Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Welcome Chirpychicks , this is a great thread .
Trish44- or OQB , did it seem to take a while to get the "Rooster booster wormer"? I order it over a week ago and still no sign of it . I didn't sign in as a member on the Flemmings web site I just ordered it as a guest, wonder if that makes a difference ?
I just googled the cookie tin heater, BRILLIANT ! Hubby might let it fly with the GFI outlet, anyone ever had any trouble with them . I have some city folk coming for Thanksgiving , not sure they'll be able to wrap their head around it, if they go out looking for eggs they might start looking for cookies. Lol

No, I've always gotten things from Fleming Outdoors pretty quickly, but I do have an account on there too. That's where I got my automatic chicken door. Did they send you a confirmation of your order by email? If they did you should still be able to check on the status of your order I think or you could call them & find out.

Does anyone know much about the bird show that is in Hutchinson this weekend, on the 16th?

I had a question about cold weather. We have 2 windows this size, on the north and south. I have the north sided one closed, but have left the south open.

Should it be shut at night as well? Or will they be ok?

Also, their entrance door is not closed at night, but 3 of the current chickens I have sleep there on the ground, just right inside the door, will they move if they get to cold?


Thanks!

** Edited to add** I bought a wireless temp guage and its reading 39 in the coop, while its 36 outside, so only a few degrees warmer right now

The only thing I know about that show this weekend is that the Cream Legbar club will have a table there with info about the breed & the club. I was thinking of going, but our butchering class is that day, so I can't be two places. Here is the link for it: http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/Heart_of_America.html. I was told it starts at 8 a.m. I really have never been to a show but this one is probably going to be a lot smaller than some. They just had that humongous show in Ohio last weekend, I was drooling over this guy's pics of his Orps he took.

I always leave ventilation open all winter in my main coop. I have a small window on the people door & I have the south window cracked a couple of inches. If you have any way to close the window partiallly I would do that. The idea is still to have ventilation because you don't want moisture to build up but keep the wind off of them when they're roosting & they can have respiratory problems too if the ammonia level gets too high. Do you have any other venting besides the windows? Do you have a secure run that is closed at night as in hardware cloth run outside of the coop? I'm asking because predators can tear through chicken wire & your birds aren't safe with the chicken door open at night. I close all of my 4 doors on the breeder coop at night to keep my birds safe. I only have the automatic door on my main coop so I have to close the others after I feed every night. It's not the temperature you really have to worry about with the chickens, it's the drafts. They have nice feather coats to keep them warm. I have chickens in outside pens all year round with tarps & plastic over them to stop the wind & they do fine out there.

I had about a half inch of ice in my rubber bowls out there in my pens today when I went out, it was pretty easy to break it out of there & then they all had water they could get to. The turkeys I guess had walked in their bowl & broke it themselves. They have a bad habit of doing that, silly birds. I didn't let any of the birds out today, I just figured they could stay in today & it wouldn't hurt them. I just added those two new Exchequer Leghorn hens so I thought it would be a good time for them to get used to their new home. They were settling right in tonight on the roost. It's so funny how the birds have their designated spots they like & if somebody tries to get in their spot you hear them arguing over it & somebody getting off the roost.

I put one of my young birds out of the growout pen into the coop tonight at bedtime. She is kind of a freak of nature so to speak, she's a cute little thing, just strange looking. She is supposed to be a Cream Legbar but she has a beard like an Ameraucana & markings like a Cream Legbar hen. The only thing I can figure out is that when they developed the Cream Legbars way back when they used Araucanas & Ameraucanas to get the blue eggs. The gene evidently is still there somewhere because this bird is definitely not mixed with anything. I have all of my pure breds in their own pens separated & there are no Ameraucanas anywhere close to the Cream Legbar pen. So consequently this little pullet is going to join my laying flock & I'll have some really pretty blue eggs for egg basket. The main rooster for my laying flock is a Cream Legbar that has a crooked comb so he can't be used for breeding. I also have a Welsummer cockerel growing out there with the laying flock too. I was thinking of at some point trying to produce some olive eggers since I have two black Ameraucana hens & two Easter Egger hens in there. That would be a next year project though if I do it.

