Any suggestions on how to solve our frostbite problem?

[Beekissed]

Here's a thread about a whole flock dying over bulbs from a heat lamp: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/846962/hypothermia

 

[annagarret]

Here's a thread about a whole flock dying over bulbs from a heat lamp: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/846962/hypothermia

That was a really sad post...

I am in Michigan and have had a hard time of it up here, lots of snow and below 0 . I don't heat at all and they are doing Ok. One of my girls has started to pull off her own feathers though. I am giving her some more protein. Maybe she is just bored from being cooped up?

 

[Beekissed]

That was a really sad post...

I am in Michigan and have had a hard time of it up here, lots of snow and below 0 . I don't heat at all and they are doing Ok. One of my girls has started to pull off her own feathers though. I am giving her some more protein. Maybe she is just bored from being cooped up?

Could be. You could buy a bag of apples and just throw one or two into the coop when you go to feed...they love getting to peck at something and they will consume them entirely, while getting some good moisture and Vit. C out of the deal.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

apples ! awesome. what other fruits or whatnot can we give to help with frozen water.

 

[Chicken_Girl75495]

Just a couple of notes--

I too had heard that vaseline on combs would help, although I never did that (they don't hold still enough!), but frostbite untreated looks like what you described--blackened tips on the combs. I'm in north central Texas and we don't get as bad as some places, as far as bad cold is concerned.

Ice crystals inside the coop window is your hint. You don't have enough ventilation to let out the humidity, and that's likely the problem. It may not be as toasty in there as you'd like (although it sounds like it's pretty chilly!), but you have to have vents somewhere, like ridge vents (although I'd think that would let out warmth). If you ventilate near the floor of the coop, I would think that cooler air might come in, pushing warmer air out, but I'm not sure.

We don't have their water source inside the coop. I've been meaning to get an aquarium water heater to keep their water liquid, or maybe even the same kind of water heater we use for the horse troughs (about $40, and submerged to the bottom of the trough). I'm leaning toward the aquarium heater though.

I hadn't ever heard of not giving them oatmeal or other wet food! Why not? they need fluid, water might be hard to get at if it is frozen, and cooked oatmeal would have some water in it. I'm in favor of oatmeal during frigid weather! it isn't as though they are going to dangle their combs or waddles in it.

That's all I've got--my hens' coop has the door open a wee bit so they can come and go, a heater inside that cannot catch on fire (there was something in the news today about that!), and I figure if they are too chilly they can get close to that heater. But they seem to prefer their roosts (which are re-purposed wooden stairs from an old house that was being updated), and they sit there with their feathers all fluffed out over their feet, snuggled close to each other.

Hope this helps in some way--good luck!

 

[Beekissed]

Yep...I feed wet feed every morning and it's all gone before it can freeze, even in a coop that shows -10 on the thermometer. No frostbite issues in my coop. I even have a heated dog bowl with water in my coop because if I leave it outside the dog drinks it all....even when it's sitting right beside HIS heated bucket of water.

 

[Chicken_Girl75495]

While doing a craft project in my garage, with plenty of ventilation, the paint would not dry. So I put a fan blowing away from the project instead of on the project and it dried quickly. So, I am suggesting you get a small fan to blow the condensed air up and away from the birds or a small de humidifier. I would think cleaning the droppings asap might also help because that too can muck up the air I am sure. I had parrots once and I know the droppings can be very innocuous. At least this is an issue I will have to consider before I build my own coop. Good Luck

I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but I do have a little feedback for your feedback! Chickens are not paint or craft projects, and the rules aren't the same. Birds prefer air that is still. A fan, other than maybe an exhaust fan that pulls air out, would not be a good idea at all. Plus, it will stir up dust, and the chickens will have to choose between cold outside and dusty air inside. Cleaning up droppings quickly is always nice but not always possible, and, frankly, chickens do not seem to mind droppings. I was reading material from an ag agent and there is something to chickens actually eating their own droppings as a way of conserving certain minerals and other elements. (Don't knock it, chickens have been doing this for thousands of years and they seem to be surviving pretty well!) Lastly, the word "innocuous" means harmless or inoffensive. Maybe you meant noxious, which means (loosely) poisonous or harmful. I hope you look into coop plans before you build--you might consider using a kit shed with ridge vents and a window on one side. This is what we used, it is less expensive and bigger than buying a coop kit or a finished one, and it has worked very well for our flock of 30+.

Good luck!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

aww, i have been giving them extra water without thinking about it. lol i make them a big ol bowl of wet feed it the mornings. (no, im not blond)

do you know what a quartz heater is compared to a regular elect. 1500 watt . ?

 

[Chicken_Girl75495]

On the issue of water inside the coop, we have found that the hens go out of their way to poop in the water if we do that! So their water stays outside, but no dogs allowed in their yard! LOL

 

[mrballance]

On the issue of water inside the coop, we have found that the hens go out of their way to poop in the water if we do that! So their water stays outside, but no dogs allowed in their yard! LOL

I keep water inside, They don't poop in it, So everybody is just a little different