Vermont

Keara said:

My Marans roos, and a few hens, get frostbite too. The wattles are because they drag in the water when they drink, and the comb (I am guessing) it is just so big and the boys don't seem to know when to rest and put their head under their wing. my experiance with frostbite so far is to keep and eye on it but..... it healed well and the animals did not get it the following year because they had smaller combs and waddles.

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Thanks Keara! This is my first winter, so I'm still getting used to the challenges that go with it. I am also more inclined to just let things be and only intercede if I see something serious, so I'll probably take the wait and see approach unless I see a lot more start or the hens are affected too.

I'm watching my 4 leghorn hens closely, since they roost 8' up near the soffet vents (and have the biggest combs of all my hens), but see no signs of frostbite on any of them. I'm getting 6-11 eggs a day from 18 hens (2-4 a day from my 5 BCM's), so I'm pretty happy with their winter laying rate and they all seem healthy.

Noymira said:

Anyone have any suggestions? Do I need more ventilation or do the roos just need some extra winter care? I didn't use any vasoline, so I'm afraid the damage is done now, but should I add some to prevent more frostbite? I do not use a heat lamp or any light or water heaters in the coop.

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I know that my coop has good ventilation but I still have two Roosters with frostbite on their combs. I tried using the vaseline but it really didn't seem to help since it seemed a little worse the next really cold day. My solution was to Leave the two top vents open in the underside of the roof (I have a slant roof and the small triangles under the edge of the roof are both open for ventilation) but I close their little chicken door during the evenings if it's below 10 degrees and during the really cold days that were way below zero I didn't let them out at all and just kept their doors closed as much as possible. It seemed to help a bit since the frostbite hasn't gotten any worse. Hopefully it will heal up come spring.

Hi everyone hope your all staying dry today!

Hello all my VT neighbors!!!

Just want to be sure you all know you are invited to a chicken get together here in NH - I am only 4 miles from the VT border Even Keara has made the drive down so it is not too far.

Please consider this a personal invitation. We would love to have all of you attend and have a chicken filled day

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...chickenstock-nh-july-7-2012-come-one-come-all

Checking in from the Kingdom. How are you Vermonters dealing with the cold and chickens. I don't think I have enough ventilation as my pine shavings are now damp, I opened the roof a bit today and the shavings are frozen. I think I need to add vents and get new shavings. Any advice?

Relheok said:

Checking in from the Kingdom. How are you Vermonters dealing with the cold and chickens. I don't think I have enough ventilation as my pine shavings are now damp, I opened the roof a bit today and the shavings are frozen. I think I need to add vents and get new shavings. Any advice?

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I actually kept my coops closed other than the chick door today. That way most of the warmth would stay in the coop. I haven't had any issues with too much moisture so far. Now frozen water buckets...that's another story lol. If your shavings are damp I would try and change them out so that your hens don't get sick. I had to change out mine the other day for the first time all winter not so much because of freezing but just because they were dirty. Thank goodness starting next week the temps are supposed to be higher during the day. Maybe we will get an early spring...if we do I won't complain.

I made sure to fill my feeders today so that they could eat as much as they want since digesting food gives them warmth and I changed their water an extra time today so that they would have fresh water. Now if I could just convince my hens that it is a bad idea to go broody in below zero temps we will be all set lol.

I am itching to break out the bator with this easy winter we are having but decide I will wait and join in the Easter Hatch-A-Long. I am patiently waiting for my girls to start laying so I can hatch. Any other Vermonter's having the same itchy feeling? or joining the hatch-a-long?

I just want my first ever eggs!

crazyeggs said:

I am itching to break out the bator with this easy winter we are having but decide I will wait and join in the Easter Hatch-A-Long. I am patiently waiting for my girls to start laying so I can hatch. Any other Vermonter's having the same itchy feeling? or joining the hatch-a-long?

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I have 25 Black Copper Marans eggs in the incubator right now! Ready to hatch March 3rd. Anyone want chicks, I'll be selling them for $5 each. This is just a warm up to make sure the incubator was still working!

Sounds good to me! The drive is quite nice, I would love to hang out with chickenpeople in NH.

aceschix said:

Hello all my VT neighbors!!!

Just want to be sure you all know you are invited to a chicken get together here in NH - I am only 4 miles from the VT border Even Keara has made the drive down so it is not too far.

Please consider this a personal invitation. We would love to have all of you attend and have a chicken filled day

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...chickenstock-nh-july-7-2012-come-one-come-all

Click to expand...