Buttercup Owners in the Northeast?

[chicks for better health]

How will Buttercups fare in the cold weather of the northeast? i know that there combs may get frostbite, is there a way to prevent this?

 

[chicks for better health]

Does anyone own buttercups?

 

[annrich]

I own buttercups. I live in western ny. I have not had them threw the heavy cold yet. But they seem hardy enough for my coop. I just make sure I insulate real good. My 2 sikies made it threw the winter just fine.

 

[Chickndaddy]

I have heard somewhere (no idea where now) of people putting vaseline on the combs of large-combed breeds to protect them from the cold. Never had any experience with that and it might be a load of poop. Maybe someone else has heard of it?

 

[92caddy]

Yep the vaseline works, it can be a pain in rear doing, but it works. ........................

 

[Southerngirl]

We raise Buttercups and it does not get as cold as the NE but Vaseline does work for the freezing weather. Just apply it all over the comb pretty thick.

 

[Chickndaddy]

Oh it's nice to know I'm not imagining things...

 

[Rosalind]

I have Buttercups in Massachusetts. And they got frostbite on the very tips of their combs no matter if I put Vaseline on them or not. And that was in a completely enclosed barn with a flat-panel coop heater near their roost. I had some that were in Chicken Jail who did not get Vaseline on account of they kept roosting in the rafters where I couldn't catch them, and some that were in the regular coop who did get Vaseline. No difference. Both areas were in the barn.

I wouldn't get them again. Not so much the comb thing, that wasn't such a big deal, but they are super-flighty and hate being handled. And both my Buttercup roos are dumb as a box of rocks and aren't at all nice to the ladies.

They are good at laying through the winter, I'll say that for them. The good points are, they are really reliable layers and they can forage and evade predators like you would not believe. Two of mine escaped and wandered the neighborhood for about a month in the dead of winter, and I finally caught them in my neighbor's tree. As healthy as could be, just rather thirsty. We've got coyotes and fisher cats here, plus a couple feet of snow, yet they were OK with just a touch of frostbite on the comb and wattles. I just hate their personalities.

 

[drom]

Quote:
Nice to hear they are good layers. All the info I am reading about them says they only lay about 2 eggs a week and are only fair layers. My little Buttercup is only about 7 weeks but is actually the friendliest of the the birds I just brought home. They are in a huge box in a room in my house right now while I am building their coop and whenever I come it the room, it's the Buttercup that scampers up to the side of the box and hops on top of the waterer to greet me. She's so cute. And hopefully she will do great here in California-it can be real hot in the summer, but compared to the NE the winters are very mild here. No snow-just rain. But listening to you talk about how flighty and active they are makes me worry about letting her lose on the property to forage occasionally and having a problem with her taking off or not being able to get her back in the coop at night. How do you teach them to come back in at night so you can put them to bed? We have dogs and coyotes here too.

 

[Chickndaddy]

My roos were great to their hens. Anytime I let them out he took them sraight to the edge of the woods and they got to scratch up the leaf litter. He would do his little rooster cluck and call them all over. Very nice and gentelmanly.