D'uccle Thread

[K Epp]

We can get snow here in North GA, but didn't get much last year. The ground did stay frozen for weeks at a time though. "They " say this winter is going to be much worse than last. If the summer is any indication it will. I felt like I was in Seattle and the vampires and werewolf characters from the book would come running out of the woods at any time.

 

[mstricer]

That would be warm. I'm in Ohio my birds do fine in the winter. I did have one that got frostbite last year. But he insisted he has to sleep by the window during a bad strom

 

[Metella]

I'm in Vermont .... we routinely get temps in the teens for a week running .... and occasionally -30 below F .... my chickens have one whole side of their coop open - it is deep so they can stay back from any draft and they do fine .... some frostbite if their is a large comb. No heat to the coop at all.

I do ramp up the treats in such cold weather - more worms, table scraps and such .... probably mostly for my own peace of mind.

 

[mstricer]

I also do no heat. I ramp them up now with added corn and boss in their FF so they put on weight before winter

 

[QuoVadis]

My husband would love it! That is what I would call a cold climate. Most of the winter we are 30-50°. We had 2 or 4 "snow storms" last winter. We got 1-3" each time!! LOL!! Our winter storms usually consist of rain and we get lots of that. Our house sits about 6 miles from the Atlantic and 8 miles to the Chesapeake Bay in the most eastern part of VA

And I meant its usually about 20F during the day, colder at night! Last winter we had number of storms where we got 1-2 feet of snow in a day or two! In fact we run into issues when we DONT get enough snow, because it is needed to insulate the ground so that the plants are protected.

 

[ESofVA]

With no heat do you have d'Uccles? I am worried a bit about those and my Sebrights.

 

[mstricer]

Yes, no heat. I even leave windows right up until it hits the teens. I believe seabrights are smaller

 

[insanity]

With no heat do you have d'Uccles? I am worried a bit about those and my Sebrights.

My friend here in WY has sebrights. She has a decent coop but runs no lights or heat. Hers do fine in temps below freezing and it often gets below zero at night. Hope that helps.

 

[Metella]

The real key is to have it draft free - yet lots of open air so that any moisture from their breathing and waste is dried quickly. Watch the water - I take out water in the morning and afternoon - as it freezes within hours and I lost a coop to fire once and will never run electric out again - lost some beloved girls and a start of a breeding program. If the buckets are dark - they adsorb more sun and water takes longer to freeze.

Plump them up with good food before winter - mealworms and mac and cheese are what guys LOVE as a treat. All fat and fluffy and they should do fine.

 

[OldBiddie33]

Checking out their new view with their Sussex bunk mates