INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Evewon]

[COLOR=900000]There is absolutely no reason to heat your coop unless you have chicks or tiny bantams. Adult, large fowl chickens, as well as most bantams, will be absolutely fine even in the coldest temps we get here. As a matter of fact, it's better not to heat the coop as it allows your birds to acclimate and prepare themselves for the cold. Birds that are in heated coops tend to grow less downy feathers and generally be less prepared to face cold than those that are acclimated, and if the power goes out for any length of time, your birds could suffer from going from a heated environment to a cold one.

What I recommend for those concerned is to observe their birds and judge by their behavior whether they need heat or not. It's probably healthier and safer for them to do without, but if a bird is obviously struggling (for example, stumbling or losing its balance, sleeping more than the others in its flock, just generally not acting right), then it's better to intervene and move just that bird to a heated environment.

On the topic, I have spent some weeks gathering information in regards to this, and have compiled it onto a page--one I consider to be a work in progress as of yet, but that has a lot of information that could help you make your own conclusions on whether or not to heat your coop. Enjoy.

[/COLOR]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...led-look-at-the-question-of-supplemental-heat

Thank you so much for the great answer and link to the page you're working on. I was leaning towards not heating, so thanks for the info.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

They're 6 mo old.


They burrowed deep into the litter. I'm assuming the bigger holes were made by the guineas, but there were smaller ones, too. My chickens are all bantams, but I don't know if they are "teeny." 2 Silkies, a BR and an EE.

[COLOR=900000]The ones I refer to as 'teeny' are, for example, Seramas, game bantams, Sebrights, etc. The ones that are not only small, but not as fluffy, either. And even with that in mind, my Sebrights don't have issues with the cold (except, of course, when they are having hard molts and totally bare), so it's more on an individual basis even at that.

Silkies and Easter-egger bantams are both fine with the cold. They have small combs and (most have) fluffy faces and extra feathering that allow them to take the cold pretty well. Plymouth Rock bantams are not as small as the 'teeny' bantams I was referring to, either, so they should be alright as well. By 6 months, they are long since fully feathered, so they all should be just fine to take the cold. However, as I said before, keep an eye on them and watch for abnormal behavior (such as stumbling or balance issues) just in case. [/COLOR]

Thank you so much for the great answer and link to the page you're working on. I was leaning towards not heating, so thanks for the info.

[COLOR=000090]No problem. Glad I could help.[/COLOR]

 

[CharlemagneRoost]

[COLOR=900000]Well, other than the roof, this pen is all wire, if that helps? From my experience, for the most part, my birds know to get in out of the rain when they have shelter available. There's the occasional bird (specifically, a certain French bird ) that will park itself under a tiny ledge that doesn't actually fully cover them from the rain, but most of my birds know what to do. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=000090]How well do your Cemanis lay? I've heard the hens only lay 70 or so eggs a year. (And white eggs, contrary to the rumor going around that they lay black eggs. )[/COLOR]

I have two young pair and the girls just started laying last week, so I don't have a good feel for how often they will lay once they have fully matured. It seems like I am getting an egg about every third day now. Every one is going in the incubator. It's interesting because they vary slightly in color - but are generally a light cream colored egg.

 

[pbirdhaven]

@pbirdhaven

I actually have several tarps hung that way using bungies on the lower end so there is some movement to them which seems to have kept them from ripping better than when I had them hung with in a way that they had no "give". They are fixed at the top end but bungied at the low end and that worked really well for shade and to give a dry area under them during the rain.

How well do they do with snow? I was thinking that I'd have to take them down for the winter even though they are at a slope. I assumed that they would just load down since they aren't rigid.


ETA - I don't just have one corner low but I have one whole end low. I guess I need to take a photo of those.

Good point--definitely bungies! I also use ball bungies at the top; they can be tightened enough to be pretty stable but still have some give. And when they stretch out or break I can reuse the ball with elastic cord and make new ones. Theyre fairly expensive in the farm stores, but I buy lots of 100 on ebay for around $25.

You're right, probably the whole end low would be better. The first time I did this I needed to be able to walk under that end, hence one corner, so old dogs and new tricks....

If the snow is supposed to be the powdery kind, I leave them up and knock it off. For a wet or heavy snow I can release the low end and let it hang straight down. If I misjudge or forget one, a real mess! Last winter I didn't find a tarp that I missed until the thaw.

 

[CharlemagneRoost]

Who heats their coop? Not including water heaters.
I've been doing a lot of reading here, but hard to get answers from people that live in the same state.
It was 27 this morning in the coop. Not sure to heat our coop or not..

We have added insulation to the chicken shed and are going to put a small oil heater in there - just to keep the temp from going below 40 degrees.

 

[Faraday40]

I was very sick this week & found that this thread suddenly took off. Five days was a lot to catch up on.

HEAT TAPE: Can this be used on my 5 gal bucket with nipples screwed into the bottom? I have a fountain heater to plop inside, so the water inside never froze last winter. But, on the coldest days, the nipples froze shut. If anyone has a similar set up, please share a photo of your solution.

ORPINGTONS: I agree that they eat a lot, but my Lav Orp is the perfect lap chicken. Great with kids & ours is even trained to do a couple tricks.



My other favorite is a mix of who knows what. She has a habit of following me around begging for treats. Also a great lap chicken. As soon as I sit, she jumps into my lap. Precious is molting for the first time. Poor girl should have started sooner. Hope she'll be pretty again soon.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@pbirdhaven

Okay...photos. Now this is just the first time I've ever done these sloped tarps and I just did it for the summer so I have no experience w/winter. I was going to take them down if I use the hen shed.

This is the side that I had divided off w/the green plastic chicken "wire" for the spring pullets. The divider is now down.



This is the main door the elders were using. You can see the pullet side to the left.







@pipdzipdnreadytogo
This is the dog kennel w/the dog house I was talking about for the rooster boys. It also has a sloped tarp.



If you look in that back corner, there is a roost bar across at an angle and clear vinyl to the right and a tarp to the back side (the black one.)

 

[Leahs Mom]

Such a pretty girl!

 

[Leahs Mom]

More photos

These are the 2 Swedish Flower Hen boys. 19 weeks old tomorrow. Still in semi-quarantine. They've been here for 2 weeks as of last Thursday.





2 Boys.



Having some yogurt. Couldn't get close enough to get the "yogurt mustaches" and the yogurt strip on the Mahogany boy's comb






I wasn't able to get a really good photo of the chocolate boy today but here's what I got.












Now THIS GUY, seems to always be ready for a photo-op.










Hey mom!!!!! Look at me!!!! I can FLY!!!!!!

 

[CharlemagneRoost]

I was very sick this week & found that this thread suddenly took off.  Five days was a lot to catch up on.

My other favorite is a mix of who knows what.    She has a habit of following me around begging for treats.  Also a great lap chicken.  As soon as I sit, she jumps into my lap.  Precious is molting for the first time.  Poor girl should have started sooner.  Hope she'll be pretty again soon.

I am sorry that you were under the weather and hope that you are fully recovered. I have been feeling a bit puny myself this weekend. But whether I am doing fine or not, I have found this such an active thread that it is hard for me to keep up with it. I worry that folks might think I am rude - chiming in only once in a while.

I just picked up a quad of phoenix today (roo and three ladies) and the poor roo has gone through a molt that has left him looking pretty nappy, but I still think that he is a handsome fella!