Anyone else having a hard time?

[cmlew99]

This is my first winter with chickens. I got them in May, and it has been a blast. Each day I got my chicken therapy, and I loved every moment with them. But this winter has just been brutal. Its gotten to the point where I dread checking on them, because of all the things that might go wrong (because so many things already have gone wrong)(of course, I still check on them and take care of them).

One of my hens got a respiratory illness that lasted about a month and only went away with oral Baytril. Now my rooster is having extreme frostbite issues, they are pecking each other.

Ahh!

I don't know what to do, I feel like such a bad owner! I love them so much, and spend so much time worrying and researching and strategizing.

Does anyone else feel frustrated with winter? Any tips on how to manage the flock in the cold weather?

 

[TalkALittle]

I'm in MA like you, so I am dealing with the same cold weather. I also got my birds last spring so when cold weather came I found myself worrying if they'd make it through the winter alright or if I would screw up and kill them. I focused on 3 things: clean, dry living conditions, access to fresh water, and opportunities for mental enrichment. If I could do that I figured they'd be in pretty good shape. The trouble was, I knew that at some point I'd be trying to do it under 3 feet of snow. Yuck!

Roofing the run and enclosing it in clear tarps helped me immensely. It made sure they had plenty of dry space even with all the snow. I also gave them an extra roost in the run. It gives them more options to get off the cold ground which makes it more likely that they spend time in the run than the coop and gives them more room to spread out and get away from each other if they want. The roost is movable so every couple of days I put it in a new spot so it gives them something to think about and explore a bit. I also put two logs in the run that I can move around in order to change up the environment a bit. I stand them on end and put treats on the top of them, or lay them on their side and toss scratch into the grooves of the bark. Occasionally I toss a flake of hay or straw in the run whole and let them scratch it apart and they've had a couple cabbage piñata parties too. My coop is small with not a lot of ventilation. I need to keep it really clean to keep it dry. If my birds spend more time in the run they do most of their pooping out there so the only poop in the coop is what they do at night. I put in a poop board and now my coop is wicked easy to clean and stays drier.

I think the first time you do something is always the hardest because you don't even know all that you don't know. I figure if I can make it through this winter without killing my birds I'll be in a pretty good place for next year. I just keep thinking how much easier next winter will be because I'll be that much more prepared for it.

 

[Cluckies]

I hear you! I'm in MN, got my chickens last spring and i've been battling one thing after another. Another week of sub zero temps coming up. makes you want to cry

We'll get through this.

Things i've learned.
two of mine have frostbit combs (the only two that have bigger combs) so i'll never get birds with a bigger comb again, pea combs or rose combs only. one was bleeding today on her comb, I think they other girls pecked her. brought her in and put blu-kote on her, let it dry, put her back out there. I do do bagbalm, not sure if it helps or not. Just makes stuff stick to their combs and the others try and pick it off..

bigger run - my run is 10.5x6.5. not big enough for 6 chickens, i'll be at least doubling that this spring/summer. I did put greenhouse panels around the run so they can be out in the run all day and not stuck in the 4x6 henhouse. no snow, no wind, good stuff. They only sleep or lay eggs in the henhouse, even when it is below zero.

I clean up poo in my henhouse and run everyday. henhouse in the morning (poop tray with sweet pdz) and run every evening when they go to bed. keeps everything dryer.

I placed a 6.5 gallon rubber tub (from fleet farm) in their run with peat moss so that they can dust bathe when they want. they love that tub, it keeps them busy alot of the time.






cabbage just freezes in my run, so that didn't work. flock blocks.... frozen, but they do work on the slightly warmer days, so I have 2, one in the hh and one in the run.

I bring different treats out everyday, 6 bowls filled with:
1) lettuce, cabbage, kale and spinach.
2) crumbles wet down with water
3) cottage cheese
4) yogurt
5) calf manna crumbled and mixed with yogurt (mine won't eat pellets)
anything new I can think of

I am growing meal worms for treats for them. they love them even though they only get a few here and there.

I give them a little scratch mixed with boss and dried meal worms thrown out into the run every day and they can sift through the wood chips for them.

I go out everyday and spend about an hour or more with them. they seem to like it.

I hear you though. I've had one sour crop, then she started molting in november, now this last week one impacted crop (I grow wheat grass and let it get too long when I gave it to them) should have cut it! learning, learning... One is now hardly eating and her poo is super small, keeping an eye on her.

It is always something and a constant worry if i'm doing things right. I've just finally decided that I'm doing the best I can with what I have. we will learn as we go, try not to worry.

I wrote this so that you don't feel so alone. you are doing good. they will be fine! We are with you!

 

[COChix]

I hear you!  I'm in MN, got my chickens last spring and i've been battling one thing after another. Another week of sub zero temps coming up.  makes you want to cry    We'll get through this.

Things i've learned.
two of mine have frostbit combs (the only two that have bigger combs) so i'll never get birds with a bigger comb again, pea combs or rose combs only. one was bleeding today on her comb, I think they other girls pecked her. brought her in and put blu-kote on her, let it dry, put her back out there.  I do do bagbalm, not sure if it helps or not. Just makes stuff stick to their combs and the others try and pick it off.. :/

bigger run - my run is 10.5x6.5. not big enough for 6 chickens, i'll be at least doubling that this spring/summer.  I did put greenhouse panels around the run so they can be out in the run all day and not stuck in the 4x6 henhouse.  no snow, no wind, good stuff. They only sleep or lay eggs in the henhouse, even when it is below zero.

I clean up poo in my henhouse and run everyday. henhouse in the morning (poop tray with sweet pdz) and run every evening when they go to bed.  keeps everything dryer.

I placed a 6.5 gallon rubber tub (from fleet farm) in their run with peat moss so that they can dust bathe when they want. they love that tub, it keeps them busy alot of the time.

