Dead chicken - too cold???

[Jenny421]

The beneral "thumb rule" is that treats (your scratch plus all kitchen scraps) should not exceed 10% of the diet, by weight, daily. Less is better. All Flock plus free choice oyster is a good plan, and my general recommend for the typical backyard owner, of the typical backyard flock, with typical backyard management.

Now...

Its claimed that the average chicken (no such thing - but bear with me) eats 1/4# per day. 14 chickens and 3 ducks, I'd be expecting you to feed about 4-5# daily. That means that the whole flock should recieve not more than .4 to .5# daily scratch plus scraps. Two cups is almost certainly more than .5#. You want to cut back.

Thank you!! We will definitely cut back. I feel awful if we are the reason she died. She was such a sweet girl.

 

[Kiki]

That does help. Thank you. They get an all flock feed and we have a bowl of oyster shell for extra calcium. They are free range during the day and we just leave their food in the run. They get scratch - one scoop (I’m guessing it’s about two cups) once per day for 14 (now 13) chickens plus 3 ducks. They also get scraps - it’s mostly leftover vegetables or fruit and some pasta. We eat fairly healthy so the leftovers/scraps usually aren’t junk food.

Leftover scraps plus scratch daily IS too much treats. I'd stop both and ONLY offer the flock feed if I were you.

Everything you are feeding besides the all flock feed is taking away from them getting a balanced diet.

Not getting a balanced diet can be deadly.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you!! We will definitely cut back. I feel awful if we are the reason she died. She was such a sweet girl.

All we can do is learn frrom our mistakes (if you made one) - we aren't born knowing how to care for chickens, and its not often well covered when you ask the farm store what you need to raise them. You can see my flock in my Sig, I also free range (and have ducks).

My management involves near weekly cullings, so I'm always poking around inside my birds, getting a better sense of their health, and adjusting feed intake accordingly. There are some pictures (graphic) near the last pages of my culling project. Not my culling today, but the one before (and the one bewfore that - no pics of the insides at the time) one of the birds I took had higher than desired levels of fat on the heart, gizzard, and about the organs. Not clinically concerning levels, but certainly clinically noteable. This in spite of the fact that I was feeding almost 70 birds, including 10 ducks, only 12-14# daily. Our unusually warm fall/early winter meant they were foraging far more successfully than I had thought, and were consuming a seed on my property providing an abundance of fat (looked a bit like a more tannic pignoli aka pine nut) - in spite of my not feeding scratch at all. Happy to say that after cutting back feed further, today's culls had no such concerns.

 

[WoDia]

I live in Northeast Ohio, and we have been getting near/below zero temperatures at night lately. I have two flocks of mixed ages, and somehow they make it through those frigid temperatures. They are in well-insulated buildings with just a 100 watt bulb, tons of straw and wood shavings, heated waterers, wide wood roosts, cozy nesting cubbies, and 24/7 access to quality feed. I give some scratch treats in the morning and evening…. greens are given every chance I get. I’m so sorry you lost your little hen. If the others are doing fine, then I can only guess that she may have had a health issue…. they’re good at acting normal even when they’re not sometimes. It sounds like the rest of your flock is doing well. I tend to worry about my old hens, but somehow even they do okay…. and they are less than thrilled with the temperatures! Good Wishes!

 

[Jenny421]

Leftover scraps plus scratch daily IS too much treats. I'd stop both and ONLY offer the flock feed if I were you.

Everything you are feeding besides the all flock feed is taking away from them getting a balanced diet.

Not getting a balanced diet can be deadly.

Thank you!!

 

[Jenny421]

The coop appears to need more ventilation. Both based on visual reference, and the comment about an ammonia smell. Chicken's respiratory systems are surprisingly fragile - nature didn't build them to be in enclosed spaces. Even if the lungs weren't an issue, cool temps + moisture is a recipe for frostbite on the combs and feet, even if their down jackets generally do a very good job of protecting them - without heat - from temperatures we humans consider cold, intollerable, or even potentially fatal (to us). BYC has people in Canada and Alaska raising birds with no heat, ever.

Yes, temperature stress can be a problem for birds who haven't acclimated to broad temp swings (40+ degrees in a day or so - the daily 20-25 degree swing is normal for them) - but GA's heat and humidity (not as bad as my own) is more concerning than the occasional sub freezing night. Typically, a stressed bird drops from the upswing - heat - not the downswing to cool.

As Kiki observed above, plenty of "silent killers" associated with feed. Sadly, the local farm stores often give terrible advice, and some of the "old wisdom" is based on old conditions which are rarely present in a modern back yard flock situation.

Your birds need well ventilated, draft free housing. The general "thumb rule" is (per bird) 1 sq foot free ventilation 24/7/365, 1 linear foot of roost (below the level of the ventilation, so any winds blow above their heads), 4 sq ft of floor space in the house, 10 sq ft of floor space in the run. Seasonally, given your climate, you will want even more ventilation, or accept that your birds will sleep outside the hen house... Floor/Run space helps with social interactions - abundance is a social lubricant, more is better.

Hope that helps.

What DO you feed them? In what quantity? Scraps? Scratch? Treats? (again, quantities matter)

We got a humidity gauge and this morning when we let them out it was 80% in the coop and about 26 degrees outside. I left the door to the coop open tonight (the run is still secured so it’s still predator proof). The temperature in the coop was 35 and the humidity was 65%. What do y’all think?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

We got a humidity gauge and this morning when we let them out it was 80% in the coop and about 26 degrees outside. I left the door to the coop open tonight (the run is still secured so it’s still predator proof). The temperature in the coop was 35 and the humidity was 65%. What do y’all think?

What were temp and humidity outside the coop when those readings were taken?

 

[Banana01]

This thread had promise but i didnt get to read it all.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-humidity-in-winter.1340897/

 

[WoDia]

In my humble opinion, the ventilation is most useful if placed near the ceiling. That way, your little darlings won’t get drafts coming from below when they are up on their roosts. If some sleep on the floor, it’s not good for them either (Some of my elderly hens choose to sleep on the floor in the straw bedding). The drop in humidity is definitely a step in the right direction. My coops are draft free below with openings near the rafters. I hope you can find the right remedy for your own coop. Good Wishes!

 

[Banana01]

Lets assume (after reading the linked thread above) that you cant put a heater inside, you will want to keep it is dry as possible inside during the daytime, so at night the condensation doesnt build up too much. Removal of moisture during the day when the sun is up as best as possible.

-run a heater in the daytime to dry the inside
-remove any wet droppings

It depends what your heater situation can be. Opening up the coop all the way during the daytime may be a good enough solution of you can get any sun to dry it a little.