It is snowing. The Flock is locked up. What do you do ?

[2DogsFarm]

Quote:
?????
Why no black sunflower seeds?
Mine have been eating them as scratch for months and no problems.
Full of Omega-3s and extra fat for this cold weather.

My Gang of Five is allowed free access from coop to yard in all but the bitterest cold (minus temps).
They spend most of their outside time under the overhang on the coop porch if it's snowy in the yard.
They have let me know they do NOT like to walk in snow.
If temps dip below zero I do keep them in the coop with the light (40W) - they are fine w/plenty of food & water.
Even with the light on, I generally find them all roosting when I get home from work - around 5.
I guess when it's dark outside, so they put themselves to bed.

 

[CATRAY44]

Mine are free to come and go as they please during the day. They do fine. They know when to stay put in the coop and when to come out. Just keep the bedding dry, good ventilation and a coop to huddle in and they will be ok. My Serama's are doing as well as my standards in our Michigan weather.

 

[patandchickens]

With all due respect to peoples' delicate feelings, I think it is inexplicable and unreasonable to lock chickens indoors all winter to keep them out of the snow. What is the purpose of that?? You just end up with crabby cannibalistic chickens and an exceptionally nasty (and usually extra-humid and frostbite-causing) coop.

Chickens do not get frostbite from wandering outdoors on a pleasant snowy day. Chickens mostly get frostbite from being in overly-humid coops; or from a drafty coop where they cannot get out of the wind in very cold or cold/humid conditions.

I cannot see any possible reason why normal adult chickens should not be allowed the option of going outside on a pleasant snowy day. If you have a huge coop and it is excessively windy outside today, or one of the coldest days of the year and you are pretty sure they wouldn't use an open popdoor *anyhow*, then sure, keep them in if you want... but on a snowy but nonwindy nonbitter sunny day? <boggle>

I'll tell you something --- I have 12-15 sq ft per chicken in the coop, and very good air quality as well. My chickens recently spent almost 2 weeks locked indoors because I was out of town and the horse/chicken-sitter had enough else to deal with without having to be worrying about popdoors...

...and despite having way more room in the coop than almost anyone else's chickens here, my chickens were THRILLED to be finally let out again, and even though they are not generally big fans of outdoor wintertime they have been spending a *lot* of time out there, and seem much happier and more relaxed/content than when they were on lockdown.

I cannot concieve of anything that would make me contemplate shutting them in from November to April, not even if I lived much farther north (although certainly I would not let them out as often nor as long as I can here in Ontario)

JMHO,

Pat

 

[TK Poultry]

mine have the option and i dont give heat lamps its cold up here alot and i want them to adjust so i dont give the LF heat. I give my bantams heat thought and like i said mine always have the option and they usually go out but not today we are in the middle of a big snow storm so they're hiding

 

[cybercat]

Pat

You are so right. Chickens do not get frostbite from snow or cold. But a humid coop will give them frostbite. I am using a branch perch in my coop and have lots of ventilation. We have had temps down to 9 plus windchill. My chickens are out everyday rain or snow no matter how cold it is. We have not seen any frostbite at all. Our coop is dry and with 8 inches of bedding straw over woodchips. Those that are seeing frostbite have coops too closed up with little ventilation like Pat said. Chickens are not tendar animals but much tougher than most give the credit for when it comes to weather.

 

[Amethyste]

Agreed with Pat and Cy...

I have never had frostbite issues with my girls and they have been out in all types of weather...they were bouncing around the other day at 17 degrees having a grand old time outisde.

I honestly think I have so little problems when I DO have to lock them in <rarely> is cos they are outside so much, or have the opportunity to.

 

[phrogg]

I too am very curious why one should not feed black sunflower... my 21 EE's are just finishing up a 50 lb bag I bought for the cold weather figuring they had more calories or something like that.
I never shut my coop, the birds come out every day. The first snow they saw kept them in all day, but when the snow was still there the next day they said "enough of this, I'm going out!!"
They are out from late morning untill dusk every day. they even dig in the snow a little trying to find something interesting. And of course, I subscribe to the "animals are a lot tougher than we give them credit for" idea. They eat snow all the time, usually in groups, this has been my solution to frozen waterers lately.
I want birds that can survive on their own essentially, that way I have the least amount of effort involved in securing a supply of eggs and meat.
They do shy away from the bitter wind though and seem quite dissapointed that I just harvested 18,000 board feet of white pine that was growing next to their coop.

Additionally, my coop is built from rough cut lumber and has gaps in between the vertical wall boards all over, while I know people become concerned about draftiness, again I think that we do not give the birds enough credit.... and when you look at old coops, you know, the ones that were built when everyone had chickens and it was just a part of life... they all have huge holes in them because they were made from whatever was laying around at the time... I've tried to stick to this coop design and elected not to put battens on my batten board siding.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

WOW, I do not know what the heck I would do if i had to lock up the flock for months at a time. The barn is pretty darn big and there is LOTS to do and the flock is very integrated. However, it is does have significant problems. The sunlight is poor with all the doors shut, the birds tend to chase each other and they get pretty darn grumpy.

They Eat A LOT of food mainly because they are bored and i feel this is not in their best interest. I have quite a few ROOs and although they stay away from each other, I have seen bloody combs after about 3 days of jail time. ( I am awaiting a few to come out one day with new TATTOOS and witness them lifting little weights).

They go through at least 2 gallons of water every day and the poo really starts to pile up. Maybe Sunday they can go out.

 

[deenamr]

I only keep mine locked in when the highs are below 20 degrees. Otherwise they have free choice to be in or out during the day. I do provide warm water at least 3 times per day when it is so cold. Also I feed some extra treats like warm oatmeal, corn and mashed potatos, etc on the really cold days.

 

[cybercat]

Speaking of draftiness(is that a word) I have had chickens blown over by winds here. Now think people, chickens and birds in general that live outside year round do you think the live in a draft free enviroment in the wild. NO The side of my people door there is a 1/4 inch opening due to the hinges. I can see where those that have a tight coop would have lots of problems in winter from humid conditions. I wish everyone asking about what to do about frostbite would read this also. Right now it is snowing here and I had to chase chickens into the coop to lock it up for the night. They were have to much fun playing in the snow.