Cold Weather Feeding

[digitS']

Quote:
No, I wasn't talking about free ranging and that's fairly limited here. The research was on free ranging of layers in Denmark. That would mean that the birds aren't in climate controlled conditions other than sheltered overnight.

Just for fun I looked at the climate for Sønderborg. I have no idea where these birds are but picked Sønderborg because I had a friend from there. It is on the border with Germany. He claimed his family's living room was in Germany and their bedroom was in Denmark. He was an American WW2 veteran.

What I learned was that "summer temperatures vary from 15-25 °C (about 60-75°F), but can go up to 30-35 °C (90°F). Around September it gets colder. January and February are usually the coldest months with an average temperature of 2 °C (36°F). However, it can get as cold as minus 10 °C (-14°F) or lower."

No expert on the other side of the continent but it sounds like it is a little warmer than southern New England . . . New Jersey?

Steve

 

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

Mine are eating a lot more right now also. I've been tossing them a few extras from the kitchen to make up for the bug loss. Any leftover meat from the kitchen and they jump on it like they haven't been fed in weeks. They have good feed but just really seem to want the meat more. Once ice fishing season gets here I hope to give them lots of tidbits.

 

[digitS']

I just want to add that a person could get their birds in trouble at this time of year if their diets consisted of too much green food.

A hen needs over 300 calories each day and that is really the issue for this thread - energy for cold weather. Usually, and if left to their customary diet, chickens simply increase their feed consumption.

If the hen can eat an entire pound of lettuce, she would still end up with considerably less than 100 calories.

Steve

 

[setter4]

digitS' :

I just want to add that a person could get their birds in trouble at this time of year if their diets consisted of too much green food.

A hen needs over 300 calories each day and that is really the issue for this thread - energy for cold weather. Usually, and if left to their customary diet, chickens simply increase their feed consumption.

If the hen can eat an entire pound of lettuce, she would still end up with considerably less than 100 calories.

Steve

My girls do get greens of some sort almost every day but they probably get about 4-6 cups for 10 hens so they are still eating plenty of regular food too. I also make it a point to try and go down about 30 min. before dar and give them a cup or 2 of scratch food before they go to roost. Kind of a midnight snack at 5 PM.

 

[kristenm1975]

I'm in the Seattle area and thanks to global warming, it's not gotten much below 45 yet so my girls aren't changing their diet too much. I've felt sorry for them a time or two though and decided on a whim to try feeding hot mash when I can.

Wow! What a happy bunch of hens! I mixed up a 6 cup serving of oatmeal, added some minced garlic, honey, a can of tuna, and about 1/2 cup of yogurt and they went nuts. Also, two days later, some of my hens that had decided to take the winter off and hadn't laid an egg for 2 months suddenly decided to start up!

It's possible that this increase in egg production is also directly related to the fact that for more than two weeks now they've had 16 hours a day of light thanks to the 75 watt bulb I've got on a timer out there in the coop.

Either way, I'm going to see how long I can keep up with feeding them mash in the morning. Not every morning, but maybe at least 4 times a week. I'll report back on how it goes!

 

[digitS']

I don't think I'd care much for lawn grass but maybe if you have a dandelion or two . . .

Could I get that tuna & garlic with a couple of eggs in a loaf pan and baked at 350 degrees for about an hour?

The oatmeal and honey with some yogurt is almost the same as what I had for breakfast today! Does it come with coffee?

We'd probably have the most productive birds possible by just setting an extra place at the table and letting them lie around and watch TV every evening until 10 o'clock. Certainly have the happiest.

Steve

 

[kristenm1975]

It occurs to me that I didn't cook for myself for the past few days but somehow my hens have gotten several home-cooked meals. Hmmm. Might possibly have gotten something backwards here.

 

[VT Chick-lit]

Now that it is cold, I fix my 4 girls some hot mash every morning, but I cheat when I do it. I make about a quart of oat meal/corn meal/cream of wheat mash with some ground up dried cat food every few days. I cook this mixture like I would oat meal. After cooking, I place it into a bowl with a lid and refridgerate. The mash solidifies into a solid mass as it cools. When I want to give the girls a hot breakfast, I just scoop out several scoops of the mash from the refridgerator. I break it up and add hot water to make it into the consistancy of runny oatmeal. This only takes a minute or two. I may top it with some sctatch, meat scraps or crushed egg shells. The girls love it and devour it in minutes.

 

[Chicken Woman]

Remember we need to get the protein to them. I have a meal worm farm in my basement and I make sure I give 3 or 4 to each of my girls everyday as well as mash in the evening. I add scratch when I cook the oatmeal so it softens and cooks as well. Make enough for a week and put in fridge. Yogurt is another cheap way to get them protein if you make it yourself in the crockpot once a week. I have 11 girls and am getting 8 to 9 eggs a day right now.

 

[kristenm1975]

Good idea, VT Chick-lit! I have some cat food sitting around that needs to get used up before it gets stale. I totally forgot about that option. It's a lot cheaper than the canned tuna I got too. 93 cents a can and man, what trash! I can't imagine that people eat that stuff!