Hens to give away! Can't keep through the winter!

[chicksnhens]

Wow! Ok, I retract my offer of free chickens! I think I may need a few MORE chickens!

My bedding last winter was only about 4 inches deep so I will put more bedding (I use pine bedding) and add a vent on the opposite wall of the henhouse! I will also get a ceramic bulb for my heat lamp (I had one last year but it burnt out and then I switched to a heat lamp bulb) and use it sparingly! One more question - do you leave the little chicken door open during the day in the winter - do the chickens go out even if there is some snow on the ground? I opened it last winter once in a while when the temp was above 15 or so and the sun was shining...

 

[MissPrissy]

They will go in and out in winter. Some love snow, some don't. On the very coldest of days you may choose to keep them inside.

P.S. change the title of this thread LOL

 

[LauraSBale]

When i had 6 girls, worried about that to.
so put in a 75 watt bulb, and had it on a timer, so it came on about 9:00 p.m. and go off at 12:00 a.m. just to put some heat when the door is close for the night, and i made a mix for them every night before i closed up.
i mixed up powdered milk, water, very fine cracked corn, flax seed, and oats, and let get kind of soupy. and it was warm. and they just loved it.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Watch the milk please. While yogurt is fine, in general dairy products are not.

 

[MissPrissy]

I hate to disagree, Kitty, but raw, unpasturized milk full of natural enzymes has been found to be beneficial to chickens. I read a huge study on a new movement toward pastured raised, milk fed poultry and it really changed my thinking. All of mine get raw milk when I have extra.

 

[the simple life]

Miss prissy. I am totally off topic here, only because I don't know where to put this, I checked out your website and saw your beehives.
I have never seen the kind of hive you have in your picture in the blog and I am very curious.
Can you explain what that system is and do you move them to the standard stacking supers later on?
You can send me a pm if you want to keep this thread on topic. Thanks Natalie

 

[MissPrissy]

I'll PM you.

 

[the simple life]

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Jenski]

With regard to winter-proofing, I have also seen some photos of chicken yards with bales of hay set into an open square or rectangle; a bit of hay gets peeled off each week and sprinkled into the middle to cover droppings and add insulation, and the chickens get a nice cozy windbreak they can all huddle in. (this would have to be under at least a tarp or some other sort of cover to work, though)

 

[lorieMN]

chicksnhens,I am near Montevideo mn,I grew up near thief river falls,I have 3 brothers and an aunt in fargo and spend a lot of time there,last year my chickens where free range in the horse barn,it is a old barn with a wide open door,actually there is no door at all,they were fine,I just gave them lukewarm water everyday,layer feed and cracked corn,they are BO and BR..I only had 9 birds total,before I moved they were in the same kind of barn tho it had doors and I would shut them in on cold windy stormy nights..last spring my girls started laying in late jan,I had lots of frozen eggs..this year we built a coop,and I have several more chickens to go into it and I am going to put in lights to keep them laying but not for heat..