Texas

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Sending you a PM

 

[Ren2014]

Reading 17 right now. Might lose another degree or two before dawn and warm up into the 30s. I'll be in my recliner by the wood furnace watching the football games.

It is 13 with a chill factor of 3 here. Todays activity level is ditto...recline and watch.

x3
We were at 23 when I went to bed.

Our snow wasn't the good snow... this was more like snow grains than snow flakes. It lightly snowed for about 6 hours. We were not expecting accumulation but we got a light dusting. Just enough to make driving interesting... (white knuckle interesting). I hate driving in snow and ice... I have wrecked in it before and now I am not a fan... my husband on the other hand loves to see how far he can push it (and me) before he looses control.
Yesterday it did not get above 26 degrees, last night it got down to 12. We were cold to the bone and nothing got us warmed up like a fresh pot of shrimp gumbo.
Currently it is 15 degrees and I still haven't gone outside...I know I need to go check on my girls but IT'S COLD!!!!
Let me stop whining and get to work.
Have a great day y'all

All of ours have inside water so thank God I don't have to go first thing in the morning. It's in the 30+ here now and I'm still putting off going out, lol.

We are supposed to be in the 70's Tuesday here. No wonder everyone is getting sick. But I bet the bugs won't be half as bad as they were last spring

High 70's expected here on Wednesday. This is just ridiculous weather!

When I lived in WA state, and Nevada, I have a lot!

But since moving to Texas, no. We've never had snow here. It's never been recorded.

When I moved to Texas, it was -20 and my pipes froze. My husband just checked the weather report of the place we USED to live, and it got to -47 the other day.... I was like.. hell no. So glad we don't live THERE anymore! LOL

​

This is what it looked like all winter.

We even got snow in JUNE once. ^.^

O WOW, that's just beautiful! I could see though how that would be too much if it's all you saw for some time.

 

[topdycke]

Wow 43 now its a heat wave ! Horse was hopping around in his blanket this morning and the chickens were like whatever. I was bundled in two and three layers of clothes. No - I am good with warmer weather!

 

[Ren2014]

Wow 43 now its a heat wave ! Horse was hopping around in his blanket this morning and the chickens were like whatever. I was bundled in two and three layers of clothes. No - I am good with warmer weather!

heat wave, too funny!

 

[supergirl105]

 

[Ren2014]

another good one! Sooooo true, lol.

 

[lovetea9]

hi im raised in Austin Tx been city girl til 6 months ago i moved in Creedmoor very country i blend in.. i got 6 hens and one rooster first time to have chickens.. whatever i need help or feedback i would come down to typing on forum thank you for warming welcome and i m looking forward to learning more things have a great day and stay warm!

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

hi im raised in Austin Tx been city girl til 6 months ago i moved in Creedmoor very country i blend in.. i got 6 hens and one rooster first time to have chickens.. whatever i need help or feedback i would come down to typing on forum

thank you for warming welcome and i m looking forward to learning more things have a great day and stay warm!

Hope you're staying warm!!!

- Ant Farm

 

[lovetea9]

oh one more thing since this weather become colder below 40 degree and do i have to use heat lamp in coop overnight.. whats ur suggest for texas chickens how many degree they must have heat lamp on?

 

[bnjrob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by lovetea9

oh one more thing since this weather become colder below 40 degree and do i have to use heat lamp in coop overnight.. whats ur suggest for texas chickens how many degree they must have heat lamp on?

No heat lamps! They are far too dangerous and very unnecessary! Chickens did not have heat lamps 100+ years ago and they do not need them now. Using a heat lamp makes it much more difficult for your chickens to get acclimated to the weather. By making artificial weather for them, they become unable to regulate their bodies and can die even when it doesn't get very cold. You would not want to get your birds accustomed to using a heat lamp and then have the power go out and they can't survive because they don't have their heat lamp anymore. They need shelter from wind and rain and they will be fine. If you use roost bars that are larger around, like a 2x3 or 2x4, they can sit their breasts on their toes and keep their toes warm too. They need good ventilation to keep the moisture from their breath, poop, and water bowls from settling on their combs/wattles and causing frost bite, so you don't want a coop that is super air-tight. Putting down a thick layer of shavings on the coop floor will let them snuggle into the shavings if they don't want to go on the roost bars.

Most of my birds are in open-air coops, they have 3 sides of solid walls, plus the roof, and they have done fine for years, even with the temps down toward 0*F. Friend of mine experienced the tragedy of a heat lamp starting a fire. She no longer uses heat lamps but she had to learn the hard way.