Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[bnjrob]

-8 here with wind chills of -30+. I got some snow in the hoop coop so as soon as its light I will be fixing that. Dry feed and a bowl of snow for my hens. Water will freeze as soon as I take it out & my girls eat snow all the time. Blizzard is still going strong here south of buffalo,ny

They eat snow? OK, now I don't feel like I have really strange chickens. The other day I heard the chickens crunching on things and finally was able to see what they were crunching on - they were picking up small pieces of ice and eating it. They have never eaten ice before but they were going at it like they were enjoying it.

 

[bnjrob]

Exactly George I'm sitting here inside with this unit a churning out 65 degree air/with my mules on my feet and an indian blaket wrapped around me and still got cold toes. My birds are out in the frosty pasture and yard barefooted and carrying on like its just another day in the park, so I stand at the window and say well go ahead on I'll see ya'll about 32* till then get it kitty get it. LOL Folks worry too much for those critters they have to be able to withstand this stuff or they will surely begat unthrifty/cull stock. All the ladies on the La-yers thread probly think I'm cruel and mean but they are all worried to death about their bunnies and birds light bulbs going out an all that, not me cause there's none to go out. Same as fans in the summer none of those here either, there's shade trees an I give plenty of water and food the rest is up to them. The sparrows do it(lookin' at them now), so my chicken should be able to also their forefathers did it. My forefathers did it too because they didn't have an electric furnace they got warm splitting the wood and toting it in, carrying the ashes out and they probly sat in the far corner of the house to get a break when they ever did come inside reckon.

Jeff

LOL - yeah, people on the Texas thread get mad at me when I remind them not to be putting heaters on their adult birds in winter or putting AC on for their birds in summer. Have been told I am being mean to my chickens before. We're using the chicken heat lamps to help unfreeze water pipes here. The only chickens that have any heat are the week-old chicks that have a radiant heat warmer. They're in a room of the house that stays in the 60s and they are active and running around their brooder much of the time, mostly going under their warmer when they are ready to sleep or they see me come to check on them and they run under the warmer to hide.

 

[thedragonlady]

11 degrees at 5:30 am when I got up. By 7:00,it was down to 9 degrees,with a good wind still coming off the polo field.Took all the birds warm water in their boxes, and threw them some whole grains. All the waters were frozen solid,despite being on warmers.It's a balmy 23 degrees here now, and the girls want out, but I'm keeping 3 boys in.No sense in loosing their combs

.Chores are no fun in this weather. My gloves kept sticking to my chain link gates. One of my pumpkins split open last night,so the girls will get that with some grain thrown on it, as they devour the seeds first thing.

 

[hellbender]

11 degrees at 5:30 am when I got up. By 7:00,it was down to 9 degrees,with a good wind still coming off the polo field.Took all the birds warm water in their boxes, and threw them some whole grains. All the waters were frozen solid,despite being on warmers.It's a balmy 23 degrees here now, and the girls want out, but I'm keeping 3 boys in.No sense in loosing their combs

.Chores are no fun in this weather. My gloves kept sticking to my chain link gates. One of my pumpkins split open last night,so the girls will get that with some grain thrown on it, as they devour the seeds first thing.

Pumpkins!!! That is a 'food group' for my birds from late summer right on through...'til I run out. They love 'em!

 

[hellbender]

15 here an all's well(cept the well pump is froze up) I just heard one leave out of the garage(her secret hidey hole she thinks) LOL after doing her morning ritual just a hollern' and raising cane like she was PeeOde from having to leave her warmed comfortable sanctuary to go eat after laying her morning egg.

Those birds are tuff hey George even the ones that sleep in the tree (roosters of course) are just fine and dandy I heard them about their normal 3:30 am crowing concerto this morning if it was those $150 a head Buffs or a super duper flare tailed WR it probly still been stuck on the tree limb like ol Jeremiah Johnson found ol Cactus Jack and 'bout the way I feelt last evening after lock up time




Jeff

Thats the way I felt about 5:30 this morning...

My joints aint as well oiled as they used to be either.....Takes about 3 cups of coffee to get my ambition ignited.

 

[brahmabreeder]

Haha it's a good thing I'm young. The whole back yard is a ice rink. I just about killed my self more than once

 

[armorfirelady]

They eat snow?  OK, now I don't feel like I have  really strange chickens.  The other day I heard the chickens crunching on things and finally was able to see what they were crunching on - they were picking up small pieces of ice and eating it.  They have never eaten ice before but they were going at it like they were enjoying it.

Yes someone said I still needed to put water out so I did. Not much but all the girls drank so a couple hours later I brought more out & they drank some more. They are out of luck after 5 pm I got called into work and it's going to take me a good hour in this blizzard to get there lol. But they will have their bowl of snow

 

[thedragonlady]

Pumpkins!!! That is a 'food group' for my birds from late summer right on through...'til I run out. They love 'em!

I swiped most of my pumpkin stash this year from people's leaf piles,put out on the curb for pick up.Husband drew the line at snatching them off peoples' porches, and flat refused to drive the get away truck.

 

[gjensen]

15 here an all's well(cept the well pump is froze up) I just heard one leave out of the garage(her secret hidey hole she thinks) LOL after doing her morning ritual just a hollern' and raising cane like she was PeeOde from having to leave her warmed comfortable sanctuary to go eat after laying her morning egg.

Those birds are tuff hey George even the ones that sleep in the tree (roosters of course) are just fine and dandy I heard them about their normal 3:30 am crowing concerto this morning if it was those $150 a head Buffs or a super duper flare tailed WR it probly still been stuck on the tree limb like ol Jeremiah Johnson found ol Cactus Jack and 'bout the way I feelt last evening after lock up time




Jeff

My opinions have gotten me in trouble a time or two. Funny it is ok to have one view, but not another.

What I want is strong, vigorous, and healthy birds. We give them good feed, clean water, adequate housing, and a healthy environment. They get wormed twice a year, and checked for lice and mites regularly. That is all I intend to do. Give them a fair shot at doing well. If that is not good enough, they are not good enough.

I think a lot of what we do makes us feel better.

No heaters, fans, special feed, or lights for heat. We do not need it here. If the housing is adequate, they are fine. All I did was keep the wind off of them, and with the shelters deep enough to be sheltered on the roost, they all did fine. Not a comb or wattle is blemished.

The only thing I might adjust is to install some functional shutters that I can close in windy cold weather.

I will admit that all of this is easy to say living in the South. If I lived in the upper Midwest, my approach might be different. For one I would probably have a different breed, and another is my housing would be set up differently.

 

[hellbender]

I swiped most of my pumpkin stash this year from people's leaf piles,put out on the curb for pick up.Husband drew the line at snatching them off peoples' porches, and flat refused to drive the get away truck.

I have a pretty good deal (for both of us) with a friend. He grows several hills of pumpkins for me and I provide eggs for him and his brother. The only 'crop' I grow here is grass because the only birds that are fenced are youngsters, until they reach maturity and enter the main flock in the spring. All the other birds are fenced OUT of my yard and go where they please and If I had a garden, it would please them to wreck it. along with that and not part of the deal, the same friend keeps me in fresh farm goodies and even brings me canned goods.

EDIT: Don't know what to do with all this heat! At 5:06 PM, it's 2 F with windchill of minus 17. I think I'll turn on the air conditioning.!