Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[brahmabreeder]

Wind chill is -21

 

[bnjrob]

Wind chill is -21

Are your chickens sporting icicles?

 

[Vamvakas]

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

Nice, I'll be there also.

 

[call ducks]

Quote: I am one of those people you can make fun of a lot -- Half the time I forget what I say.... This could be bad when I am old like you (JK. you can't be to old!).

Wind chill is -21

-21. Bleh -29 c. Will I could live with that - I am from Canada eh. This is what I wore to school hoodie-tee, hoodie, and winter coat that is good until -35 or -40 or something like that. That being said burhh

 

[brahmabreeder]

Are your chickens sporting icicles?

Haha not yet. Hopefully their eggs aren't

. Guess I better go check again...

 

[thedragonlady]

Can I bring the kids, or should I leave them at home? JK

I can park you all in the guest wing with my ghost, Mr. Todd, who built this place 100 years ago. Bedroom,bath, sitting room, and kitchen, built for his chauffeur.

It was 56 when I got up this morning at 6:00. Now at 2:15, it is 42 , and dropping fast, with the wind really whipping. Very glad I insisted everything be square on my chain link runs,as the clear nylon reinforced tarps fit well.100 W. bulbs in the sleeping coops too,and I'll shut the kids in tonight. Don't want the boys' combs ruined. They can all go out tomorrow when the sun is really up.I did manage to remember to put a light on in the well house too, so we're set.We'll be between 9, and 15, in the morning.

 

[maryhysong]

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.

between living in a little village in E. TX where folks regularly took out the power pole on the curve up the road from me and the occasional few days of snow here that downs the powerlines, I have always been prepared for the little every day sorts of stuff. I refuse to have an all electric house, unless you have a generator or your own power plant I think it's just stupid.

Example, a few years ago a freak snow storm came through, dumped about 8 inches in my yard where I never get more than 2. Higher elevations were worse and of course lots of downed lines and poles, lots of trees went down. One small community, whose power goes through some very rough terrain (as in they have to replace power poles by bringing them in on a helicopter) was without power almost 10 days. People with all electric homes and no back up plans ended up in the Red Cross Shelter.

Me? I was snug as a bug. My sole heat is an airtight woodstove (DON"T get a pellet stove! They need electric to run!). My kitchen stove is gas, as is the water heater. I have a ton of kerosene lamps trimmed bright enough to read by. In those conditions I shut off the kitchen so even without power the freezer stays frozen. In fact at times it's warmer inside the refrigerator than in the kitchen. Lots of milk and bleach jugs full of clean water, along with 500 gallons of rainwater. The only thing I missed was my internet connection!

Of course that was before I became the crazy chicken lady hatching chicks all fall and winter. If it happened now I would probably have a living room full of chicks until the power came back on!

 

[maryhysong]

I can park you all in the guest wing with my ghost, Mr. Todd, who built this place 100 years ago. Bedroom,bath, sitting room, and kitchen, built for his chauffeur.

It was 56 when I got up this morning at 6:00. Now at 2:15, it is 42 , and dropping fast, with the wind really whipping. Very glad I insisted everything be square on my chain link runs,as the clear nylon reinforced tarps fit well.100 W. bulbs in the sleeping coops too,and I'll shut the kids in tonight. Don't want the boys' combs ruined. They can all go out tomorrow when the sun is really up.I did manage to remember to put a light on in the well house too, so we're set.We'll be between 9, and 15, in the morning.

Vicki, where did you find clear tarps? I would love to have some for some of my more open runs

 

[Beekissed]

Vicki, where did you find clear tarps? I would love to have some for some of my more open runs

Me too! I'm replacing all my dark tarps this spring and was going to replace with thick plastic but would rather have clear tarps with grommets for fastening it down tightly.

 

[Beekissed]

Me? I was snug as a bug. My sole heat is an airtight woodstove (DON"T get a pellet stove! They need electric to run!). My kitchen stove is gas, as is the water heater. I have a ton of kerosene lamps trimmed bright enough to read by. In those conditions I shut off the kitchen so even without power the freezer stays frozen. In fact at times it's warmer inside the refrigerator than in the kitchen. Lots of milk and bleach jugs full of clean water, along with 500 gallons of rainwater.

Sounds like me!

That's how we are setup too as the power goes off here if someone sneezes too loud in the next county on a warm summer day. In the winter we've been without power for over 2 wks before and snowed into the holler. We have water drawn up all year round, an outhouse for when the electric water pump can't work and commodes can't flush, and even a 5 gal. bucket with a commode lid attachment for night time needs, gas cooking stove, kerosene lanterns and our trusty wood stove that we heat with on a regular basis, so we have plenty of wood in for it.

I'll never depend on an electric house either...it's a slim hope. We used to have a generator but since we don't keep enough food in the freezers to warrant one, we gave it away. Essential foods are canned up. Anytime we even think that the electric may go out due to storms or snows, we do up all the laundry and dishes and take a shower. That's the totality of the prepping we do before a storm.