BCollie, I simply use a dog food dish to hold crushed oyster shell. No special feeder, just one of those heavy resin dishes set outside the coop. Inside, outside, doesn't matter. The hens scratch in it, the ducks bill some out onto the ground, it gets rained on, no problem. I just pour a scoop of it into the dish when it gets empty.
It hit 32 degrees by 9 pm last night and dropped to 24 overnight. Second below freezing morning.... This morning I was quite pleasantly surprised when I gathered the TWO chicken eggs and ONE duck egg around 8:30; all three were still slightly warm. Only one of the chicken eggs was in a nest box; the duck egg was in a handy, scooped-out nest they've made under a bush and the other chicken egg was laid inside the yard "dog" house I had hoped the geese would use for a shelter when I put it under the apple tree a couple of years ago.
My fibro has been kicking my butt this week, so I didn't get to The Ranch between Sunday and yesterday. I knew I had to check on them after the freezing night. Everybody was fine, although there was ice in the 20 gallon waterer at 3pm; the chickens had pecked through it to liquid. I scooped out the rest of the ice from the individual ports. There were fewer pullet eggs at the Ranch than I expected after three days, but the poor girls may be "off" due to the constant attention of the cockerels.
I simply HAVE to get more girls over to the Ranch.
I am looking forward to snow, but hope it will only last a day or two, like last year. It can snow again - Nature has my permission
- as long as it doesn't hang around long.
My house is at an altitude of 2100-ish feet, while The Thistle Dew Ranch site is at ~2400 feet. Gonna be interesting.
It hit 32 degrees by 9 pm last night and dropped to 24 overnight. Second below freezing morning.... This morning I was quite pleasantly surprised when I gathered the TWO chicken eggs and ONE duck egg around 8:30; all three were still slightly warm. Only one of the chicken eggs was in a nest box; the duck egg was in a handy, scooped-out nest they've made under a bush and the other chicken egg was laid inside the yard "dog" house I had hoped the geese would use for a shelter when I put it under the apple tree a couple of years ago.
My fibro has been kicking my butt this week, so I didn't get to The Ranch between Sunday and yesterday. I knew I had to check on them after the freezing night. Everybody was fine, although there was ice in the 20 gallon waterer at 3pm; the chickens had pecked through it to liquid. I scooped out the rest of the ice from the individual ports. There were fewer pullet eggs at the Ranch than I expected after three days, but the poor girls may be "off" due to the constant attention of the cockerels.
I simply HAVE to get more girls over to the Ranch.
I am looking forward to snow, but hope it will only last a day or two, like last year. It can snow again - Nature has my permission
- as long as it doesn't hang around long.My house is at an altitude of 2100-ish feet, while The Thistle Dew Ranch site is at ~2400 feet. Gonna be interesting.
