INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
But it really is tempting. I'm already dreading winter.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

That's for sure! Need I post the pictures again? At least my coop isn't too far from the house.

Oh, speaking of, if we have weather like last winter, one thing I do recommend is coveralls! Those things made my life so much easier in the bitter cold! No more frozen legs and snow-filled boots!

 

[EurekaChic]

My DH fixed our AC!!!!!! I knew there was a reason I married a mechanic.... and it isn't all the old cars in the driveway. So, back to the plan for getting chickens.

 

[Rhandi74]

Yay!!!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yay!! e And I'll bet it's nice having the A/C back on a hot day like this! (Or, well, at least it's pretty hot up here.)

 

[Rhandi74]

Here is some new pics of my chicks.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

IMO, as adults, I think we call can make our own decision on whether to heat the coops or not. From my personal experience, I know that MOST chickens can do just fine in bitter cold temps without heat. The only ones that I will add heat to are my modern games or I will just bring them back inside over winter. They are a hard feathered breed (know fluffy down feathers) and it is commonly understood that they are not able to take cold temperatures. So I do believe that not all chickens are able to handle the cold. I have seen how cold effects moderns when I was at the breeders house one day an temps started to drop to around 40F as the day progressed and the chickens (adults) instantly fluffed up, stumbling, and lethargic. Reminded me of how a chick acts when it had coccidia. It was amazing the difference of the birds in less than the 2 hrs I was there. Once the breeder noticed the temp change, his daughter brought the birds back I to the heated bantam coop to warm up. He said if he had left them out they would have been dead.

I don't heat my barn, but Totally agree about the moderns! I remember Deanna and her boyfriend had a heater and were telling me about all of it, last year. I will be bringing my one I have from you in the house lol

 

[ChickCrazed]

That's for sure!

Need I post the pictures again? At least my coop isn't too far from the house.

Oh, speaking of, if we have weather like last winter, one thing I do recommend is coveralls! Those things made my life so much easier in the bitter cold! No more frozen legs and snow-filled boots!

I do need to invest in some new coveralls. I have a pair somewhere but can't find them. I hadn't needed them in the 8 years since moving here from Minnesota, then last year I needed them and didn't have them!

My plans to make winter easier this year involve

1 electric in the coop to reduce the extension cord headache
2 adding an easier entry/exit door to minimize snow and boots and winter gear in my house and on my wood floors
3 investing in better tarps that are CLEAR for my runs to cut wind (and not cut down on light like happened last year, the tarps made my runs DARK)
4 fencing off one stall and part of the paddock so i can keep food under skinny old man horse all winter and so fat horses 1 2 and 3 can't steal his food. This will involve having to heat and fill a separate trough, but it will save me a lot of stress.
5 insulating the garage so my pipes don't freeze this year (last year they were freezing constantly)
6 parking my tractor in my garage bucket out so I can come out fighting! (and scooping!). I've already been cleaning my garage to make room for the tractor!

Winter sure got the best of me last year, I am trying to plan better this year. I'd be interested in any other ideas people may have to get through the winter better with livestock.

I do not plan to heat my coop, it was not heated last year and even with -15 degree temps I had no issues with frostbite and will have more birds in there this year to share warmth. It is not worth the fire risk to me and I work away from the house all day so fires are my number one worry.

 

[EurekaChic]

Well I had a bad day! Fell this morning while refilling waterers and bn achy for hours! Then decided to mow my yard and didn't change my shoes. I only had flip flops on. Yep you guessed it- while mowing a small hill in my front yard (and I mean. SMALL hill...) my foot slipped off the padded foot placement and my toes went into the belt pully (which should have bn covered but my son had just worked on tightening the belt) any way a trip t the hospital later and I still have my toes but the way they are hurting I'm not sure I want them! Lol those of you who are squeamish stop now! This is after getting the bleeding stopped and going through X-rays:


Two stitches in my baby toe, two in my fourth toe, two inside my big toe and five on the outside. It had a chip in the bone but seriously could have been LOTS worse!
Moral of the story- DONT wear flip flops while mowing not even on a riding mower!

Yikes! That's gonna hurt for a while. So sorry. I started being more conscious of my shoe choices when I was a grad student working in a genetics lab and let a big drop of phenol fall on my sandal-clad foot. Burned like heck. But you definitely have me beat. Hope it heals up fast.

 

[EurekaChic]

Yay!!

And I'll bet it's nice having the A/C back on a hot day like this!

(Or, well, at least it's pretty hot up here.)

Definitely. It's been hotter than most of the rest of summer around here this week. Not only do I hate it, but our Great Pyrenees REALLY hates it. He's used to being able to cool off by resting atop the AC vent in the hallway.