Chicken keeping in the winter

[Checkman]

I myself have lost a few young birds over the years. One was an 8 month old. She was egg bound. The second was also 8 months and was literally running across the yard one second then face planted dead the next. Hers was a bad heart.

It's very confusing when you do everything right and they just pass with no warning.

Thank you for that! I have been feeling so guilty. She was my favorite and was very loved by my family. She seemed completely fine and seemed to actually enjoy the cold weather. None of them have any frostbite or any other signs of being too cold. I inspect them daily to make sure of that. I really was guessing heart as she actually laid an egg late in the day when we lost her. It is a relief to hear that I may be correct in thinking it wasn’t cold related. We did get a radiant heat panel to be safe.

 

[21hens-incharge]

There's just no way of knowing a genetic issue is there until after they pass. Even then it would mean doing a necropsy which isn't an easy task when it's your pet.

 

[Checkman]

There's just no way of knowing a genetic issue is there until after they pass. Even then it would mean doing a necropsy which isn't an easy task when it's your pet.

Yes, we didn’t consider trying to find a place to do that. We buried her. I just am glad no matter what it seemed peaceful as she was just sitting in a nesting box, looking like she was asleep. I am also glad I found her and not my 2 kids who would have been so upset.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yup kiddos don't need to be the one to find the deceased pet.

I hope they aren't taking it to hard.

 

[nuthatched]

Is the treat square a suet cake?

 

[Checkman]

Is the treat square a suet cake?

No, it is a happy hen mealworm and sunflower seed square that I put in a treat basket for them. They get them as a special treat maybe once a month.

 

[SaskHenHaven]

Mine would see that as a heat wave. We hit -20 here during this arctic blast. It was brutal.

.....

Do your hens go outside in the extreme cold? Do they get bored and cramped in the coop?
I live in Saskatchewan and my chickens wont go out side for more than 30 seconds in this weather, I had to put feed inside because they started loosing weight

 

[Checkman]

Do your hens go outside in the extreme cold? Do they get bored and cramped in the coop?
I live in Saskatchewan and my chickens wont go out side for more than 30 seconds in this weather, I had to put feed inside because they started loosing weight

Mine go out to their covered run most of the day by choice. They can go in the coop at anytime. We did just cover the run on 2.5 sides with plastic to further insulate it, but we are in a wooded area and there are windbreaks.

 

[Checkman]

Yup kiddos don't need to be the one to find the deceased pet.

I hope they aren't taking it to hard.

Thank you. My 8year old has been sad because she was “his chicken” he picked as a baby chick. Luckily he has taken it mostly pretty well.

 

[MamaPoult]

Hi all,

We unexpectedly lost our first chicken last week. We have no idea what happened, I found her in a nesting box. At first I thought she was asleep. We then wondered if we lost her to cold, but the other 2 chicken in the coop were toasty and warm when I grabbed them. I probably overreacted because I brought them inside. The more I think about it, it doesn’t make sense that only 1 of them would get too cold like that. The chicken we lost was a Rhode Island Red, and was supposed to be cold hardy.

Now I have my other two inside and we are trying to get them back outside. I bought a cozy coop radiant heat panel which we installed. We also wrapped the entire run in plastic ( other than the front panel to ensure ventilation.

I am mostly concerned about “shocking” the other 2 when we put them back out. Any suggestions? Losing our sweet girl was awful. She was the top of pecking order, and had a great personality and was a great layer. We are so sad that she passed, and truly don’t know what could have caused it!

Thank you for that! I have been feeling so guilty. She was my favorite and was very loved by my family. She seemed completely fine and seemed to actually enjoy the cold weather. None of them have any frostbite or any other signs of being too cold. I inspect them daily to make sure of that. I really was guessing heart as she actually laid an egg late in the day when we lost her. It is a relief to hear that I may be correct in thinking it wasn’t cold related. We did get a radiant heat panel to be safe.

Maybe try putting them back out for a couple hours a day and until they are outside most of the day. Then put them out while supplementing with warm water warm food and high protien snacks. Hopefully they will re acclamate!