Me, too. We'll be talking to a vet tomorrow (would have been today, but she isn't in today).
Yeah, mine are like that, too.I pretty much have to shovel it down to the ground or they won't walk through it. Most of them won't even walk through it if it's just a few inches deep. Spoiled, spoiled girls.
Sebastopol geese, right? I never knew there were Sebbies in anything but white! They're gorgeous!
Well, that seems to be a common concern, but it isn't exactly true. It's the combination of cold and moisture that leads to frostbite.
Case in point, I have one old rooster with a single comb and he lives in a pen with a roof and only a tarp around the back of it to break the wind. He has a doghouse to duck into, but never did through that hideous cold snap at the beginning of the year, instead sleeping on top of it. He had no frostbite last winter in spite of sleeping out in the cold like that.
My Ancona, Rangi, and one of my Rhodies, Olive, both got frostbite after the coop addition flooded and then froze, even before that cold spell. They both had larger combs and wattles, although I still had a few other hens with large combs that were unaffected by it. My Light Brown Leghorn has a huge comb that flops over over one of her eyes, and it didn't get effected by frostbite at all over the winter.
Remember, frigid air is dry air. Heat allows moisture to stay in the air, and will also allow for more incidents with frostbite. That's been my experience, anyway.
Ha ha don't worry, I'll be posting tonsCongrats!!! Thats exciting cant wait to see pic'sYou know you MUST post pic's right??? It's a unwritten rule...
RE: Heating. You know I have to get in on this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/421122/think-its-too-cold-for-your-chickens-think-again
My coop is unheated and uninsulated. We reached around -15 at the beginning of the year and the girls were just fine.
I think it's been said before, but adding heat is a big risk. First off, if the power goes out, your birds are not acclimated to the cold and will suffer more in that scenario than they would if you just let them get used to the cold.
Second off, the huge fire risk is repellant enough, at least for me. Especially when it comes to those rickety clamp lamps and huge 250 watt bulbs. Those are overkill, and no manner of justification will get past the fact. 250 watt bulbs should not be used with poultry for any reason. They can ignite bedding if they fall. They can ignite dust if it lands on them. They can even shatter and leave glass shards all over your coop and open wires in the dusty air. They are just asking for trouble.
The only bird I have lost to the cold was weak to start with. She had lost almost all of her feathers in her molt and was already shaky. That is the only time I would ever think to give a bird some help with the cold, and I definitely would not add heat to my entire flock for one individual. What I would recommend if you're worried about your birds is to observe them. If they start looking weak or shaky, THEN act. Most birds will huddle, and that's perfectly normal for them to do. If they are not walking straight or are having trouble standing, that's when you worry.
I should add as well that common sense is necessary in deciding when to intervene. Chicks and some exotic species do need heat. Adult chickens do not.
That super cold weather I mentioned before? My birds were running around outside in the paths I shoveled in the snow like nothing was wrong. A few stayed inside for the very coldest temps, but most of them were fine running around like usual in the negative temps. This includes my supposedly cold-intolerant breeds like my Silkie, my Sebright bantams, my Mediterranian breeds (Leghorn, Ancona, etc.). They were perfectly happy. If you heat your coop, your birds will huddle inside all day and be miserable because it's too cold for them to go outside and get fresh air. This has been my opinion for a few years now and I've never seen anything to prove otherwise.
P.S. I don't say this because I don't love my birds. I adore them. I say this because I know this is what is better for them. That's all there is to it.
And sorry if I sound grumpy, but my widdle Wibbles may or may not be sick so I'm not in a very humorous mood at the moment.
Quote: I will look forward to reading it. And when you are ready to attract more attention I think you can release a kindle copy on Amazon for free to the reader for the first 30 days its out then up the price to $0.25-$0.99 and watch the money start rolling in. Especially if you release only a chapter or two at a time. As long as demand for cheap reading materials is high you might make more money with a book priced under $1 than a $19.95 volume.
I'm going to send you a PM. Is there a way you can post a picture or guess a weight.
The first darker one is my favorite and the tan is my second favorite. If I had any geese, these would be my first choice.These are my Babys, growing up and getting their curls.
How well do geese lay. For some reason I have it in my head that they lay a really nice sized egg but have a short laying season each year.
On a different note I really really do not like grain mites. If anyone has an idea of a smell or some other additive that could be put on or even in the food bags to keep the mites from hatching that would be great. So far DE has not really worked well. And bay leaves did not even put a dent in the tiny creepy crawlies. True or pure vanilla does keep the flies away but does not last long I was having to re-mist the area 3 times a day and by morning they would be back since I did not mist in the night. Lemon juice sprayed in the area (not on the food since chickens don't like it) did not change the bug population at all. The fly traps of course catch flies and gnats but wow that smell is not coming within 200 feet of my house. It smells worse than the duck pond, also not coming within 200 feet of my house.
Everything I keep reading about the grain mites says that the humidity (which you told me before) is a huge issue. Is there any possibility that you could store the feed somewhere dryer? Like in the basement if your house is air conditioned?