I bring different treats out everyday, 6 bowls filled with:  
1) lettuce, cabbage, kale and spinach.  
2) crumbles wet down with water
3) cottage cheese
4) yogurt
5) calf manna crumbled and mixed with yogurt (mine won't eat pellets)
anything new I can think of

I am growing meal worms for treats for them. they love them even though they only get a few here and there.

I go out everyday and spend about an hour or more with them. they seem to like it.

It is always something and a constant worry if i'm doing things right. I've just finally decided that I'm doing the best I can with what I have. we will learn as we go, try not to worry.  

I wrote this so that you don't feel so alone.  you are doing good.  they will be fine!  We are with you! 

Great stuff! You give some great pointers.

This is my first year with chickens, like you we got ours in April and this is obviously our first winter. Our main coop is 5x8 (it's a converted shed that was free so we made it work) and our run is 10 x 20, we have 25 birds. We have a second smaller coop in the enclosed run that is probably 3x5 maybe but it gets little use. All of ours lay and roost in the main coop during the winters, in the summer they will lay in the small coop nest boxes. I knew right away based on the coop space that they would have to be out of the coop a lot to avoid boredom issues and space issues. I decided their food and water would need to be in the run, thus naturally forcing them outside.

Our run is covered and I tarped it to cover the windbreaks for the winter and tossed about two bales of straw in there. Our girls spend their days outside in the enclosed run during bad weather and when it is nice they free range. They are out in the run even during the cold and snow but will take breaks in the coop for laying and when they need to get warm. They do not like to walk or stand in the snow,nat least ours don't. Here are some shots of our run before the winter. We have a ton of roosting spots for the gang and they love it.

I started out as nervous wreck this winter due to it being -10 in early November for us, which is way too early. We had a Wellie get frostbite on her comb, this was after I added a heat lamp overnight. Near Christmas both of our roos and a couple hens got frost bite on their wattles from drinking out of heated water bowls and getting their wattles wet in subzero weather. Our roo's are Buff Orph's and are suppose to be cold hardy,depends on the size of combs and wattles and that varies a lot even in the same breed.

Here are adjustments I made based on those issues. I made bucket waterers with horizontal nipples and have a bucket heater for the cold. Have not had any frozen wattles since the change. I have not used a heat lamp since the first frostbite issue. I have added Sweet PDZ daily to the droppings In the am, our humidity in the coop hasn't gone above 34% since adding that daily. I also took the opportunity on a nice day to clean the old bedding out and put down sweet PDZ and DE on the bottom of the coop and then added about 2 feet of straw and add a new layer of straw about once a week or more if they spend more time in the coop. Humidity is the issue with frost bite not so much the cold, heat lamps only add more moisture to the coop because of the birds perspiring.

I also give them things to do on bad days, like scratching through the run for the BOSS I toss in, seeds/nuts and sometimes scratch. We give tables scraps, compost and greens on a daily basis during the winter. Ours love their greens and hanging it in the run will help a lot with boredom.

Hope things get easier, remember you have a wealth of information at your finger tips and people to always talk to.

 

[TalkALittle]

Humidity is the issue with frost bite not so much the cold, heat lamps only add more moisture to the coop because of the birds perspiring.

Birds don't perspire--they don't have sweat glands.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

The moisture is from their droppings decomposing.

 

[Puddin Fluff]

So sorry for your winter stress. I can't imagine with the snow that you guys have been getting what on earth I would do.
Based on other things I have read, make sure your coop is well ventilated, give the chickens some treats that take them a while to eat(cabbage in a net, flock block, etc.) for entertainment when they don't want to go out in the weather, plenty of space per chicken (if you can expand).

Good ventilation helps with frostbite, also wide roosts helps so that the chickens can cover their feet completely at night and I also know that people who live in sub-zero locations focus on breeds with small combs to help prevent frostbite.

Like most of us, sometimes you learn the hard way. No one ever has a perfect chicken experience, I think that is why they call it an experience.

Good luck! Just remember, days are getting longer.

 

[nab58]

Yeah, winter is getting old. Just take one day at a time and before you know it will be March and the worst will be over.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Don't feel bad. It's a learning process and everyone here is here to help.

Ventilation is key in helping frostbite. You want to make sure there isn't a lot of moisture (poop is a big culprit here), no drafts, and that it's well insulated. You can get a hygrometer to track humidity if you'd like. When that all doesn't seem enough I use bag balm to coat the combs, wattles, and legs. Some people use Vaseline, but I find this works better. It's in a little green metal container and it's pretty greasy, but it does the trick. Not only does it help keep the cold out, but it helps soothe what's already frostbitten. If it's black it's sure to fall off, but don't worry as long as it doesn't get infected they will be just fine.

As for the pecking. Its probably the winter boredom blues for them. You can add some snack such as tying up a cabbage head or a scratch block. How much room do they have? Do they stay in the coop or have a run or even free range?

Its normal to feel frustrated in winter. It's a very frustrating season! But you will pull through, they will pull through, and you're doing a great job. Keep your head up and soon spring will be here.

 

[justplainbatty]

Heads of cabbage are a good treat, keeps 'em busy for a while. We just got a foot of snow dumped on us yesterday with huge drifts in the yard. Luckily we have a tractor with a bucket. We cleared a huge section between the coop and the back porch. the chickens were having a grand time outside at 17* We threw scratch and BOSS all over the place and they were tearing at the grass in a few places where the bucket had scraped right down to the ground. They didn't mind walking on the packed snow and jumping or flying over the clumps the tractor missed. You can accomplish a similar but maybe not quite as big an area with your regular driveway snow thrower. I also give treats like yogurt or scrambled eggs in big slow feeder bowls so everyone can gather 'round and get their fair share.