lol

John T

Red Stars are a nice rugged tame breed. We have a few and the granddaughters can scoop them right up and carry them around without a struggle.

In northern MN you might want to have a heat lamp directed at the roosts, maybe 3' back from the roosts and close enough to the ceiling that the chickens won't be tempted to fly up and try to roost on it. The tips of the combs can freeze. When that happens the other chickens will pick at the dark frozen areas and start drawing blood. After that, it's all over for the affected chicken unless you can get it separated from the rest real fast. If the coop is insulated and TIGHT the heat lamp will be just enough to take the chill off inside the building. They don't need to be toasty warm.

Just an idea, but you might want one plug-in for the heat lamp for the 'girls', and a heater for the water. Another outlet for a light timer to turn a light on in the early morning and then again in the evening to extend the daytime a bit during the long winter nights. One light bulb on a switch should be plenty for your regular lighting needs. Some people keep a small red lightbulb going at night. Jim

I am in Southern Mn. and all I use for heat in winter is a heat lamp bulb in the ceiling light fixture and a heat lamp hanging directly on top of water fountain. On those rare -20 windy nights it will go below freezing in the coop but the water will not freeze with that lamp right on top of it. I also bank outside walls with 2 high bales. I have my entire south wall filled with windows so when winter sun is shining and outside temp is about 20 it will get up to about 50 by day. Grandkids love those little fuzzy chicks and I love those farm fresh eggs. Don't know about your wiring needs. I built mine within the old hog house so wire was already there. If you are going to keep them locked in coop when they start laying like I do then I always grab a hand full of grass and weeds twice a day for them to eat and scratch in. Gives the yolks that nice orange color that you cannot get with store bought eggs. You and the kids will have a blast raising chickens. There is really not as much to it as most would have you believe. It is not rocket science. Make sure they have fresh clean water at all times. Throw in all your table scraps and garden scraps and let them go to work for you. If the kids start handling them from day one they will grow up very tame. Have fun, The Flying Belgian.

John T has the electrical issue right. As long as it is one circuit for only lights and receptacles it is treated much differently than a service to a building with a distribution panel. For the few chickens you have you don't have to heat the entire house. Spot heat in one area will do fine. The birds will find it and stay there when it's cold.

150 ft is a bad length, it comes in 100 & 250's. Are you close to an L&M? They seem to be about the best place to buy cut lengths.

Yes, I am close to an L&M. That is where I do alot of my shopping. I could spend hours in there just looking around. Thanks-SHON

I wired up my wife's chicken coop last fall. The distance was about 125 feet. I went with 12/2 UF. I really wanted to move up to 10/2, but the price differential was too much to justify it. At Home Depot, it was about the same price if I bought 125 feet cut to length or bought a 250 foot coil, so I bought 250' and have plenty left over for another project.

20 amp breaker will be fine with 12/2.

Chickens can take a lot of cold, as long as they're out of the wind. Don't try to seal the coop up tight, as it needs some ventilation. We turn on a 300 watt heat lamp if the outside temperature drops below 20F. The waterer will need a heater, too. The heat lamp and waterer heater are plugged into a thermostat outlet cube tap used for heat tapes, it turns off above 40F.

Use an motion detector on your outside lights; that will tip you off when critters come around.

The length of the wire affects the amount of juice it can carry. Same as a hose with water, longer it is the more resistance and the less water flows through it. End result with water is you get a dribble out the end of the hose & you're disappointed if you make the hose too long and too small. End result with wiring is you overheat the wire and start a fire.

So, you got a long run there. You need to up the wire size over the 'regular' wire ratings - they asume less than 75 foot lengths and you are double that. Just simple how it is, how you have to do it.

Yup, that's expensive, but if you don't the wire overheats and melts and burns, and that is _more_ expensive.

John T has it pretty good, you are getting by with those instructions, don't try to cut corners even more!

Sounds like you are gonna be enjoying this livestock project with the kids, and livestock need water. Mixing livestock, water, electricity, and kids - be careful you get the grounding right. Spending a bit extra on the right wire should be worth it.

--->Paul

for that size coop, I'd just set up a 12volt battery and a solar maintainer (or just swap/charge batteries) and set up an LED light. You won't need heat, just feed a little extra corn when it's real cold and give them fresh water. Give em 16+ hours of light a day and you'll get eggs all year. Just keep it ventilated so they don't get respiratory problems when it's damp and make sure there are no internal or external parasites. Mixing food grade Diatomaceous Earth ( 2%) in the feed and mix it in/sprinkle it on thier dust bath area will prevent/ take care of both. Have fun with them..

Dave