Maine

[Widget]

Hello fellow Mainers!! I am up here in Caribou, ME next to the Canadian border. We are supposed to get some cold temps tomorrow night, nearing -35 below zero (that is without windchill). I do not have an insulated coop, but it is very draft free and dry, and I do have the run covered in clear tarp. I really don't want to run a heat lamp, I don't have electricity in the coop, but could run an extension cord if I need to. There are 6 chickens to the coop, which is about 4x6, and 5 feet tall. Should I just let them cuddle or should I break down and put a heat lamp on them tomorrow night? I have a 250 watt red light, but am so petrified of fires, as I have about 6 inches of shavings and hay on the coop floor. They have not had any heat at all since winter hit, and the coldest we've seen so far is about -25 below, which they all seemed to fair well through (although I'm sure they weren't too thrilled with the temps!!) I'm ready for summer!!

 

[buckabucka]

Welcome, NorthChicken! I agree with Widget, that the birds should be fine. My birds have never experienced anything more than 25 below (yet), so I just did a quick search on the forum. Someone from New Brunswick, Canada said her birds experienced 40 below without issue. I would give them some scratch and sunflower seeds before bed to boost their metabolism.
I am worried about mine in this prolonged cold stretch too, but I don't plan to heat.
Stay warm!

 

[lazy gardener]

Your girls have the best view North Chicken. That should give them lots of incentive to lay eggs. My girls have been snuggling in the nest boxes. Generally, I wouldn't allow it, but have decided to turn a blind eye until the weather moderates. I have wimped out and gave my girls a flower pot heater. I am not advocating for such, and if you asked me for advice, I'd say, don't do what I do! Today, I gave them an extra cardboard box stuffed with hay, hoping that that will give them an other snuggle option as one of my girls is low on the pecking order, and may get left out in the cold alone.

Good news: Baby, my one little girl who has consistently laid an egg every other day through the winter has given me an egg 2 days in a row!

Perhaps they're getting over the winter strike.

 

[IZZYBELLA]

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing...., beating my frozen fingers into submission and trying to think of the reasons I live here. I don't like crowded areas, it is peaceful here, the people are nice and I do like snow. Maybe this bitter cold is going to kill off some strange global warming pests. Perhaps the Japanese beetles will start marching south.

We get a break in 5 days.

I hope it does kill off some pests! While it's at it... kill off the bittersweet, kudzu and Japanese knotwood, too! If that were actually the case, I'd be fine with this weather.

One of my buff orpingtons has been shaking her head frequently (every 10-20 seconds perhaps) since yesterday. She is also a bit more subdued than usual. I know mites or lice are a possibility. I have inspected her ears, eyes, nose, vent, under her wings and all around her head... can't see anything wrong. Could it be something benign I'm not thinking of? (It did get really cold, so not sure if that could be bugging her.) What would you all do?

 

[buckabucka]

She doesn't have frostbite on her comb or wattles, izzybella, does she? My rooster shook his head like that when he had bad frostbite.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I hate hate hate incompetence.

Welcome Ms Caribou!

Had to walk down the driveway to my car this morning (didn't get all shoveled out yesterday, I quit after 2 hours and 2 tanks of gas in the snowblower) and it was negative 10. Then I had to sit in the car while it warmed up. I didn't recover from that for about 2 hours.

 

[buckabucka]

Happy New Year!
I'm starting to question my own judgement about supplemental heat and would love to hear your opinion.

First, I am getting really annoyed with the national weather service. Last night, they forecast 2 degrees for our area and we had 25 below. I know that we are in a cold pocket, but this is a huge difference. I could just always subtract 27 degrees, but about every third day the predictions are within range.

Like NorthChicken, I'm thinking the next few nights may be 30 - 40 degrees below. So I'm reading all these threads that say never to heat, but most of the people posting are bottoming out at zero degrees. The rare post from a member in an extreme climate (lowest temperature 53 below), usually states something to this effect: I never heat, BUT if is is going to drop to 30 below or lower, I usually run a couple 100 watt light bulbs in the coop.

What I'm thinking of doing is closing the pop doors and turning on a red heat lamp from maybe 4 p.m to 8 p.m. Please tell me if I am crazy or if you think this would be an exercise in futility or some recipe for disaster.

I'm not sure I can do anything for the hoop coop. 12 x 24 space with 10 foot high ceilings, would a lamp even make a difference? The rooster's comb points have frostbite.

I have mixed feelings about turning on a heat lamp during the day (provided I am home). People talk about the importance of "acclimating" the chickens to the outdoor temperature. On sunny days it the hoop coop, it is between 40 and 50 degrees, but 25 below at night. I guess they've acclimated to that pattern.

Meanwhile, our in-coming water pipes have frozen. Oh, the joys of winter!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Happy New Year!
I'm starting to question my own judgement about supplemental heat and would love to hear your opinion.