 

[Frizzled Pink]

younger group -- blue mottled pullet

black mottled pullet

black mottled cockerel, he didn't like standing on the kennel much I will get a better pic of him

blue mottled cockerel, he is the only boy without yellow legs I still am not totally sure if that is important..

Maiden--i would use the girl in the top photo, she is more type-ey (when you look at her you see the "round" shape-this is what you want--you should also see "round" when you look directly down on her also) than the other two (bunny tail and the other that head was turned appears to have more of a straight stiff feather tail going on), you must have yellow feet and most colors must have yellow legs with the exceptions of the blacks which can have a swarthy/dusty yellow color to legs but must be solid yellow on the bottoms of the feet, watch your toe count--cochins have 4, if you have darker legs on a color other than black make sure you dont have 5 toes which would most likely be a silky mix bringing the color over, outside and middle toe should be feathered all the way to the end of the toe

 

[chicken danz]

Thank you Well I certainly know where Waverly is! I'm in the country between Richmond/Garnett.

Oh we are neighbors then. I don't live in Waverly, that is just my address. I am near Wolf Creek. Enjoyed the pictures. Those look like healthy happy birds and all of them should be excellent layers.
Originally Posted by 22qZoo

Does anyone know much about the bird show that is in Hutchinson this weekend, on the 16th?

I had a question about cold weather. We have 2 windows this size, on the north and south. I have the north sided one closed, but have left the south open.

Should it be shut at night as well? Or will they be ok?

Also, their entrance door is not closed at night, but 3 of the current chickens I have sleep there on the ground, just right inside the door, will they move if they get to cold?


Thanks!

** Edited to add** I bought a wireless temp guage and its reading 39 in the coop, while its 36 outside, so only a few degrees warmer right now

My opinion is that the more open a chicken house is the healthier the birds stay. I always have some kind of window or ventilation open. I would shut the north window if I were you and nothing else unless it falls down to like 0 degrees. I don't ever shut the chicken doors on any of my coops unless I am cornering a bird for some reason. They are protected by their pens and of course the dogs. But the house them selves stay open.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

Yea, pretty birds! DH wants some kind of sex link next time; he really likes the looks of the Gold Stars. It makes sense because we can't have roos in town, but I really like having a variety of birds. They're all so pretty in their own ways.

Thank you After my experience with the black and red sex links I'm not sure if I'd ever get them again. They are good layers but their personalities are kinda crappy, especially when compared to my barred rocks. But maybe I just picked "bad" birds

It is so nice though not having to worry about roosters, that is a plus.

 

[ashncarson]

The only thing I know about that show this weekend is that the Cream Legbar club will have a table there with info about the breed & the club. I was thinking of going, but our butchering class is that day, so I can't be two places. Here is the link for it: http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/Heart_of_America.html. I was told it starts at 8 a.m. I really have never been to a show but this one is probably going to be a lot smaller than some. They just had that humongous show in Ohio last weekend, I was drooling over this guy's pics of his Orps he took.

I always leave ventilation open all winter in my main coop. I have a small window on the people door & I have the south window cracked a couple of inches. If you have any way to close the window partiallly I would do that. The idea is still to have ventilation because you don't want moisture to build up but keep the wind off of them when they're roosting & they can have respiratory problems too if the ammonia level gets too high. Do you have any other venting besides the windows? Do you have a secure run that is closed at night as in hardware cloth run outside of the coop? I'm asking because predators can tear through chicken wire & your birds aren't safe with the chicken door open at night. I close all of my 4 doors on the breeder coop at night to keep my birds safe. I only have the automatic door on my main coop so I have to close the others after I feed every night. It's not the temperature you really have to worry about with the chickens, it's the drafts. They have nice feather coats to keep them warm. I have chickens in outside pens all year round with tarps & plastic over them to stop the wind & they do fine out there.

