Illinois...

[SixChickFlock]

Anyone prepared for the next weeks cold snap? We're putting 3 ml plastic up sides of run on exposed sides of north and west to keep floor dry but clear so sun shines in. Put light /heat on under water unit. What about you?

Last Saturday I finished tacking the plastic (clear shower curtain liners) outside the run walls, relocated the water/lamp so they would be less likely to tip it over, removed some litter from under the run roosts and dug into the compost in the run to keep it composty before adding a bunch of bedding... Even found some worms down there for the girls! I think we are good for the rest of the winter.

Also cleaned out the water heater lamp housing... There was enough debris in there to be concerned about.

 

[chickendreams24]

Hey all this cold snap has been awful up here in southern WI we've been running -20 with the wind chills and it has been bitter cold just awful. Thankfully last Sunday we moved all the birds out to an old "cooler" that was used with an air conditioner to get fluffy steers for showing. The air conditioner is no longer there but the building is very well insulated. And of quite a nice size for my complete flock of 30 of which 12 are bantams. This is the first time all the birds have been together 24/7 and there have been some pecking order squabbles including one that required my little black oegb roo, Mickey, to have to come in the house and get patched up. Minnie(his half sister) and Mickey are now in a large crate in the cooler so that he can heal.

We are looking to rehome 2 Isa browns and a pair of white silkies if anyone is interested please pm me. They are about 7-8 months old. The list may be added to as we make decisions about who works best in the flock, and how many more birds we can get this year, with so many of them being bantams and half the bantams being silkies. Theyre all good and sweet birds. The silkies beautiful idk if the pullet is laying yet but the reason they're on the rehome list is that we have too many cockerals right now.

We got up to 39 today and all of the birds were let out for some fresh air and sunshine. The cooler is the perfect size it has plenty of room but it also keeps them from being so spread out that their body heat doesn't keep the building warm. It's been night and day between the building and the outside.

Does anyone have an experience with perhaps a pair of chicks that were hatched by themselves that don't seem to relate or integrate well with a larger flock? My Minnie and Mickey we the only ones from the hatch and they don't seem to care for any of the other birds much. Will they eventually form bonds with other birds?

 

[ducks4you]

Don't use plastic on the walls. My 7 layers spent all of last winter in a 4 x 5 x 5 building we made from a pallet. It had a used and cut to fit rubber mat on the floor and a makeshift roost. The door had a 4 inch section open (door opened east) and the walls were 1/4 inch plywood. That was it. It used Equine Fresh and medium pine shavings on the floor, a light (strictly to encourage egg laying) and I blocked their door when it was gonna snow.
You HAVE to keep them dry!!! If it gets humid in the coop, your birds will become colder. Try, instead, to go to Lowe's and get scrap lumber. Find the odd plywood or particle board and prop that up where you want the plastic. It will be a very good wind break. It will suffer from the weather, but that doesn't really matter.
Also, straw in the coop helps the birds to radiate their heat back on themselves, but it breathes. Plastic doesn't breathe. Find your closest Rural King and you can buy a bale for about $6.00

 

[1ChicChick]

Sounds like thw problems Becki and Jesse had with Nicky and Alex on Full House. They had each other and didnt want to play the other kids. Maybe try each of them with one or two other chickens off in a small area separate from each other.

Hey all this cold snap has been awful up here in southern WI we've been running -20 with the wind chills and it has been bitter cold just awful. Thankfully last Sunday we moved all the birds out to an old "cooler" that was used with an air conditioner to get fluffy steers for showing. The air conditioner is no longer there but the building is very well insulated. And of quite a nice size for my complete flock of 30 of which 12 are bantams. This is the first time all the birds have been together 24/7 and there have been some pecking order squabbles including one that required my little black oegb roo, Mickey, to have to come in the house and get patched up. Minnie(his half sister) and Mickey are now in a large crate in the cooler so that he can heal.

We are looking to rehome 2 Isa browns and a pair of white silkies if anyone is interested please pm me. They are about 7-8 months old. The list may be added to as we make decisions about who works best in the flock, and how many more birds we can get this year, with so many of them being bantams and half the bantams being silkies. Theyre all good and sweet birds. The silkies beautiful idk if the pullet is laying yet but the reason they're on the rehome list is that we have too many cockerals right now.

We got up to 39 today and all of the birds were let out for some fresh air and sunshine. The cooler is the perfect size it has plenty of room but it also keeps them from being so spread out that their body heat doesn't keep the building warm. It's been night and day between the building and the outside.

Does anyone have an experience with perhaps a pair of chicks that were hatched by themselves that don't seem to relate or integrate well with a larger flock? My Minnie and Mickey we the only ones from the hatch and they don't seem to care for any of the other birds much. Will they eventually form bonds with other birds?

