Chicken inside, going back out in winter - recclimate?

[Dynamissa]

Farm vet suggested I bring one of my girls in because she was getting too cold (sluggish, fluffed up, not moving, barely eating in this cold snap of 3 degrees from 30… she’s an Easter egger with a large single comb)

So we did and she perked up, but she has to return to my small flock Of 5 eventually … and the next two days are going to be in the single digits.

Our garage is warmed to 45-50 … do I need to figure out how to reacclimatize her to the colder temps? It’s supposed to be low 20s coming up… and I’m also worried How the flock will treat her when she returns? We don’t have a space for her near the run to reintegrate but she was ready low on the pecking order…

 

[CHlCKEN]

I would re-aclimate her in the garage. If the cold snap itself took a toll on her, being thrown suddenly back into even colder temps from warm ones will be even more of a shock. Give her a few days of garage time before sending her back out into the trenches lol.

 

[Dynamissa]

Oh yeah she's staying in there as it is. We can't have her in the house so she's in the garage.

Is this going to screw with her pecking order status? Poor thing is already at the bottom and I don't want her flockmates to really take it to her, or does it take a few more days than say two?

 

[Mrs. K]

Get her back in the flock as soon as possible.

Was the picture of her in the coop how she looked when you took her in? Because she seems quite bright eyed to me. But of course, you are there and I am not.

The thing with cold and birds, just a couple of hours, to warm up and get caught back up in homeostasis is really what they need, not days of warmer temperature. Once they are eating good, moving well, then they should be able to do just fine at those temperatures.

Keep an eye on her, maybe separate her with a feed bowl and water for an hour or so each day, to make sure she is eating. But I would keep her with the flock as much as possible.

Mrs K

 

[Dynamissa]

Get her back in the flock as soon as possible.

Was the picture of her in the coop how she looked when you took her in? Because she seems quite bright eyed to me. But of course, you are there and I am not.

The thing with cold and birds, just a couple of hours, to warm up and get caught back up in homeostasis is really what they need, not days of warmer temperature. Once they are eating good, moving well, then they should be able to do just fine at those temperatures.

Keep an eye on her, maybe separate her with a feed bowl and water for an hour or so each day, to make sure she is eating. But I would keep her with the flock as much as possible.

Mrs K

Returned her last night. Seems to be doing. Better.

Turns out she seems to be molting, and just not eating much of anything. Not wanting her crumble, only eats a tiny bit of egg, snubbed sardines.. she will eat junk like scratch and she’ll eat black soldier fly larvae… she’s not laying obviously but I still feel like she needs more with the freezing temps. Pooping okay.

Any ideas?

 

[Mrs. K]

Really, I think she is fine. What you are describing is pretty normal. The thing is, I am not a big believer in a lot of the doctoring recommended on this page, so take what I say with a grain of salt. It just might not be what you are comfortable with.

But I am a cattle rancher, and have had chickens for decades. Truthfully, they don't have a death wish and will eat enough for their current needs if they are able to do so. So if you have birds keeping her off feed, that is not the same thing as not eating the crumbles.

And it might be that you are overfeeding the treats, how many birds do you have? How much feed are you feeding. I don't feed 24/7. When I started I did that, and what I found was a lot of wasted feed, tread into the dirt, and it eventually stunk. And my birds got too picky about what they ate.

Now, I take down food once a day. I check it at night. If it is empty, I feed a little more the next day, and if there is left over, I feed less. I do not have wasted feed, they keep it cleaned up well. The thing I found, was they do not eat the same amount day in or day out, and very surprisingly, they really don't eat much on real cold days, even though one would think they would. Try cornbread, mine will eat cornbread. Don't bother with cornmeal mush - it freezes solid, and they won't touch it even when it thaws out. But mostly just stick to chicken food.

Sometimes, I think of it like the stomach flu, you know, for no apparent reason, you don't feel well for maybe 8 hours, and then you are fine. Sometimes, a bird will get down pin like that in very cold weather. We work outside in very cold weather, and it is amazing how going in and getting warmed up, can reset you for several more hours outside. That is what I think the vet meant. Not keep this bird inside for the rest of the winter.

People do get worried when they molt in the cold weather, it seems concerning. But again over time, watching carefully, and after all it is a normal act for chickens, it really seems to bother people more than it bothers chickens. I quit worrying about it. I might be considerably more worried if the temperatures you were talking about were -24 to -35 degrees F. To be honest to a chicken 3 degrees is not that cold, and while a lot of people worry about rapid temperature swings, birds are not mammals. Mammals do rather need to adjust their hair coat to temperatures and do so. But birds control their temperature by positioning their feathers. Plus birds have an pretty high internal temperature, and a blood vessel system that keeps the warmth of the blood internally, so to keep the body warm.

