Is it ever going to warm up???.

[CARS]

In years past, my Cornish X chicks would be about 3 weeks old. We just had our first 70 degree day yesterday. Today 50 and rain, tomorrow 47 rain, Friday 46 with a rain and SNOW mix.

I just can't get the barn dry because of the moisture in the air and moisture coming up from the concrete. The barn is a wet, sticky, stinky mess and the ground is too wet to haul the winter's waste to the compost pile. The first year I have run into this since I started raising chickens. Sure, a cold night here and there but this year is just awful.

Am I setting my self up for hot summer butchering or just doing the right thing. I can't imagine the losses with these temps and humidity (even with a good brooder).

What would you do??

Pick them up this weekend and pay the electric bill/take the losses OR just wait till mother nature cooperates???

 

[TinkleTurkey]

What I would do is move. lol sorry!

 

[CARS]

Quote:
No thanks. At least not yet (old=AZ for me I think)

It not that 50's is horrible for an average temp in southern MN. 60's is the high end of the average. It's that everything is just wet. Wet+Cold= dead chicks in my mind.

The last 5 years that I have raised chicks I must have just been lucky. Or maybe the more I know about these little creatures and payed attention to when the thrive/fail makes me more cautious this spring.

 

[TinkleTurkey]

the moisture is not good at all. I put my chicks outside as long as its not freezing but if it were wet I wouldnt want em out.

 

[suzeqf]

i hope so i need to get my coop built we had nice weather last weekend but it's been so rainy and nasty and storming the past few week i can't get anything to dry out long enough and i really need to get my coop built before it get nasty hot and humid here last here it got hot early in may and when the humidity sets in its just plain miserable everything is sticky even in the house with the ac on. i've got my chicks in my shop at the moment and when it gets hot it will be unbearable in there so i totally feel your pain i want nice weather

 

[vjbakke]

Haha I'm in MN also, I was thinking the same thing. I refuse to say the sn** word anymore! The joys of living in mn!

 

[ChickLit]

It's nasty in Oregon too...today we've had waves of heavy rainstorms come through in between bouts of sunshine. It's chilly & windy and everything is soggy wet. Yuck. I definitely feel your pain!

at the rain & cold!

 

[Wildflower_VA]

At least you can blame your cold weather on living in MN! I live in the "south" we had some snow almost every day the first week of April. I should stop looking at my 10-day weather forecast on weather.com--they lie all the time! I put my six week old australorps out for good when they forecast warm weather for the next 10 days. The day I put them out was the only warm, dry day since. Good thing they tolerate cold. It only got into the upper 40's yesterday and it rained all day long. They were out in the rain foraging all day long. I minded them being out in the rain--they seemed to love it. Silly birds! Today was in the 50's, but with the wind blowing, it still felt cold.

I am really glad I only got six chicks to start. I will be waiting until it is really warm before getting any more. The last few years, we have had cold and rainy weather up until a heat wave hit, which lasted the rest of the summer.

 

[Celtic Chick]

I understand completely. I'm in Wisconsin and we've actually had 3 pretty nice days in a row here, but before that it was the longest, wettest streak of 30 & 40 degree days. And guess what is in store for the next 7 days, if not longer? More wet, snowy, windy 40's AGAIN!

 

[CARS]

Well, the Cornish X chicks will be here on the 28th of April. Warm or Cold, it's time to get going or I will miss our 4 days of spring before it hits 90 degrees

they are saying a chance of 2" of snow tomorrow!!!

Where is Al Gore's global warming?????