Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[hellbender]

Birds aren't frozen, nor am I , but the eggs on the other hand...now that's another story. Yesterday my one egg was frozen and then split, so I just decided to 'cull' the other egg. It was the same the previous morning. Thankfully warmer weather is coming! Yesterday morning it was -5 and now it's 15 outside. Friday shows 46 and mostly sunny

!!

It was negative 9F here last night but no wind. Will be in the 40's today. After that really cold stuff a couple weeks ago, I didn't even have any worries. The water containers weren't even frozen...completely. They had water at their disposal at 5AM when I fed and watered.

 

[thedragonlady]

It was negative 9F here last night but no wind. Will be in the 40's today. After that really cold stuff a couple weeks ago, I didn't even have any worries. The water containers weren't even frozen...completely. They had water at their disposal at 5AM when I fed and watered.

Chilly at that hour ! I used 6" PVC heavy couplings, and trouble lights to keep all my 5 gal. waters from freezing, even at 5 degrees. Epoxy coupling to 18" square of plywood, Use 2 " hole drill bit to cut hole for trouble light.Put 40 W. bulb in trouble light. Put waterer on top of PVC, and turn on the light. End of problem .For lower temps, you can use a 60 W. bulb.

The 40 w. bulbs keep the birds' water pleasantly tepid, and the birds don't have to expend energy heating up cold water in their crops. Having filled feeders the night before, and knowing that the birds do have fresh water, I have the luxury of not having to go out at 0 dark 30. I get a cup of hot coffee, and then go out, when the sun comes up. Win, win.

 

[finnfur]

Laceyblues, here are the pics I took of the Delaware pullet of Kathy's that I have with the poor feather quality. Pics taken in the dark on the roost last night but hopefully you can see the frayed look to the feathers. This is not rooster damage, her feathers came in like this after her Juvie Molt, she is a year old first week in April. She is with my layer flock and will not be used for breeding.

Zanna - she sort of reminds me of some things I saw in Rex and a couple of the other cockerels - But since she is a layer it might be good to see what results after the next molt

 

[ocap]

Chilly at that hour ! I used 6" PVC heavy couplings, and trouble lights to keep all my 5 gal. waters from freezing, even at 5 degrees. Epoxy coupling to 18" square of plywood, Use 2 " hole drill bit to cut hole for trouble light.Put 40 W. bulb in trouble light. Put waterer on top of PVC, and turn on the light. End of problem .For lower temps, you can use a 60 W. bulb.

The 40 w. bulbs keep the birds' water pleasantly tepid, and the birds don't have to expend energy heating up cold water in their crops. Having filled feeders the night before, and knowing that the birds do have fresh water, I have the luxury of not having to go out at 0 dark 30. I get a cup of hot coffee, and then go out, when the sun comes up. Win, win.

i need a photo because I need more coffee before going out into -10F

 

[Zanna]

Hi,
I have never shipped a single bird before. Only pairs and started birds. I would just call them and ask.
They are super experienced will so many breeds, sizes and weights. personally, I would use the 4 bird box
to give the bird a bit of room, but that's just me. It may not be necessary at all.
http://www.boxesforbirds.com/index.html
Best,
Karen
Was minus 1 here last night. Tonight it is a balmy 23 degrees.

Thank you, I will give them a call. They are not cheap and just looking into option for transporting birds to shows.

 

[hellbender]

Chilly at that hour ! I used 6" PVC heavy couplings, and trouble lights to keep all my 5 gal. waters from freezing, even at 5 degrees. Epoxy coupling to 18" square of plywood, Use 2 " hole drill bit to cut hole for trouble light.Put 40 W. bulb in trouble light. Put waterer on top of PVC, and turn on the light. End of problem .For lower temps, you can use a 60 W. bulb.

The 40 w. bulbs keep the birds' water pleasantly tepid, and the birds don't have to expend energy heating up cold water in their crops. Having filled feeders the night before, and knowing that the birds do have fresh water, I have the luxury of not having to go out at 0 dark 30. I get a cup of hot coffee, and then go out, when the sun comes up. Win, win.

Even with the Austraorps gone, I still have over 200 birds to deal with. I feed them in the morning to start the eggs for the next day. It's sort of a ritual. I start getting their 'groceries' together much earlier which is fed warm.

I'm lucky enough to have hot/cold water in both chicken houses so their water is changed at least three times per day, the last time is about 6PM each evening. The wankers should have their guts full and all the warn water they need to keep them happily asleep 'til I get there in the mornings to relieve their 'misery'.

EDIT: Forgot to mention...With almost half the original flock gone, I only keep birds in one of the houses for obvious reasons...We have promised ourselves that we are going to keep the NNs population static or even begin to lower it by attrition. I actually doubt either can stand to have a fully functional chicken house stand empty...

 

[NYREDS]

If this girl was in molt when the cold hit, I would not cull her;. We've seen lots of fretting in feathers here this winter in birds who molted just before the cold hit. The pins were damaged by the cold while they were still in the blood stage.One of my best feathered hens is a mess, as she molted during the 70 degree days we had after Christmas, and was all pins when the severe cold hit.She actually spent a week in the house during that time also, as she was really naked, but the pins were still damaged by the cold.

I agree I'm seeing feather damage not feather quality issues.

 

[Zanna]

If this girl was in molt when the cold hit, I would not cull her;. We've seen lots of fretting in feathers here this winter in birds who molted just before the cold hit. The pins were damaged by the cold while they were still in the blood stage.One of my best feathered hens is a mess, as she molted during the 70 degree days we had after Christmas, and was all pins when the severe cold hit.She actually spent a week in the house during that time also, as she was really naked, but the pins were still damaged by the cold.

Great information to file away! That was not the case unfortunately with this pullet. She is a lovely girl and only one of four I kept of Kathys line so if she does molt out next molt looking good, into the breeder pen she will go Thank you so much!

 

[Zanna]

I agree I'm seeing feather damage not feather quality issues.

Thank you! Question though for thought......... She was raised in exactly the same situation with the others, came in with these feathers after the juvie molt and none of the others did. If it is damage, would that not still indicate a weaker feather quality as none of the others have this?

Edited to add: Walt saw one of Kims birds from Kathy's line at the Heirloom Expo and said not to use her as she had poor feather quality. Maybe he will see this and comment

 

[capayvalleychick]

Thank you! Question though for thought......... She was raised in exactly the same situation with the others, came in with these feathers after the juvie molt and none of the others did. If it is damage, would that not still indicate a weaker feather quality as none of the others have this?

Edited to add: Walt saw one of Kims birds from Kathy's line at the Heirloom Expo and said not to use her as she had poor feather quality. Maybe he will see this and comment

He said to watch for that in the future, he didn't say not to use her. The feathers on mine were different. I'm not sure how to describe it ... the separation in the feather webbing made it look frayed, almost like hair.