Illinois...

[Nwchickma]

[COLOR=696969]"Does she seriously expect us to walk through snow for our treats?"[/COLOR] The only heater I have is for their water bucket. I must report that the horiz nipples are working very well. The chickens were able to drink this morning. (Last year, my water in the bucket stayed liquid, but the vertical nipples froze.) The new design is closer to the water so only the very tip outside may freeze. The chickens easily pecked the thin ice off the tip to drink. An added bonus is that they don't leak when in use. (No ice slick under the waterer.) [/quote] I'll be ordering some vertical nipples! My girls have been in the garage this week and it's not too bad in there. This morning it was 14 degrees but the water freezes pretty fast so I've been changing it out 3 times a day. What do you do when you get to the eggs and they are really cold? It's hard for me to tell if they are frozen and I've just been putting them in the fridge to avoid drastic temp changes. Anything else I should be doing?

 

[Faraday40]

It's the horizontal nipples that work better. They're about equal in the summer, but the horiz leak less & (if you use a submergible heater) the horiz ones don't freeze. At least they didn't freeze in last night's drop below zero. They had a touch of ice, but the chickens simply pecked & got it working. I like not having to refill & clean the water daily. Here's where I got mine: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Horizonta...700?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258de826d4
You can use any food grade bucket & may even be able to find a free one.

My flock is in an insulated coop with a covered run wrapped in clear pvc vinyl / plastic (like shower curtains). The run is like a greenhouse, so it's much warmer than being directly outside. I may get a touch of snow in there if it's a very heavy storm, but it's mostly dry.

As far as the eggs, I've been collecting often. If it's noticeably cracked, don't eat it. The shell in tact protects from bacteria. if it feels cold, just give it a quick spin. Raw eggs wobble as the insides slosh around. A frozen egg will spin smoothly & easily because the insides are solid (likewise a Hard-boiled egg). Don't you just love science!

Our "house chicken" is healing well. Looks like it will be a while before it's warm enough to attempt a transition back to outside. Meanwhile, the kids are enjoying having a chicken to cuddle. She makes a tiny little noise when she lays her egg & through it all has laid 4 eggs in 5 days. Poor thing is stuck in a storage tub, but I suppose most commercial hens live that way for their entire lives.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's my winterized coop. My spoiled chickens can move through the 3 sections. I didn't have time to make the run extension "look pretty," so I just stapled up some plastic this winter. For the tall run, I made winter storm "windows" using very thick clear vinyl. This way it can reused each winter.

 

[rfreedlund]

It's the horizontal nipples that work better.

Agreed! I have been using them with aquarium heaters in the buckets and having no freezing problem even with temperatures reaching -10 F. There are ice patches that have formed underneath, though, where the water dribbles out as they are drinking. It is minor, though.

I tried some buckets with vertical nipples, but they are too hard to suspend as the water is heavy in them and put a lot of stress on the handles. The horizontal ones you don't have problems with, because you can set them up on blocks.

I am so glad that I have them as filling their water in this temperature is so much easier than my old waterer and not messy at all. Go horizontal. They cost a bit more and you might need to order them rather than picking them up locally, but it is worth it!!

 

[NotAFarm]

Thanks for the link. I ordered some and am excited to get and try them. Does anyone know of a way to provide heat for water that is battery operated? I have a friend whose coop is quite a ways from her house and does not have electricity in in.

 

[Nwchickma]

It's the horizontal nipples that work better.  They're about equal in the summer, but the horiz leak less & (if you use a submergible heater) the horiz ones don't freeze.  At least they didn't freeze in last night's drop below zero.  They had a touch of ice, but the chickens simply pecked & got it working.  I like not having to refill & clean the water daily. Here's where I got mine: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Horizonta...700?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258de826d4
You can use any food grade bucket & may even be able to find a free one. 

My flock is in an insulated coop with a covered run wrapped in clear pvc vinyl / plastic (like shower curtains).  The run is like a greenhouse, so it's much warmer than being directly outside.  I may get a touch of snow in there if it's a very heavy storm, but it's mostly dry. 

As far as the eggs, I've been collecting often.  If it's noticeably cracked, don't eat it.  The shell in tact protects from bacteria.  if it feels cold, just give it a quick spin.  Raw eggs wobble as the insides slosh around.  A  frozen egg will spin smoothly & easily because the insides are solid (likewise a Hard-boiled egg). Don't you just love science!  

Our "house chicken" is healing well.  Looks like it will be a while before it's warm enough to attempt a transition back to outside.  Meanwhile, the kids are enjoying having a chicken to cuddle.  She makes a tiny little noise when she lays her egg & through it all has laid 4 eggs in 5 days.  Poor thing is stuck in a storage tub, but I suppose most commercial hens live that way for their entire lives.

Oops! That's what I meant, I have the vertical ones and they leak! Thanks for the egg spinning trick do I have to keep putting cold ones in the fridge? I'm running out of room, need to start eating more eggs!

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Ok, I will be moving my coop this spring and adding on to it and definitely adding a run. My girls free range, no run, but in this cold they were by my back door cuddled up in the dogs bed looking into the house. They didn't want to go back thru the shoveled snow path I made for them. Besides the protection, I can see from all your pics and posts that it is a more comfortable space for them on these cold snowy days. I am so grateful that I have some place to collect info and ask questions. This site has been such a huge help.

 

[Faraday40]

In my main run, I can stand. (Makes it easy when cleaning & I can spend time with the flock.) Because I live in a neighborhood, I wanted to make it nice to look at. The extension has a flip roof & can be closed off from the run. It's not as pretty but I wanted an extra space for a possible breeding pen or broody/chick area. In the winter, it's nice to simply have more space for them when it's so cold.

Last winter, the chickens stayed in the coop on the very cold, below zero days. They never walked through the snow. When I was outside & the doors were open, they came out & walked on the patio - but never the snow. This year, I have more chickens, so I'm thankful for the extra space.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I wish I did the run just for the CCLegbar sake. My sweet, gentle bottom of the pecking order buff Orp is just plain mean to them. They all huddle in the corner when she is around. They are almost as big as her. Being cooped up, is making her cranky! So that is where that saying came from, ha!

 

[Faraday40]

I wish I did the run just for the CCLegbar sake. My sweet, gentle bottom of the pecking order buff Orp is just plain mean to them. They all huddle in the corner when she is around. They are almost as big as her. Being cooped up, is making her cranky! So that is where that saying came from, ha!

I noticed the same when introducing new pullets to last year's flock. Precious, my fav hen @ bottom of pecking order, was the worst bully to the new girls. Precious remained on the lower roost, but her daughter moved straight to the upper roost when she began laying. As the others began laying, the pecking order worked itself out & Precious stopped the bullying. Precious will never be a top roost girl, but she's happy to no longer be the lowest. When I added the last pullets of the year, Precious was not their bully. Instead I see Skittles chasing them. Of course I also noticed my roo step in between them to immediately stop the chase.

In the meantime, you could try a few boredom busters. Basically, give them something to peck at instead of each other.

Drill holes in a water bottle + scratch = an entertaining chicken toy (make holes just big enough for a little to come out at a time)


Put kitchen scraps in a suet feeder & hang on the side of the cage.



Hang a vegetable on a string.

Some people make chicken swings & all kinds of creative stuff. I'm not that handy with tools.

Any Other ideas?