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heating shed

lucy24

Mama Doe
i want to get a heater but have no electric in the shed-ideas much appreciated as to how to heat the bun house:wave:

thanks
 
how would i go about putting electric in their? we have an outhouse next to the shed with electric. could i just run a cable across?:?
 
honestly, I don't have a clue! :lol: My shed is down the side of the house and next door to the front room but I still haven't worked it out :lol:
 
Personally I wouldn't heat the shed, I would just make sure it is really well insulated and give the buns some little snug boxes to snuggle into if they want. The water in Dudley and Mavis' shed never freezes so it does stay above 0 in there, in my opinion a heater can often do more harm than good. Not only is it a fire risk unless it is one of those greenhouse type heaters, having a heater can cause greater temperature fluctuations especially if they are reliant on you switching it on and off rather than on a thermostat...and if the idea is to take the chill off rather than warm it up, you can achieve the same more safely and consistently with good insulation.
 
I personally would only be heating the shed to around 1 or 2 degrees about freezing but you do have to be very very careful with it!
 

Please, please don't use a convector heater like of these - it would be really dangerous and is just asking for a fire. The actual casing gets quite hot so it could set the shed walls smouldering, but more likely if any stray bits of hay or fur get inside it and onto the element (which is quite likely), they would catch fire immediately. If you definitely want to get something, a tubular greenhouse heater is the way to go.

But personally I still think there is an issue with having it on a timer rather than a thermostat. If you have it on a timer, it will come on arbitrarily with no particular reference to the outside temperature, and when the timer is off, it is off, regardless of how cold it is. This means that you wouldn't necessarily be heating the shed at the times when it is coldest, and making the shed warmer at times when it is not necessarily freezing because that's when the timer kicks in. Some winter days are every bit as bitter as the nights so if you have it set on a timer, you could easily inadvertently be getting the bunnies used to slightly warmer temperatures and then providing them with nothing when the temperature drops off and the timer is not on - which is far worse for them than letting them grow a thick winter coat to cope with the cold whenever it comes.
 
I don't heat my shed. My buns have been fine in it the last two winters. I make sure they have lots of hay to bed in, boxes with hay in to hide in, their water doesn't freeze in there even in the -14 temperatures we had 2 years ago and they also have each other and their winter coats. I also put fleece blankets in and a snugglesafe.
 
well its been getting damp in the corners which isnt good for their snuffles adn the bowl was completely frozen!:shock: just trying to think of my options
 
for now ive filled their indoor cage with a bag of straw and put a duvet cover with blanket over the top to make it cosy
 
we insulated ours with these big polystyrene sheets from B&Q and then put plywood over the top of them. Not sure if yours is insulated but if not that might be an idea, may stop the dampness.
 
What's making it damp? I think curing the source of the damp rather than trying to evaporate it with heat is a more sustainable solution. Is there a leak, is it coming up from the floor, is it because the buns aren't using a litter tray, etc etc. if all you're doing with the heat source is evaporating the moisture, then that will be increasing the humidity in the shed and that won't be good for them either - far better to stop it from getting damp in the first place.
 
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