BYC members in Massachusetts?

[kidfarmer]

I put a heavy blanket up against the wall where the girls roost and I am giving them cracked corn before they go in for the night, I think they should be good.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thank you both! I've had some tell me they're fine and the wind chill is more if they're in the wind so at first i was relieved but now i'm pretty worried too. I may just move them to the garage for this weekend. After this it's supposed to go back to 40s. And no problem!definitely gotta keep an eye out. But yeah, the small coop thing makes sense.

Kidfarmer, the blanket thing seems like a good idea. I might try that or put plastic against the fence. I was giving them cracked corn and BOSS but they recently ran out of corn so I've just been giving them BOSS. Gotta get some more corn

 

[keesmom]

I have never used a heat lamp in any of the coops even with temperatures colder than what's forecast. They have always survived just fine.

 

[DemonicFowl]

Oh look mother has brought our water, shall we drink from it, yes! Shall we bathe in it at -9 degrees, QUACK YEEESSSSS!

On a different note some of my chicken eggs that I did not collect a few days ago. They froze.

 

[kidfarmer]

I just went out and noticed most of the girls combs were starting to get that frostbite color. I put bag balm on and then put them in the coop, I plan on leaving them in for maybe an hour or two. They don't know when to call it quits.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, one of mine has a teeny tiny little bit of frost bite on the very tips. No one else, not even the much bigger combed barred rock lol this is an australorp and its just a few tiny barely noticeable black dots on the tips of her comb that i noticed yesterday. Gonna put Vaseline on. I caved and brought them inside last night and will again tonight. The -5 scares me. It's single digits today but they need to get out and enjoy the sunshine so gonna bring them back outside and then back in for tonight. A pain but it's supposed to be 30s tomorrow and 40s and even almost 50 one day the rest of the week after this cold spell so i don't mind

 

[kidfarmer]

The girls are all ready for tonight! Can't wait for the warm weather to roll in ASAP! Some have frostbite which I was expecting but overall they did pretty good!

 

[AlphaRooster]

The flock is doing really good. All hunkered down for night 2 of this cold.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Mine got all hunkered down at bedtime, around 530 or 6, just like last night, but I decided both nights to move them to the garage. I'm sure they would have been fine but the weather scares me.

 

[CountryGeorge]

My change for this horrid cold, (-17 two nights ago, -12 last night) is to keep them closed inside the coop until it warms up. Their body heat takes the curse off the cold and lack of drafts keeps them reasonably happy inside, for a while at least. It is still -4 here but as soon as it gets to about the teens I'll open the door to the run for them.