Brand New

Date sort Score sort
Golden Nuggets

Golden Nuggets

Hatching
Joined
Feb 17, 2015
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
7
Hi! my name is Frank, and my wife, Susan and I have two hens adopt us late last fall. We know nothing on chickens, but we are learning fast. Because here in Maine the winters are harsh with a great deal of snow. So we did not have a coop so we use my garden shed for a coop. Well as I know you all know chickens poop a LOT!!!!! Well we are going to have to pressure everything this spring when ever it may show up. Anyway we did install two heat lamps to keep the temperature around 20 degrees. We did not know how much cold they can take? As for water we purchased a heating system to keep the water from freezing. We are feeding them scratch, pellets, cracked corn and some sun flower seeds, apples, carrots. They seem to be contented, and gives on a average one to two eggs a day. If we are doing anything wrong PLEASE let us know.
 
welcome-byc.gif
from Ocala, FL
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

What breeds are you keeping? Some are better in cold than others. Make sure your coop is properly ventilated. (See this link https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/936726/drafty-vs-well-ventilated)

Be sure that foods like corn and other kitchen scraps don't take up more than 10-15% of their daily diet.

Good luck!
 
Welcome to Backyard Chickens. Since your hens are laying, they should be on layer feed which provides the calcium they require. You can also put out a holder for crushed oyster shell, hens will eat that if they need more calcium.
 
Welcome to BYC!
frow.gif
I'm glad you joined us.

Heat lamps are probably not neccesary, though won't hurt your birds. Chickens are quite good at keeping warm, even in below 0 temperatures. The most important thing is keeping them out of the wind.

You may want to feed your hens only the pellets, with only occasional treats (less than 10% of the diet). Laying pellets provide the correct nutrition for laying hens; if you feed too many treats, the total nutrition they get will be diluted because they will fill up on the treats, not the complete feed.

Good luck with your birds!
 
welcome-byc.gif
I'm glad you joined our "flock!"

It sounds like you're taking great care of your birds, though I would be sure to feed the "extras," like scratch, in moderation. Chickens can withstand temperatures in the negative numbers, but I'm sure your hens are perfectly happy to stay warmer than that.
smile.png
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom