Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[gjensen]

I added a couple of haybales at my open air spots on the coop and put down dry leaves on top of the frozen bedding. That was the entirety of my preps for this cold. My group are used to an open air coop and low temps, though only a few of this flock have weathered temps as low as those coming tomorrow. I don't expect any problems as they are well acclimated.

That would be my only concern. Mine are not acclimated. It is 50 something now. That is the good thing and bad thing about here. We do not get especially cold often, so when we do, it seams bad. We live just far enough north to get a taste of it on occasion.

They are saying 15 here tonight, so I am not particularly concerned. I am just gong to make sure I keep the wind off of them.

 

[hellbender]

Most people have electric heat pumps here in SC. There might be a party here...I have natural gas, and a whole house generator.Learned my lesson 44 years ago,when I was iced in to this town for 2 weeks,with my 4 month old son,while visiting my parents.Then came Hugo,with no power for 3 weeks here, and 100 degree heat.I decided that misery is optional.

After that miserable 'Derecho' of June/12...I made big changes here too. Many people were out of power for up to and even more than two weeks.

I have a 'house-power' gasoline powered generator that saved some of my small freezer stuff but it wasn't big enough to handle the walk-in cooler and freezer. By Sept. of 2012, I had installed what is essentially a commercial sized natural gas powered generator that powers everything I have here. The thing cost WAY TOO MUCH but I have 'free natural gas' so the expense will eventually be X'ed out.

A lesson to all...when buying land, do your best to aquire the mineral rights too. I had never heard of Marcellus Shale until about 15 years ago but for all intent and purposes, all of my property is covering shale beds. Bonus for me!!

Starting to blow and get colder...everyone...take care of your kids, birds and all livestock if you're in these storm/freeze affected areas. It's gonna' be a tough couple days!!!

 

[Beekissed]

That would be my only concern. Mine are not acclimated. It is 50 something now. That is the good thing and bad thing about here. We do not get especially cold often, so when we do, it seams bad. We live just far enough north to get a taste of it on occasion.

They are saying 15 here tonight, so I am not particularly concerned. I am just gong to make sure I keep the wind off of them.

That's bad, that deep swing of temps. I hope your crew get by well!

I moved my old Coke thermometer up to the coop yesterday to see how well it's performing as an open airish type hoop coop. This morning we have temps at 16 but windchill knocks it to 2 here but my coop is measuring 22 with no wind chill to factor in...still as a ghost in there.

I put my hand in the bedding and it's not too chilly in the moist areas from last night's rain blown into every crack and crevice and I still have some warm and dry bedding going on, so I'm pumped.

The chooks all look happy and active and have been tearing up the deep litter like it's a Sunday picnic...I threw them a couple of apples to keep them occupied.

 

[Fentress]

I would prefer that it get cold and stay cold for awhile. Here in S.E. Va. it is 60 degrees and raining, tonight and tomorrow night 15 degrees and then back up into the 50's for the foreseeable future.

 

[hellbender]

I would prefer that it get cold and stay cold for awhile. Here in S.E. Va. it is 60 degrees and raining, tonight and tomorrow night 15 degrees and then back up into the 50's for the foreseeable future.

I prefer get warm and stay warm. I've already had enough winter....Just miserable.

 

[bnjrob]

Talk about adding insult to injury! Now, at 1:45 AM, it's 55 F. And by 7 AM...it's supposed to be 9 with windchill factor of Minus 18.

The roads are surely gonna' be messy because it's raining hard and blowing. I foresee downed power and phone lines around here, complements of ice, freezing on the lines. OH, JOY!!!

This could be very scary for people who depend solely upon power from those lines...


Praise be to Marcellus Shale!

That is what TX is like in the winter - hot cold hot cold in a span often of less than 8 hours we go from 60 degrees or higher down to below freezing. Makes it difficult to care for outside things.

Got to 13 last night with wind chills below 0 - still 18 degrees in the sun this morning. Have 19 Javas in open air pens alive and kicking this morning. They didn't even eat all of their grain and suet before they went to bed last night.

Water dishes halfway frozen this morning - gonna have a problem with getting water to the chickens soon if can't get busted pipe fixed and can't turn the water back on. Came in from busting ice off of chicken water this morning to Niagara Falls coming from busted pipe upstairs. Will go buy water at store this afternoon to dole out to the chickens if can't get water turned back on.


TX power grid is being strained and they are asking for people to conserve power so as not to end up with rolling power outages in winter. All those people with chickens who are putting out heat lamps...

 

[Beekissed]

That must be it!

 

[fowlman01]

we are having 30--40 degree heat fluctuation here for the last month. Yesterday it was 22 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon. No problems with the birds with the exception of some Dutch bantams I recently acquired from a friend in socal. They are wimps and I have lost a couple. To live here they have to take whatever the conditions are, so I am doing nothing to help them out.

You folks in that storm/freeze belt.......take care. I will be in Springfield Mass for a show in a couple weeks, so I hope some of this clears up.

Walt

 

[3riverschick]

I only breed reds.. Hellbender is doing either black or white NN, I am not sure hopefully he can discuss his plans more to you.

I was just wondering. I didn't know how many colors are in the Naked Neck breed.
Thanks,
Karen

 

[Beekissed]

we are having 30--40 degree heat fluctuation here for the last month. Yesterday it was 22 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon. No problems with the birds with the exception of some Dutch bantams I recently acquired from a friend in socal. They are wimps and I have lost a couple. To live here they have to take whatever the conditions are, so I am doing nothing to help them out.

You folks in that storm/freeze belt.......take care. I will be in Springfield Mass for a show in a couple weeks, so I hope some of this clears up.

Walt

It's a good way to let natural selection thin the flock, that's for sure. Let's one know who the survivors are.