Hello from the Big Apple

[Devona]

Hi, everyone. I just joined byc a few days ago after lurking in the shadows for a bit. This is my first winter with a chicken (my son's first rescue pet), and I was looking for some advice on getting it through the winter in one unfrozen piece. I read some great stuff while I was lurking, so I decided to come out of the shadows.

 

[samantha LW]

Hi! Welcome. I think most of us were "lurkers" . There is a thread on winterizing your chickens under coop run and design with some great information. It is my limited understanding that temperature doesn't bother them as much as drafts or lack of ventilation. There are people on here in the North West with one side of their coops just wire. Hope that helps. Where I live 'winter" isn't much of a problem. Thanks for rescuing one.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join us here! This section of the learning centre has some great articles on getting chckens through winter. Here is the link ~https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/housing-and-feeding-your-chickens
A coop that is dry, draft free and has good ventilation is vital during winter months.

Good luck and enjoy BYC

 

[Devona]

Thanks for the welcomes! I did some reading. I suppose it helps that we are having a mild winter so far. He (I think it's a he) has no one to snuggle up with outside. He has a large comb and wattle so that might be a problem with frostbite if it gets really cold.

 

[N F C]

Being here in FL, I don't have experience with raising chickens in the cold winters you have but I do want to say hello and thanks for joining us!

You could post on your state thread and ask other members in NY how they handle winters:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread

 

[Devona]

Thanks, NorthFLChick. I'm posting on the NY thread, but most people there seem to be further north and west than I, so their winters are more severe. But he (we named him Chick

) is doing well for now, and if push comes to shove, I can always stick him in the basement for a couple of days. But he makes a HUGE mess. Here is a pic of him. Before my son brought him home he was in a slaughterhouse, destined for a cooking pot. So since he's a meat bird, he has grown very large, very quickly since we got him a couple months ago.

 

[drumstick diva]

I hate to be the messenger of bad news but, if he is a meat bird. They grow very fast, and are ready to process very young. Due to their rapid growth and weight, their legs give out, and their organs can't keep pace. Even if kept on a restricted diet, they die early.

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

 

[Devona]

I did read about them dying early, drumstick diva.

, but I will try to give him a good home for as long as he's alive. He crowed for the first time on Sunday, three hoarse crows, and once this morning. It's so funny, it sounds like somethings stuck in his throat. I will have to start preparing my son mentally for when his pet kicks the bucket. If nothing else, this chicken has made me decide to start keeping more. So I have to look around for some dual purpose pullets, and make it clear to the kids that they won't be pets.