We have roof venting, where the walls meet the roof, all the way around, 2 the large windows, and their open door. The coop is in a secure run made from 1/2 inch hardware cloth, even on top, as well as buried underneath as a "skirt"
Here is a photo, from before all the hardware cloth was installed.

Thanks for your input on the show, I though it would be interesting to go check it out!

 

[ashncarson]

Quote: That's good to know! I feel better reading that....how do you know if there is a draft coming in?

 

[chicken danz]

Drafts aren't as big a concern once a chicken gets older. Drafts are dangerous for chicks but once feathered in it seem they do better in open air.
If I remember right JosieChick built her new chicken buildings open on one side because she had found that the chickens with an open building were the ones that stayed healthy. I think when you close a building up you are potentially building toxins that can hurt the birds a lot worse than the cool drafts will. As I said, I always leave their doors open as well as other ventilation. In the last few years we've had some super below zero weather with high winds. I have closed up the coops more during those times and each time I would notice a lot more ammonia smell that I never normally smell. Also the windows steam up from all the humidity they put in the air. That can't be good for them.
I would honestly rather run a little heat some way than close up a building.
That is just my opinion. I have lung issues so I notice bad air rather quickly. If it bothers me I am pretty sure it is bothering them.

 

[Trish44]

I never completely close up my coop either, just close the big windows in the winter. I should have said I have 3 vents on the back of the coop that are open & I also leave the window on the door all the way open & the south window partially open. I agree with Danz that the ammonia buildup is the biggest problem in the winter with things closed up. I just don't think having a lot of cold wind on them is particularly good for them either, but if you close up the north side you should be OK unless there is a huge blizzard or something. That's why when we built the breeder coop we left an open space around where the roof connects to the building for air circulation in the front & back. I have big crank out windows on the north & south but I don't leave those open in the winter. I also don't leave the front windows uncovered either in the winter. There should be enough air coming in at the top to keep air circulation in there. I can always crack open the south window too if I feel it's needed. I do have to agree that my birds that are just out in the pens outside seem to do better than the ones in the coop, so Josie may be onto something there. I don't completely close those in with tarps & plastic, I leave the fronts open & there are places the tarps don't cover too so there is cross circulation in those as well. Heck we all worry so much about the birds being out in the cold & they used to live in the wild with no shelter at all. I know that in other countries the birds just roam 24/7. We did see some chickens in both Italy & Greece as well & they were free ranging. At the winery we visited in Greece they had peacocks out roaming around, they were beautiful.

 

[22qZoo]

All this talk of winterizing, so.. I moved the two geese and the one duck together into the swingset coop that we made back in July. My thought was to put straw in the bottom and then close it off around the ends with just an opening for them to go thru, they have a bigger "yard" that we let them out into during the day. I gues they have pretty good down coats , any thing else I need to consider ?

Thanks Thish44. I'll check email and give them a call.
Danz- when it rains it pours, sorry about your day.

 

[HEChicken]

I agree with Danz, I couldn't tell you how many times on BYC the question is asked about providing heat to birds, but wild birds survive just fine without supplemental heat. The down layer of their feathers keeps them warm and makes them far more cold hardy than heat hardy. What they really need is fresh air. More coop fires are started every year by well-intentioned people running heat to their coops when it wasn't needed in the first place.

I don't heat my coop at all. I have year round ventilation via the vaulted roof and open soffits. My windows face east and west since the prevailing KS winds are almost always from the north and south. I put storm windows in the two window openings but never close them all the way. I have never lost a bird to cold and the only time I see them looking unhappy with a low temperatures is when it is in the single digits. Today was just "business as usual" for them (even though I was being a wimp and really feeling the cold today).

As for the difference between drafts and ventilation. I see drafts as being air flow that places air blowing directly over the birds, whereas ventilation is allowing for free air flow, to allow the ammonia to be vented out and replaced by fresh air.