- May 16, 2011
- 97
- 1
- 92
Last night after sunset I had four birds sitting on the wire top of their run.
I have a little run that's part of the coop, (omlet cube) 25 sq ft, about 4' high.
Stupid birds. I figured the light reflected off the snow had kept the area
brighter than usual and they got surprised, confused, whatever.
I have 8 girls, 4 breeds, 8 1/2 months. We got our first snowfall yesterday, 5-6"
after an extremely mild December and January and they reacted as chickens do
to anything new.
They flapped and protested as I took them off and dropped them into the run,
and then they hopped into the coop and I locked the run for the night.
This morning I got up just before 8 to let them out and then jump back into bed.
Temps in the teens last night and the water in the run would be frozen so I figured
I'd let them out and give them a fresh bucket on the deck and a little scratch.
I start filling the bucket in the kitchen sink and look out and there is Paulette,
walking around on the deck in front of the back door. I look at the coop, the rest
are milling around waiting to be let out.
Paulette is my runt, a red shouldered Yokohama. She was the smallest of the chicks,
a favorite target of the Hamburgs in the brooder and then outside. She would run and burrow
under an RIR for protection, at 10 weeks they were 3 times her size. I posted pictures
of her and her twisted feather "problem" (as if it actually was a problem) at about 5 weeks,
she looked so pathetic that one response offered that some chicks don't make it.
There is no real info I've found on Yokohamas, My breed selection is the product of a
surprise package from Ideal. The little bit I've managed to find told me that they are
ornamental birds, poor layers, and not cold hardy. The roos grow long showy tails.
As far as laying mine seem to lay about 4 times a week, not once like I read.
Eggs are PeeWee, 1 1/4-1 1/2 oz but they are regular. Ornamental? Not to me.
They look like seagulls and we've got a lot of those on Long Island. They have
a scrawny junglefowl look and don't weigh very much.
So is a bird that can spend the night alone out of the coop in temps that were in the teens
winter hardy? I spent a little time in Minneapolis and there were days when the
high temperature was seventeen below, three weeks when it never went above zero,
this is only Long Island, our winters are milder but it is still winter.
I don't know much about chickens but I'm going to stop worrying about my non winter hardy
scrawny runt handling the cold. I think Paulette demonstrated that her sort is tough enough
to handle winter. Crowding with the others in an insulated coop must be a piece of cake,
even when it gets below zero.
I have a little run that's part of the coop, (omlet cube) 25 sq ft, about 4' high.
Stupid birds. I figured the light reflected off the snow had kept the area
brighter than usual and they got surprised, confused, whatever.
I have 8 girls, 4 breeds, 8 1/2 months. We got our first snowfall yesterday, 5-6"
after an extremely mild December and January and they reacted as chickens do
to anything new.
They flapped and protested as I took them off and dropped them into the run,
and then they hopped into the coop and I locked the run for the night.
This morning I got up just before 8 to let them out and then jump back into bed.
Temps in the teens last night and the water in the run would be frozen so I figured
I'd let them out and give them a fresh bucket on the deck and a little scratch.
I start filling the bucket in the kitchen sink and look out and there is Paulette,
walking around on the deck in front of the back door. I look at the coop, the rest
are milling around waiting to be let out.
Paulette is my runt, a red shouldered Yokohama. She was the smallest of the chicks,
a favorite target of the Hamburgs in the brooder and then outside. She would run and burrow
under an RIR for protection, at 10 weeks they were 3 times her size. I posted pictures
of her and her twisted feather "problem" (as if it actually was a problem) at about 5 weeks,
she looked so pathetic that one response offered that some chicks don't make it.
There is no real info I've found on Yokohamas, My breed selection is the product of a
surprise package from Ideal. The little bit I've managed to find told me that they are
ornamental birds, poor layers, and not cold hardy. The roos grow long showy tails.
As far as laying mine seem to lay about 4 times a week, not once like I read.
Eggs are PeeWee, 1 1/4-1 1/2 oz but they are regular. Ornamental? Not to me.
They look like seagulls and we've got a lot of those on Long Island. They have
a scrawny junglefowl look and don't weigh very much.
So is a bird that can spend the night alone out of the coop in temps that were in the teens
winter hardy? I spent a little time in Minneapolis and there were days when the
high temperature was seventeen below, three weeks when it never went above zero,
this is only Long Island, our winters are milder but it is still winter.
I don't know much about chickens but I'm going to stop worrying about my non winter hardy
scrawny runt handling the cold. I think Paulette demonstrated that her sort is tough enough
to handle winter. Crowding with the others in an insulated coop must be a piece of cake,
even when it gets below zero.
