cold

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

That's exactly why I moved south 20+ years ago, you can have the cold and snow and all that goes with it.

Steve

 

[chuckzoo]

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Yup, you're right about us complaining about the cold! Most weather people can't prdict the weather for love of money, so maybe you can help us out with more predictions!

I'm from the South alright, just a different continent - South Africa. This cold weather is as bad as I'm willing to handle. I don't know how you guys live in the very extreme cold!

 

[GlitterBug]

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OK...so that is a good reason for me to still be down south and not "Up North" in Minnesota where I was born!!

 

[ChooksChick]

I have at least 2 waterers for each run/breed. It makes for a lot of waterers, but in the summer it guarantees they always have a backup when it's over 100* and in the Winter it means I can take one in the house and thaw it while a new one goes out with hot water (makes it last longer before it freezes, and they like the hot water!).

I have a line of 10 thawing in the laundry room right now...but everyone has water even though it's 11* out.

 

[herfrds]

We have your weather. was almost 50 here yesterday. Froze last night and the front yard is an ice skating rink.

 

[ga_goat]

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great now try that with 50% humidity or more , been around folks down here from up there and they freeze at 30 degrees down here , humidity makes a huge difference.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

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It is all about being acclimated to it, which we are NOT down here. This is unseasonably cold weather for us and our chickens aren't used to it. Of course we worry about them. Two weeks ago it was unseasonably warm. They haven't had time to adjust and it is a shock to their little systems. In addition, most of us don't have insulated coops and don't have heated water bowls. It makes a difference. And truth be told, my little southern chickens probably handle the 105 degrees in the shade with 85% humidity a lot better than your cold adjusted chickens would.

That smug attitude is the same one I get from my yankee friends when it comes to driving in snow. Of course I don't know how to drive in snow. I'm from Alabama. A quarter of an inch would shut the city down and give us all a snow day. We just don't have the salting and scraping equipment necessary to keep all the roads clear. PLUS, we usually get a layer of ice first and then a coating of snow on top of it. Scraping never gets all the ice off. Snow isn't a big deal, but driving on ice is stupidly treacherous.

Caution when dealing with unfamiliar experiences makes sense to me.

 

[chics in the sun]

We also have to take into account that we (at least "I") selected breeds that are heat hardy (except my marans), not cold hardy. It was supposed to get down to 29 last night, but this morning it was still in the 30s. Whew. I had to put tarps and sheets over my open coop, and they all seemed okay today.
I was on a thread yesterday started by another Floridian asking about trying to keep their chickens warm, and a lot of times people are making an apples to oranges comparrison when the give advice. A bird in Alaska is a bird in Alaska, where it is never very warm, and a bird in Florida is a bird in Florida, where they aren't used to the cold. Ever. And yes, the humidity makes a differnce. Even my brother will comment on it when he visits for the holidays - from MINNESOTA!
All I'm saying is to be careful and take into account your own, unique situation. I just read a thread by a guy in Tennessee that lost a few birds last night due to an open coop and ususually cold weather.

 

[Orchid]

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ME too!

 

[Sjisty]

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You've got to give us something to whine about - we're living in paradise and it's blooming cold!