 

[ChicagoClucker]

How is everyone's chicks holding up in the cold? Mine seem to be handling the weather ok, besides being tired of the snow and cold. Mostly everyone came out today on the patio because its shoveled, lol.

I have had 2 problems though, 1st problem is a 7 month old black Orp named Sophia who likes to bully all the young (3month) orpingtons. She pecks, pulls feathers and really targeted my splash roo. I have grabbed her numerous times by the tail, just to get her to stop. Well, I found her going after my splash roo again in the afternoon and she had him bleeding on his side. So he is in the basement for some R and R. She is the only one picking on them. What can I do about it? Should I separate her for a bit so she can drop in the pecking order? No matter what she will still be above the youngsters. I can't wait for the breeding pen and put the older ones in by themselves for a while.

Second problem was when I opened my broody coop this morning. Since they are still in there by themselves and with this cold snap, I put in the old metal trough feeder with the openings. Well, Clara my broody must have gotten a drink of water and shook or maybe the babies where drinking also and shook, that must have gotten her comb wet. Then when she went to eat, and putting her head in the metal holes, her comb must have been sticking to the cold metal. There was blood stuck to the feeder, and then I looked at her poor comb. It was like she didn't feel it and just kept eating. So she came in, got cleaned up and applied some blue kote.

I'm ready for spring to get here!

 

[Faraday40]

Does anyone have an experience with perhaps a pair of chicks that were hatched by themselves that don't seem to relate or integrate well with a larger flock? My Minnie and Mickey we the only ones from the hatch and they don't seem to care for any of the other birds much. Will they eventually form bonds with other birds?

Because I prefer to add 2 or more newbies into the flock, it seems that each year we get at least one pair or threesome that likes to keep to themselves. I do the buddy system to prevent a new, lonely bird from getting bullied. Likewise, when I rehome my extras, I try to send a friend along to help with the stress of moving. Most of the time new, young pullets will stay far away from the older birds until they begin to lay. They may never be "friends" with the others, but they should find a place within the flock by the time they reach 9-10mo.

 

[Faraday40]

How is everyone's chicks holding up in the cold?

I'm ready for spring to get here! ME TOO!

My poor EE just got plucked this morning!!! I must have bored bird with muff envy!
Why would she allow another hen to pluck out her muffs? She's one of the senior hens too!
Thankfully, she still has her beard & my CCL still has her crest. I hope they get outside more & run about before the next temp drop hits.


Here's my Easter-orp. She a nice looking mix of both parents.
....But she, too, may be at risk for a de-muffing & is lower in the pecking order.




This is my Sebright, Trouble. She's actually quite pretty, but something happens whenever I take her pic. It always comes out pathetic-looking.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Your poor easter egger. Maybe she was too cold to care, lol. And your Seabrite looks like a chick with some attitude.

 

[Faraday40]

Your poor easter egger. Maybe she was too cold to care, lol. And your Seabrite looks like a chick with some attitude.

Yes, we had a round of plucking last spring when I forced them to stay inside for over 3 mo. (1st month was due to a hungry hawk & then with the AI scare, I didn't want any possible contact with wild birds.) Back then, I had a week when all kinds of facial feathers went missing. I suspect Cuddles was the culprit, b/c she was one of two hens w/o damage.

The Sebright is finally getting a comb/wattles (now 6.5 mo), so perhaps she'll start laying soon. Yes, she has attitude & likes attention. In the pic she was trying to peck at the camera. She's very fast & a fantastic flyer. She will fly over & land right on top of any treats I throw down. She always takes the BIGGEST piece & runs away with it. If no one chases, she will scream to initiate a game of keep away. Most chickens would simply grab & find a hiding place to eat their prize. Trouble actually teases the flock to start an all out treat war.

Because Trouble is a great flyer, I decided to let her keep her wings. That way she might have some chance of escape from a predator. It also means that she can visit the neighbors whenever she wants to. My next door neighbor enjoys feeding all of our critters. (She's like a grandma to our kids & regularly buys dog biscuits - doesn't own a dog.) Trouble will pop over the fence to say "Hello" when our neighbor is in her backyard. Thankfully, they both love each other. Trouble will also fly over the fence land on my arm if she sees me walking back to the run with treats. That way, she can use me as her personal feeder. I never thought I'd ever enjoy a tiny, mischievous, flying bantam, but she does give us many stories & a lot of attitude.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

In case you haven't heard. Here we go again!

January 15, 2016
USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H7N8 Avian Influenza in a Commercial Turkey Flock in Dubois County, Indiana. This is also close to the border of Kentucky I believe, so be careful if your ordering chicks.