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Quote: That's interesting, because I just read an article about using mealworms as a protein source for humans, instead of beef, pork, and chicken. The rationale was that mealworms emit less carbon dioxide per pound than the larger animals so they're better for the environment. The drawback...

Hah! Usually it's the other way 'round. The guy wants to go to the wilderness, but the woman says NO WAY! See if you can convince him to come up for a vacation. It's a very well kept secret what living in Alaska is really like, especially how bad it isn't!

I agree completely. Cold is so much easier to deal with than Hot! I feel blessed to live where the wilderness is 10 minutes away from my house, where you can see the biggest mountain clearly across the valley even though it's 150 miles away, where the population pressure hasn't taken away so...

If a 250 watt bulb would do the trick here, I wouldn't need a heated waterer. It's 10 below now, but still 15 above in the coop. But at 15 degrees, the water is still drinkable. And I do have a heat lamp in there ready to plug in if the birds start looking unhappy. Right now, they only look...

Popsicle has the list pretty well down. There was a ring necked pheasant sited at last winter on several occasions at a local bird refuge. Then we had a cold snap, 30 below for a a couple of weeks, and folks thought he would certainly die. but after it warmed up again, he was spotted again...

Layer crumbles at first, then I started getting the pellets, less waste, they say. And I have a mealworm ranch in my kitchen, so I give them fresh worms every day, just for fun. They don't really need them, but it's fun. And some scratch, for treats. Table scraps sometimes, when I think...

Hey Chesty, when they don't get 12-14 hours of light, they stop laying. We use the lights to keep their biological clocks ticking. I turn mine on at 8ish in the morning, and off at 9-10 at night, and they're still laying. I don't know if once they stop laying for the season they'll start up...

Hey, Sun, give that Sussex a chance. My pullets varied by four weeks when they were ready to start laying. Don't remember where in that mix my Sussex was, but I think it varies by bird more than by breed. Anyway, that Sussex is the best bird in my flock, the most people oriented, the...

At 10 degrees above, mine prefer to be outside. The coop is a little smaller than 4x8, for five chickens. There is room to move around inside, the nest boxes are elevated, with running room underneath, the water and food are indoors and there's pretty good ventilation. At zero degrees, they...

The chickadees and other wild birds get by with down coats and an ability to survive on the available foods, and by eating a LOT of it! When it's 20 below you can see them on the feeder, all puffed up, looking like fluff balls with a beak sticking out one end and a tail sticking out the other...

The light is to keep them laying. If you use an incandescent bulb, it will add some heat to the coop. I live in Fairbanks, this will be my first winter with chickens, but I won't add heat unless it gets below minus 20 for a prolonged period. You do have to make sure they'll have access to...

Get him a down coat, make him wear it indoors, and then tell him, after all, that's what the chickens are wearing! Sorry about his poor cats! Mine would be disconsolate if he wasn't allowed to go outside, let alone being kept in an oven all day!

The gardening is excellent, for those who like that kind of thing. I tend to kill plants, not much of a green thumb here, I do great with animals, not so much with plants. However, even though our growing season is short (June 1-August 31, sometimes late into September) the days are long, we...

Why do I live here?? Because they make engine block heaters and autostarts and down filled expedition parkas with coyote ruffs that make it possible. Because there aren't any traffic jams. Because wilderness is only minutes away. Because the spirit of the people here is remarkable. Because...

Here in Fairbanks it was -35 in town, -25 up here in the hills. The coop looks nice with a blanket of 8 inches of snow over the room and steps and chicken ramp, but all is still out there. Can't wait to get my chicks!!! March.... 4 months away....

I didn't mean to have four dogs! One of them should have died of old age by now, and another is an old and decrepit lab/chow with congestive heart failure that we took in when his owner moved out of town, didn't think the dog would transition well, and our place is kind of like a handicapped...

Thanks for the tip, Toofarout, and yeah, for the first several weeks, a little extra electricity won't hurt me. It'll depend on the weather. As us Fairbanksans know, it can be anywhere from 30 below to 50 above in March! Fortunately, it's a smallish coop, less than 4x8, and it's insulated...

Since my last post I've changed my mind. I think I'll start them in the coop, restrict them to the half coop away from the man door with a plywood divider, and hang a heat lamp for them. They'll be able to move around to where they're comfy. And while they're inside the coop being comfy...

Judging by your smilies, we could only laugh WITH you, not at you. I used to live in California, and was very used to warm temperatures. Moving to Alaska I learned a whole lot, and I'm still learning. So no, don't feel like an idiot! And it's okay for chicks to stay warm till they're...

Quote: Curious about this. I've heard it or something similar before, and have been considering it as a way to cut down on having to haul water to the coop in the winter. My concern is, does it add moisture to the air in the coop, because I understand you do not want that, especially in the...