2018 Newbie Chat!

[llombardo]

We got snow over night. I can tell you what time it started because as it got heavier Prince started crowing. Of course it was a heavier snow.

The net held and because of that it did not really accumulate in the run. I ended up soaking wet and an hour late for work. After I got the snow off the net, it did not leave a while bunch in the run. Looks like I will have to watch weather closely and take half days accordingly. We usually don't get snow this early so it may be a snowy season.

The ducks complete froze when they saw it, but recovered quickly and the chickens took about an extra minute to come out. Precious looked at me like what is this crap...included that picture..lol

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Pig(my 8 week old roo) and Manchaneel were fighting pretty hard today. Pig wouldn’t leave her alone. If this keeps up, I’m going to house pig alone for a few weeks.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

We got snow over night. I can tell you what time it started because as it got heavier Prince started crowing. Of course it was a heavier snow.

The net held and because of that it did not really accumulate in the run. I ended up soaking wet and an hour late for work. After I got the snow off the net, it did not leave a while bunch in the run. Looks like I will have to watch weather closely and take half days accordingly. We usually don't get snow this early so it may be a snowy season.

The ducks complete froze when they saw it, but recovered quickly and the chickens took about an extra minute to come out. Precious looked at me like what is this crap...included that picture..lol

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Love these photos, great shots of the cute inquisitive looks on their faces. We don't have snow yet, we got lots and lots and lots of rain and a few frosty mornings, so far.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

We had snow too, about 3 inches or so. None in the run, it's covered. But tonight it's supposed to be really windy with gusts up to 45 mph. Wind chills in the single digits. Yeah, I'm worried. I know I shouldn't be, but I am, lol. I keep looking at them on the camera. I guess they're warm enough. They always line up in the same order on the roost. Opal, Amber, Diamond, Pearl, and Jade.

 

[CannedMonster]

We had snow too, about 3 inches or so. None in the run, it's covered. But tonight it's supposed to be really windy with gusts up to 45 mph. Wind chills in the single digits. Yeah, I'm worried. I know I shouldn't be, but I am, lol. I keep looking at them on the camera. I guess they're warm enough. They always line up in the same order on the roost. Opal, Amber, Diamond, Pearl, and Jade.

They’ll be okay!
They’ll keep each other warm and cozy.
They sit in there and “talk” to each other.
I’m going to try to candle Pippin’s eggs tomorrow to see if anything is developing.
It’s getting into the low 20s at night out here so I’m concerned about baby chicks hatching right now.
She seems to be be quite serious about it though.

 

[Geranium]

Any know reason why the three aren't roosting with the others? I just curious.

I'm not sure. The same three were on the lower roost two nights in a row. The two Buff Orpingtons are my friendliest.

 

[CannedMonster]

I'm not sure. The same three were on the lower roost two nights in a row. The two Buff Orpingtons are my friendliest.

@Anna Ranieri
There’s a hierarchy to roosting.
The pecking order matters a lot.
The more dominant birds will usually take the higher roosts.
My older 3 girls roost on the top rung.
Angus takes the next one. He’s always on the left near the wall.
My teenagers have to find space where they can.
There’s plenty of space for all of them but chickens aren’t terribly nice to each other at roosting time.
Mine sometimes peck very meanly.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

@Anna Ranieri
There’s a hierarchy to roosting.
The pecking order matters a lot.
The more dominant birds will usually take the higher roosts.
My older 3 girls roost on the top rung.
Angus takes the next one. He’s always on the left near the wall.
My teenagers have to find space where they can.
There’s plenty of space for all of them but chickens aren’t terribly nice to each other at roosting time.
Mine sometimes peck very meanly.

Ahhhh, that makes a lot of sense, I did wonder if it was to do with the pecking order.
I watched a short documentary recently, it showed a chicken owner who has only one roost, its really long and all the birds fit on it well, but some of the birds had their heads at the tail end of the others, according to the docu, the lower birds sit with their heads facing the tails of the higher ranked birds to prevent getting pecked in the face and eyes, but can often get their tails bitten, but better their butts than their faces! Was really interesting to watch.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

They’ll be okay!
They’ll keep each other warm and cozy.
They sit in there and “talk” to each other.
I’m going to try to candle Pippin’s eggs tomorrow to see if anything is developing.
It’s getting into the low 20s at night out here so I’m concerned about baby chicks hatching right now.
She seems to be be quite serious about it though.

Our weather is still quite mild and unusually warm for this time of year, at the moment its 12°C (53.6°F) the lowest we've had so far is 7°C (44.6°F) and that was only for a couple of nights. Would be lovely if we end up having a mild winter throughout
Where I am in the UK if we get snow its usually Jan/Feb, so will have to see but here's hoping we don't get any at all

 

[llombardo]

Everything is frozen. This will make my day harder and longer.

Normal temps for this time of the year are usually 55. We haven't gone above 35 during the day.

Just miserable...