Cornish Thread

[NJNick]

Your cornish as well as other chickens do not need heat or lights. The lights and heat will help them. If you are feeding them good. And they get alot of sun during the day. They will do just fine. As others on this site have mentioned.
Wind is one of the very toughest elements on chickens. If they have a good full crop of food. Especially corn in the winter months. And well covered. The outside temp should not be a problem. And your pullets are more then likley at the right age to start laying.

 

[Schipperkesue]

To heat or not to heat?...that is the question.

We get temperatures below -30 Celsius. At that temperature when you breathe in through your nose, the hairs in your nostrils freeze together. Single combed birds have their combs completely frozen, turn black and fall off. If you do not provide heated water or the birds stand on metal, their feet freeze as solid as an icicle. When they thaw the feet turn black and fall off. When the chickens breathe, frost from the moisture in their breath condenses and freezes on their feathers around their faces. They look like they have frozen beards. I go into the barn with my blow drier and thaw and dry the silkie and Houdan poofs. They have frozen spikes from dipping them in water. Outside the barn their feet freeze to the ground if they are wet.

I don't provide light until I need eggs. Today they sun came up around 8:00 and went down around 5:00. Egg production and breeding is almost at a standstill. However, I do give a heat lamp to birds so they can warm themselves when needed.

 

[triplejfarms]

i heat the coops, +2- +5 when its real nasty cold here... as i have no trees here, the wind gets pretty nasty& COLD , i only turn the heaters on when it gets- 20 ect, the coops are well insulated and well ventilated , they stay fairly warm, but when i can see my breath in there i kick the heaters on LOl i dont like to deal with frozen wateres every day either, ... and like you say sue i have the marans with their big combs even with the heated coop the one boy still got frost bite on it from going outside! cant win i guess... i do let them go out when the weathers decent its a long winter staying "cooped up "lol

 

[rffEnuff]

i enjoy this thread even if i do not look at it often. there is one black hen i see that looks beautiful, wish they would allow differnt colours in australia. but never mind even though the australians are so narrow minded it does not stop me from fiddling around with the colors. here are some of my birds. these are some young birds from my first time breeding lavender to lavender. a young pullet from last year: last years model, parents to above chickens:

 

[Schipperkesue]

Wow! Lavender is such a nice contrast with those yellow, yellow legs!

 

[chickened]

i enjoy this thread even if i do not look at it often. there is one black hen i see that looks beautiful, wish they would allow differnt colours in australia. but never mind even though the australians are so narrow minded it does not stop me from fiddling around with the colors. here are some of my birds. these are some young birds from my first time breeding lavender to lavender. a young pullet from last year: last years model, parents to above chickens:

That is one cool rooster!! nice!

 

[triplejfarms]

OMG I LOVE YOUR BIRDS!! the lavender is stunning!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rffEnuff]

LOL it is not hard to do just very time consuming. making silver indians is hard, sounds simple but this the best laced bird i have made yet and none of this years birds seem to be going to be double laced:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54516384@N02/8344703880/" title="slv igb hen sml by onlyruff, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8220/8344703880_2ee231389f_z.jpg" width="452" height="587" alt="slv igb hen sml"></a>

excuse the leg feathers here but they are not important at this stage:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54516384@N02/8229379266/" title="silver indian game bantam pullet. by onlyruff, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8229379266_34bfc8e691_z.jpg" width="415" height="623" alt="silver indian game bantam pullet."></a>

this is a better one as far as lack of red goes and type:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54516384@N02/8222668719/" title="silver indian game bantam sml by onlyruff, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8208/8222668719_1eac735cef_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="silver indian game bantam sml"></a>

and even though they are very pretty and no 2 look alike it can be very frustrating:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54516384@N02/8293014211/" title="slv igb 2 by onlyruff, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8293014211_1fb900fd73.jpg" width="329" height="411" alt="slv igb 2"></a>

 

[triplejfarms]

LOL it is not hard to do just very time consuming. making silver indians is hard, sounds simple but this the best laced bird i have made yet and none of this years birds seem to be going to be double laced:

its a good thing you are not my neighbor...or i would be that annoying neighbor always wanting to buy eggs and or chicks off you! good job they are beautiful! its hard enuff finding LF cornish here in canada let alone...Lavender!!

LOl great job would love to see more of your birds and dream!! LMAO

 

[tileman@prodigBird Raiser]

I sometimes have eggs for sale.