The thing is, if she is truly sick and dying, well there is not much you can do for that either. Chickens very often do not have a real long life average, some die much younger than others. It is just a fact of keeping chickens. I keep a flock of birds, but the birds themselves change over the years.

Mrs K

 

[Dynamissa]

Really, I think she is fine. What you are describing is pretty normal. The thing is, I am not a big believer in a lot of the doctoring recommended on this page, so take what I say with a grain of salt. It just might not be what you are comfortable with.

I’m hoping so. We have a couple
Of weeks at or above freezing coming up so that lessens the load, but we’re also leaving for a week in February and I’m hoping that none of this shit goes down while
We’re gone because my mother doesn’t know How to deal with it and she’s chicken sitting for us again. I’m just hoping she gets back to relatively normal sooner rather than later but is see molting can last months. Not fun.

But I am a cattle rancher, and have had chickens for decades. Truthfully, they don't have a death wish and will eat enough for their current needs if they are able to do so. So if you have birds keeping her off feed, that is not the same thing as not eating the crumbles.

It’s both right now. When we had her caged in the garage she barely ate the feed, not dry or wetted. In the run, the top or next to top (SLW) approaches when this girl (EE) is out of eyesight and EE runs away from whatever she’s eating. And doesn’t resume. I have five places they can eat (granted on the floor, but with wooden panels breaking line of sight) but the SLW will patrol if the EE isn’t in view until she finds her and approaches and eats from what she’s eating from, chasing her off. The SWL will run between two places of the EE tries to go to the opposite feeders it’s obnoxious.

Sometimes, I think of it like the stomach flu, you know, for no apparent reason, you don't feel well for maybe 8 hours, and then you are fine. Sometimes, a bird will get down pin like that in very cold weather. We work outside in very cold weather, and it is amazing how going in and getting warmed up, can reset you for several more hours outside. That is what I think the vet meant. Not keep this bird inside for the rest of the winter.

Oh no it was supposed to be a few days at most. It ended up being 36 hours, until the negatives were gone. Buuut she’s still not got a dang thing In Her crop and they’re about to go roost for the night.

People do get worried when they molt in the cold weather, it seems concerning. But again over time, watching carefully, and after all it is a normal act for chickens, it really seems to bother people more than it bothers chickens. I quit worrying about it.

The thing is, if she is truly sick and dying, well there is not much you can do for that either. Chickens very often do not have a real long life average, some die much younger than others. It is just a fact of keeping chickens. I keep a flock of birds, but the birds themselves change over the years.

Mrs K

Oh yeah, we lost one of our 6 to what was assumed to be hereditary hemorrhagic liver disease in August… just a little sweet girl, hatched mid April. The problem I have is that chickens are my daughter’s (6) favorite animal. She helped raised them, named them all. We lost one chicken and our dog to nasal cancer already this year and I am trying my damndest to not lose anything else, lol.

 

[Mrs. K]

I can understand your situation, bad luck seems like that. But the reality, is that everything does die, and chickens are really not long lived. It is a hard lesson, but an important one.

If the bird would die on your mother's watch, I am going to say that I think she would die on your watch too. A lot of time, death is not preventable. There is no use making someone or yourself feel guilty over what is not your fault or theirs.

As to the bird running off the victim, I think I might pull that bird out of the flock for a bit. Maybe one week or two. Sometimes that will reset the flock. If not, and she is not a favorite, re-home that bird. This might bring harmony to your flock, and the favorite can eat enough.

That might be the real reason this is not working. Sometimes you get birds that just do not get along. Always solve for peace in the flock. Git rid of the bully and the flock may be in great shape for your mother.

Mrs K

 

[CheepersChicks]

Just wanted to say YES join her back to flock as soon as possible when it's not freezing (ie during the day), and you can remove her when the weather is frigid, and slowly acclimate her, but do join her back as soon as you can so that she can reflock sooner. Good luck!

 

[CheepersChicks]

Returned her last night. Seems to be doing. Better.

Turns out she seems to be molting, and just not eating much of anything. Not wanting her crumble, only eats a tiny bit of egg, snubbed sardines.. she will eat junk like scratch and she’ll eat black soldier fly larvae… she’s not laying obviously but I still feel like she needs more with the freezing temps. Pooping okay.

Any ideas?

I'd focus on high protein snacks and reducing any major stressors for a few days, even if it means feeding her inside and letting her rest for a couple of hours without competing with the others.

Mash is easy to eat, and with the egg it will provide a pile of protein that's easily consumed. If she's fighting for food or to stay warm, etc, I'd remove her from that environment for a bit just to help her keep ahead of any issues.

Have you weighed her? And observed her stool? Those are two good ways to keep track of how she's doing over time.