INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
I wonder how he kept all of the dust out of it. I got one similar from amazon but had to send it back because lousy shipping made for a broken heater. I then got 2 small generic models from Sams for my cold spots in the house. But they both have fans, I just know they would get tons of dust from a chicken house.

I wonder if the oil radiator is the way to go. I don't have gas from the gas company here anymore. I'll need to look more into their setup.

A wood stove is out too but would look kind of cool sitting in the middle of a shed.

I'm still trying to decide the layout of the shed as well. I'm hoping to use it for the chicks that are 4-8 weeks old in Feb and March. Then in April for the goats that are kidding. But there might be a small overlap and the kids might need to share with the chickens. I'm wondering how much space needs to be blocked off for the kidding stall or if I will need to make sure the shed is chicken free before kidding time. I know the bedding needs to be fresh and not deep litter but that is not too hard.I'm also trying to think of a way to add a screen door so none of the chicks can fly out when I'm trying to get in if I put the kidding stall in the back. If the chickens are in the back, I'm not sure how I would keep the kids in the shed while i was coming in. Choices and more choices.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just wondering if the frostbitten comb tips will fall off in spring. My lav Orp roo has a TALL comb. During this last week the very tips of his comb & a little area on edge of wattles turned black. Some of my hens have some frosting too. (theirs looks whitish not black.) Last year I saw posts of a roo that recovered well with no interference. Did the edges fall off then heal up smaller or did it kind of grow back?

@Faraday40 I had a red girl with a large comb and each year she would get whitish on the tips of that comb. It didn't appear to me that they fell off at all. My roo - which pipd just reposted, didn't seem to have an issue with that either. He showed a bit at the edges too.

We have to get @jchny2000 to take a current photo... She has "mister" who was shown in that photo. Come to think of it, my red girl with the large comb went to her house too. Not sure if the red girl is still there....she may have gone on elsewhere by now.

Checking in from Bristol, Indiana. 5 miles from the Michigan border. Got a large egg this morning...3.74 oz. haven't done any research for records. Truly do not have time. Went on BYC to sorta check, got swept up in Indiana Chicken Keepers blog. Late to it, but love it.

@RoyalPayne

You're in my "neck of the woods".

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I just finished activating my chick fil a cards. Very ironic since I have lots of chicken in my fridge. The food there is tasty and they have a play area for my children. Those are my excuses anyways for buying a card for each person in my family every year.

 

[Faraday40]

Below are the pics of my boy & girl with larger combs. Both have frostbite, but the girl should be OK. (This happened to her last year & it seemed to just fade when the weather warmed up.)
It's my roo that has me concerned. We had some very brutal weather this past week. It's nice to be back up to the mid twenties today. Did anyone ever have frostbitten comb this bad? For now, I'm just leaving it.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Mine didn't have quite the same kind of comb as he has so there weren't as many "spikes". I have seen some folks who's boys had the frostbite almost right down the the scalp. Ouch!

It looks like he may have gotten his wattles into the waterer...or maybe wet feed if you feed wet. That can usually be stopped from recurring by changing the kind of water (or wet feed) dishes they use. Do you know how he got the frostbite on the comb? I know my girl and the boy that had it on the tips just got it from it being so cold and the tissue there being so thin. But sometimes if they get water on their wattles, they'll shake their heads and fling the water around which can sometimes get on the comb.

Anyhow, I ask just because if there is something that can be changed that would help prevent it that would be great. The other thing to consider is humidity level. If it's outdoor high humidity there's nothing you can do about that (short of giving them an indoor, heated quarters). But if there is higher humidity in the chicken house than outside that can be fixed.


Now this is just my opinion...but I still try not to disturb it if it isn't deteriorating or oozing, etc. My girl was like yours. It just pinked back up when the weather got warmer. Some have had theirs lose the tips. But many of the folks that had them lose the tips were putting on ointments and I have a "hunch" that disturbing it might make it worse which is why I just wait and observe.

Of course, if you have a place that he could go where he could be in a warmer area for the long-term, it would give it the chance to heal more quickly. But most of us don't have that kind of setup.

 

[Faraday40]

In December when the temps were mild, I had a drinker like this outside in the grass & my heated bucket with horz. nipples inside the run. The wattles could have happened because of the outdoor drinker. He had whitish comb tips before the bitter cold. I used Vaseline as a preventative, but only on the coldest nights. It allows all kinds of dirt to stick, so some of the black (closer to the head) may be dirt. However, the tips must be frostbite.

My coop is not heated but insulated. My garage is detached, so I'm not sure that would be much warmer - especially w/o the hens to keep him warm. The coop is more dusty than wet. Sand floor with the poop sifted out each morning. I have the food & water in the run. Because the runs are covered & wrapped, my chickens only sleep & lay eggs in the coop. During the days with -25'F wind chills, they were out in the run constantly making their complaining noises. They could have stayed in the coop but chose not to.

Here's the interior of the coop before the sand was added. We closed the back window during the winter, but the 2 side windows are open. To block wind, the left window is near the garage and the right is facing the run. The side of the run facing the coop is open. The other 3 sides have storm windows made from plastic sheeting.


Normally, the left coop window is always open (left pic above). Last year I closed some of it up by making a vent (right pic above), but everything I read said to increase ventilation. This year, the window is open. The only night I put the vent up was when strong winds were blowing snow & a dusting got into the coop.

 

[CharlemagneRoost]

I just returned from a trip to Ohio to visit the inlaws. Packed some birds for a guy who said he wanted to buy them, but he was a no show on the way there and again on the way back. So his loss is someone else's gain! I have a lovely group of Jaerhon that I am letting go of at a winter special price: 3 hens (will be just one year old next month), 2 pullets and 5 cockerels - all for just $50. Local pickup only. I am in SE Anderson.

I hope everyone stays warm and SAFE with the ice and snow coming in!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I just returned from a trip to Ohio to visit the inlaws. Packed some birds for a guy who said he wanted to buy them, but he was a no show on the way there and again on the way back. So his loss is someone else's gain! I have a lovely group of Jaerhon that I am letting go of at a winter special price: 3 hens (will be just one year old next month), 2 pullets and 5 cockerels - all for just $50. Local pickup only. I am in SE Anderson.

I hope everyone stays warm and SAFE with the ice and snow coming in!

No shows are annoying.

 

[CharlemagneRoost]

No shows are annoying. 

Yes, they are. I think the guy meant well and just couldn't get things worked out to meet me for pickup - but I will never again pack up birds for delivery like that without a non-refundable 50% down payment first.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

I just returned from a trip to Ohio to visit the inlaws. Packed some birds for a guy who said he wanted to buy them, but he was a no show on the way there and again on the way back. So his loss is someone else's gain! I have a lovely group of Jaerhon that I am letting go of at a winter special price: 3 hens (will be just one year old next month), 2 pullets and 5 cockerels - all for just $50. Local pickup only. I am in SE Anderson.

I hope everyone stays warm and SAFE with the ice and snow coming in!

Hopefully nothing serious kept them from not showing up, but if it was out of lazyness that's too bad.