D'uccle Thread

[Celtic Hill]

6chicks&aduck :

Are the d'uccles winter hardy ?

LOL we get this all the time, no one on here has had issues.​

 

[6chicks&aduck]

Quote:
"what a beautiful bird"

 

[Doug the Chicken Man]

Quote:
LOL we get this all the time, no one on here has had issues.

Ours have no issues if treated like a normal chicken.

 

[Doug the Chicken Man]

Quote:
LOL we get this all the time, no one on here has had issues.

Ours have no issues if treated like a normal chicken.

 

[spook]

6chicks&aduck :

Are the d'uccles winter hardy ?

I asked the same thing and was told yes. So far with the cold weather here in Maine, my 2 gals seem to be doing well. They have a heated water bowl (for a small dog) and are open to going out in their semi closed in pen (there is plastic on the back and plastic down over front but not stapled, so they get a fresh air exchange.​

 

[Doug the Chicken Man]

Quote:
LOL we get this all the time, no one on here has had issues.

Ours have no issues if treated like a normal chicken.

 

[spook]

If anyones chickens were to have a problem, Dougs would! Ontario gets some harsh kind of weather. No Doug, do you or any others allow your D'uccle's out on the snow, or keep them in a enclosed area?
My D's seem to not care for the breeze leading me to the question on how spoiled were they(?) before I came to be their slave ... ;0)

 

[Doug the Chicken Man]

Quote:
We were having wind chills to -21 yesterday so they were mainly indoors.
Normally they are out and about. They do like to play in the snow some.
The snow is not as hard on the foot feathers either unless it is the hardpact windswept stuff.
The coop is draft free and insulated but the temp is not that much warmer than the outside temp.
They have access to the runs in the day and the door is closed at night.
If you go back a few pages you will see some of the coops.
On the north and west sides we normally tarp to protect from the wind

 

[shelleyd2008]

I got 5 porcelain babies from Ideal a few months ago and have lost every single one from this crazy weather!

So now I"m back at square one, 2 porcelain roos and 2 porcelain hens who haven't laid 1 egg since I got them 2+ months ago

 

[wegotchickens]

This has been a rough winter, early on.
If my babies in the coop survive they will be tough birds. There are 2 lights over them, and a small space heater in the coop, but their water still had a thin film of ice the other day. They mainly hang out under lights, and dash out for quick bites of food and sips of water before running back to huddle under the lights. I don't want the food & water taking up warm space.

On the rare day when sun shines in the window it gets decently warm in there at least.

The adult birds resent being locked in early in the morning, and are raring to play outside by the time I pull the pop doors. I only lock them in so that the coop is a tad warmer for the 3 week old chicks.

The hooligans in the bachelor pen, who only have a lean-to with a good roof, are happy as clams in spite of 12 degree weather as long as I give them a little warm water each morning and afternoon. And some scratch at bedtime.


Amazingly, none of them like being dressed up in Christmas costumes and having their photo taken. Go figure

I tell them, "Some chickens get bored and crave interaction."
Their looks clearly say, "Go find those chickens, Crazy Lady, and leave US alone!"
Picky boogers are happy to eat the photo reward treats though.

Silkies take good Christmas photos except you can't tell what the heck they are. They look like stuffed animals. They are failures as Christmas models.

I can't wait to get reactions from family & friends when they get our Christmas cards, though!