Frozen Latch Help

[teach1rusl]

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Yeah - I've heard of the cooking spray too, although that's a preventative rather than a fix afterward.

 

[jenkassai]

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Using the dogs as a guideline is a great idea.

I tend to keep the chickens in if snow would blow in the door onto the shavings. The hens keep it warm enough on many freezing days to get it above freezing in the coop and that snow will melt and cause a health hazard with wet shavings. No matter how cold, though, I make sure they have good ventilation because ammonia is not healthy to breathe.

I also don't let them out for more than about an hour if it's 10F or below because I'm afraid of their feet getting frostbit from walking on snow/ice. Aren't there guidelines like that for dogs? You've seen the little booties the dogs wear on the Iditarod, right?

I have seen those but am laughing picturing my Akitas in booties, they would kill me for such humiliation

I actually did use one on my old shepherd mix when he had a foot injury. Yes, there are guidelines for dogs, but Akitas are built for cold weather and snow and like it a bit more than some others, sometimes its hard to get them to come in! My concern was could the chickens tolerate as much cold outside as the dogs could. When it seems too bitter for them I do let them out for only short stints. So I guess I'll just do the same for the chickens!

And thanks to all for the latch suggestions. I will see if I can get my "contractor" (hubby!) to move the latch to the inside of the coop. In the meantime I will try the vaseline, or maybe spray it with cooking oil when I go out to close it in the evening. And yes, it's been very wet here, rain for I think three days in a row, so the latch did get wet.

 

[jenkassai]

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Aww, sorry to hear that. We're pretty crazy about Akitas here! Can't imagine ever not having them

I hope you are able to get another one eventually, but I don't wish for you to lose your Lab mix any time soon