- Jul 10, 2013
- 43
- 1
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I went on a friend's advice and bought Buckeye chicks in the spring of last year. I researched them and found nothing but great info regarding this breed and cold weather. Pea combs, tight-knit feathers, low incidence of pecking. What happened is pretty much the opposite of what I expected.
I built a quality hen house. 2x8 construction and insulation. 1/2 " chicken wire under the floor to keep out predators, 6 nesting boxes, 4 roosting poles, 18 inches apart. A sandbox (for bathing) and of course food and water. Also a large suet-holder (2) that I hung from the ceiling and put cabbage or lettuce/apples (whatever), that they could peck at on a daily basis, to prevent boredom.
The MINUTE it was above 25 degrees I let them outside. Still, they were totally in lock-down from Nov through April. People around here said it was the longest winter they could remember but still. That's the way it was. 6 months without going outside. The coop has 2 windows designed to catch any minute amount of sunshine shining that day. And sometimes that is only 3-4 hours per day, here. But I ran a regular 100 watt lightbulb during the day for 8 hours and an infrared heatlamp at night when it was below -30. Which was most of the winter. We went many weeks -30 - -60 below. Mind you, I live off-grid, so all this light originates from a gas powered generator.
Several died - one pecked on her back quarters . . probably after death but still, bloody. About 1/2 way through the winter I had a friend sit with me in the coop, watching to see who the "peckers" were. 5 stood out and we had a neighbor slaughter them the next day. These birds were actively picking the feathers out of their friends and eating them. Things kind of mellowed out after that but , although there was not much blood (and when there was I put this black stuff on them) they continued to pick the feathers out of each other. Well, spring came and I had a flock of half-naked hens. The worst ones I brought into my laundry room, in a dog kennel, until their feathers grew back somewhat.
Even now, in July, I have "recovering" hens. Most are pecked on their heads, backs and bottoms. Feathers are growing back and the pecking has stopped. Most are sunburned on their bare skin. Also, most are molting. Hard to tell.
Several hens have just died. Reason eludes me. 2 died in the nest boxes. One on the floor. My friend thinks their hearts just gave out. Winter stress. When I think about being cooped up with "killer chickens", yes, that would be stressful.
My point is that everything I have researched and heard says that this breed, Buckeyes, is a gentle breed and hardy breed.
Just recently, I read a post from a chicken person that said that Buckeyes do not like confinement. Well, that says it all to me. They may be wonderful chickens but we are talking 6 months (1/2 of a year) without going outside. If I had read that post, I would never have even tried to put them through an Alaskan winter.
I am sad.
I built a quality hen house. 2x8 construction and insulation. 1/2 " chicken wire under the floor to keep out predators, 6 nesting boxes, 4 roosting poles, 18 inches apart. A sandbox (for bathing) and of course food and water. Also a large suet-holder (2) that I hung from the ceiling and put cabbage or lettuce/apples (whatever), that they could peck at on a daily basis, to prevent boredom.
The MINUTE it was above 25 degrees I let them outside. Still, they were totally in lock-down from Nov through April. People around here said it was the longest winter they could remember but still. That's the way it was. 6 months without going outside. The coop has 2 windows designed to catch any minute amount of sunshine shining that day. And sometimes that is only 3-4 hours per day, here. But I ran a regular 100 watt lightbulb during the day for 8 hours and an infrared heatlamp at night when it was below -30. Which was most of the winter. We went many weeks -30 - -60 below. Mind you, I live off-grid, so all this light originates from a gas powered generator.
Several died - one pecked on her back quarters . . probably after death but still, bloody. About 1/2 way through the winter I had a friend sit with me in the coop, watching to see who the "peckers" were. 5 stood out and we had a neighbor slaughter them the next day. These birds were actively picking the feathers out of their friends and eating them. Things kind of mellowed out after that but , although there was not much blood (and when there was I put this black stuff on them) they continued to pick the feathers out of each other. Well, spring came and I had a flock of half-naked hens. The worst ones I brought into my laundry room, in a dog kennel, until their feathers grew back somewhat.
Even now, in July, I have "recovering" hens. Most are pecked on their heads, backs and bottoms. Feathers are growing back and the pecking has stopped. Most are sunburned on their bare skin. Also, most are molting. Hard to tell.
Several hens have just died. Reason eludes me. 2 died in the nest boxes. One on the floor. My friend thinks their hearts just gave out. Winter stress. When I think about being cooped up with "killer chickens", yes, that would be stressful.
My point is that everything I have researched and heard says that this breed, Buckeyes, is a gentle breed and hardy breed.
Just recently, I read a post from a chicken person that said that Buckeyes do not like confinement. Well, that says it all to me. They may be wonderful chickens but we are talking 6 months (1/2 of a year) without going outside. If I had read that post, I would never have even tried to put them through an Alaskan winter.
I am sad.
