Can extreme cold make a chicken sick? Help!

[NoFoxesAllowed]

Hi Chicken potter!
Thanks for sending an email back. I'm very new to the whole "fowl" thing! LOL! But, I've been learning all the time. I think you just have to watch these chickens to see how they react to certain situations. I do make gobble noises to the turkey, and he gobbles back to me! It's hilarious to watch him. My boyfriend calls me the chicken-whisperer, because I could make the chickens we had calm down and fall asleep! Funny stuff!

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: Good to hear she did in fact have a full crop at roosting time. Tells me she does have enough access to food late in the evening. This may not be a case of bullying but just the same, always keep an eye out. Chickens can get cranky at times.

As for what happened?....You many never know why she turned up ill. She could have fallen off something, got pounced on by another chicken, ate something she shouldn't have, or maybe some malfunction of an organ internally. So keep an eye on her and in the future if this happens again, you may need to play detective to figure out what is going on with her.

A healthy well fed bird can withstand the most brutal of cold temps if they have time to acclimate. Only if they are very young, very old or sick in some way would a bird not be able to tolerate the average coldest of temps. I use the 25 degree rule at night....if the forecasted temp over night is going to drop 25 degrees COLDER than the AVERAGE over night temp, I will add heat. In other words, if your average over night low is 0 and it is planning on getting down to -26, I would add SOME heat. A 25 degree quick drop can be hard on birds. Any less of a drop and the birds have to get through the night on their own.

Good luck and I hope she continues to do well!

 

[chickenpotter]

Good to hear she did in fact have a full crop at roosting time. Tells me she does have enough access to food late in the evening. This may not be a case of bullying but just the same, always keep an eye out. Chickens can get cranky at times.

As for what happened?....You many never know why she turned up ill. She could have fallen off something, got pounced on by another chicken, ate something she shouldn't have, or maybe some malfunction of an organ internally. So keep an eye on her and in the future if this happens again, you may need to play detective to figure out what is going on with her.

A healthy well fed bird can withstand the most brutal of cold temps if they have time to acclimate. Only if they are very young, very old or sick in some way would a bird not be able to tolerate the average coldest of temps. I use the 25 degree rule at night....if the forecasted temp over night is going to drop 25 degrees COLDER than the AVERAGE over night temp, I will add heat. In other words, if your average over night low is 0 and it is planning on getting down to -26, I would add SOME heat.  A 25 degree quick drop can be hard on birds. Any less of a drop and the birds have to get through the night on their own. 

Good luck and I hope she continues to do well!

Thanks so much! I do feel like a detective when something goes wrong with the girls. And thanks a lot for your rule of thumb about the heat. It will help to have a guideline. It sounds like a very reasonable one to me. I'll add it to my growing Arsenal of chicken knowledge!

 

[TwoCrows]

Being observent with your flock will teach you a lot. Every day they are trying to tell you all kinds of things about what they need or how to keep them healthy. The more attention we pay to them, the better we can care for them.

How is everything in your flock these days?

 

[chickenpotter]

Being observent with your flock will teach you a lot. Every day they are trying to tell you all kinds of things about what they need or how to keep them healthy. The more attention we pay to them, the better we can care for them.

How is everything in your flock these days?

All is well for the moment, though there always seems to be some drama going on.
Yesterday my white Easter Egger had flecks of blood on her nice white feathers tipping me off that one of the others was bleeding(my detective skills kicking in!). After inspection I zeroed in on one of the Golden Comets bleeding from her comb. Grabbed her up and brought her in. It was just the teensiest tip of her comb bleeding, but it must be like a head wound for us. It really bled. I cleaned her up and got the bleeding slowed down. When I scooted up into the house from the attached studio to grab some antibiotic ointment I forgot to shut the door. I was only gone for 39 seconds- long enough for my chicken to come into the kitchen, make a giant cecal poo on the floor, step in it and begin to track it into the den! I caught her before she made it to my favorite rug! Decided not to use the antibiotic cream after all and just sprayed her comb with vetrimycin spray. Put her back outside and then what a mess to clean up!!
So that's my chicken story for this week. They all seem well and no visible bullying for a few days. I wonder if the extra cold triggered that behavior?

Hope all is well with your flock. How many do you have? Which breeds?

 

[TwoCrows]

...that is WAY too funny about the cecal poo on the kitchen floor!! . I will be giggling all night over here. Ha! Chickens sure are fun, arent they?

And yes, cold can trigger crankiness. So somebody must have been having a bad day in the coop! But you saved the day, AND the comb! I have a comb eater in my flock

I keep a handfull each of Black Australorps and Barred Rocks. LOVE the gentleness of the Aussies. HUGE on lap sitting LOL. They are all spolied rotten to the core. Ha!

Keep up all the lovin' in your flock and here is to a healthy chicken flock year for all of us!!