First, I am getting really annoyed with the national weather service. Last night, they forecast 2 degrees for our area and we had 25 below. I know that we are in a cold pocket, but this is a huge difference. I could just always subtract 27 degrees, but about every third day the predictions are within range.

Like NorthChicken, I'm thinking the next few nights may be 30 - 40 degrees below. So I'm reading all these threads that say never to heat, but most of the people posting are bottoming out at zero degrees. The rare post from a member in an extreme climate (lowest temperature 53 below), usually states something to this effect: I never heat, BUT if is is going to drop to 30 below or lower, I usually run a couple 100 watt light bulbs in the coop.

What I'm thinking of doing is closing the pop doors and turning on a red heat lamp from maybe 4 p.m to 8 p.m. Please tell me if I am crazy or if you think this would be an exercise in futility or some recipe for disaster.

I'm not sure I can do anything for the hoop coop. 12 x 24 space with 10 foot high ceilings, would a lamp even make a difference? The rooster's comb points have frostbite.

I have mixed feelings about turning on a heat lamp during the day (provided I am home). People talk about the importance of "acclimating" the chickens to the outdoor temperature. On sunny days it the hoop coop, it is between 40 and 50 degrees, but 25 below at night. I guess they've acclimated to that pattern.

Meanwhile, our in-coming water pipes have frozen. Oh, the joys of winter!

The NWS said it was negative 6 last night. My coop gauge said negative 20 this morning. I thought I was the only one that was in a weird pocket.

I am not going to supplement heat for the girls tonight or any other night. I still have a few molting and when it's cold like this I do let them sleep in the nest boxes (after all, no one is laying). The rest will cuddle up on the roost with each other. I have a lot of birds in the coop (60ish) so they will keep it and each other warm.

My ducks sleep in an open/wired enclosure. Tonight I might put their quilt over the front to limit wind. I'll have to bring it inside and wash and dry it first, though. The ice storm really did a number on it - but it worked great to protect the goat's gate from icing shut. They'll get a half a flake of dry hay, too.

The goats will also get a little bit of extra dry hay on their floor to sleep in.

Other than that... business as usual.

 

[MEMama3]

Happy New Year!
I'm starting to question my own judgement about supplemental heat and would love to hear your opinion.

First, I am getting really annoyed with the national weather service. Last night, they forecast 2 degrees for our area and we had 25 below. I know that we are in a cold pocket, but this is a huge difference. I could just always subtract 27 degrees, but about every third day the predictions are within range.

Like NorthChicken, I'm thinking the next few nights may be 30 - 40 degrees below. So I'm reading all these threads that say never to heat, but most of the people posting are bottoming out at zero degrees. The rare post from a member in an extreme climate (lowest temperature 53 below), usually states something to this effect: I never heat, BUT if is is going to drop to 30 below or lower, I usually run a couple 100 watt light bulbs in the coop.

What I'm thinking of doing is closing the pop doors and turning on a red heat lamp from maybe 4 p.m to 8 p.m. Please tell me if I am crazy or if you think this would be an exercise in futility or some recipe for disaster.

I'm not sure I can do anything for the hoop coop. 12 x 24 space with 10 foot high ceilings, would a lamp even make a difference? The rooster's comb points have frostbite.

I have mixed feelings about turning on a heat lamp during the day (provided I am home). People talk about the importance of "acclimating" the chickens to the outdoor temperature. On sunny days it the hoop coop, it is between 40 and 50 degrees, but 25 below at night. I guess they've acclimated to that pattern.

Meanwhile, our in-coming water pipes have frozen. Oh, the joys of winter!

we have yet to supplement heat and I live right next to Mt. Washington. You'll note that my area is usually the coldest part of the state with the exception of "the county". I have only 7 birds in my 8' x 8' coop. I have one bird with a huge comb who had a small issue of frost bite, but as soon as I added two more ventilation holes up near the roof it has begun to clear. I really think ventilation has everything to do with it.

 

[buckabucka]

Thank you both for putting the voice of reason in my head. I think tonight I will just close down the pop doors to conserve heat. We don't have appropriate ventilation, but no one in that coop has ever suffered frostbite. Just one window on the floor, one up above (plus the two pop doors on the floor).
It doesn't help that I was at a party last night talking to a woman who keeps a red heat lamp on for her 8 chickens 24/7. Hers strictly pets, though. She has an 8-year-old leghorn. "But you must not get eggs," I said. "We don't care. We love them.", she replied.

The hoop coop was too drafty last winter, with a cross-breeze coming across the roost. I closed off one end, which helped, but the Basques insist on sleeping in the ceiling where the vent is. The hens look fine, just the points of the rooster's comb are toast.

I'll be interested to see tonight's temperatures. NWS says -11. Does that really mean -38? Clouds should help.

I am very, very happy to announce that our running water is back! We found the incoming pipe has heat tape on it (we don't really know when we put that there, many, many years ago). We plugged it in. It worked! We're going to leave it plugged in all day, but I can't leave it plugged in overnight, or my sister would kill me. All the houses in Alaska that burn down were using heat tape, according to one source.