Minnesota!

[jbenson]

Ok, here's the next results from my mini chicken opera. There are 2 more going into lockdown next week from this same pairing, but she has stopped laying again for a while, so we'll see if there will be further installations of this saga past these 4 and the next 2. They are so crazy adorable. Their cheeks are so fluffy and they appear to all be bearded. They all have pretty heavily feathered shanks and feet. And one has a little puff on the top of it's head which it clearly got from it's mother. I have affectionately nicknamed that one "chunk" because it is the roundest fluffiest of them all. I took several photos of each bird and one of each of their backs to show their coloring well. I can hardly wait for them to grow some wing feathers. Until I have an idea what they are going to look like, I'm not even thinking of selling any of these, so they will probably go in several weeks when they can be sexed, or maybe not at all if they are pullets. Considering how small both parents are, these chicks are sizeable - they would dwarf my pure d'Uccles at this same age.

Chick #1
This is "chunk". Chunk was the last of these to hatch and needed a tiny bit of assistance because (s)he was so big (s)he was wedged into the shell pretty tightly.





Chick #2



Chick #3



Chick #4

 

[Dandelioness]

Up here south of Duluth, cool to see that there are more Minnesotans on here all the time.  now if we could get the Guinea owners from around the state to join we could really network.  just think, soon the snow and ice will be gone and we can get down to serious chicken business

I keep guineas with my hens. They are a riot!! We refer to them as "the Jets" because of the way they stay in a group and chirp to each other as they check things out. I would give up my chickens before I'd give up my guineas! But I love the chooks, too!

 

[duluthralphie]

I keep guineas with my hens. They are a riot!! We refer to them as "the Jets" because of the way they stay in a group and chirp to each other as they check things out. I would give up my chickens before I'd give up my guineas! But I love the chooks, too!

We love our guineas too, they are entertaining. We call ours "the gang" because they are always together and trying to talk over each other.

I would give them up before the chickens and I would give the chickens up before the turkeys.

But I did sell the stinking geese before the guineas!

 

[Chickenchick11]

Happy Thankgiving fellow Minnesotans!

 

[jailerjoe]

Happy COLD Thanksgiving to my fellow Minnesota chicken keepers, although it wasn't too cold for my girls and roo to spend some time out in the run this morning. I wrapped the run in plastic last week and they really love it. They're spending a lot more time in the run these days.

:cd

 

[Cluckies]

Hi Minnesotans! I'm in Nowthen. Just found this thread off of another thread about frostbite.This is my first year with chickens. I was so excited to finally get chickens after about 10 years of waiting. We built a coop this summer after the Wichita Cabin Coop. I have 6 chickens listed here in pecking order: Fi - Gold comet, Cluck-Cluck - BO, Morticia - SLW, Goose - Ameraucana, Mother - SLW, Baby - Ameraucana. I love my babies, but wow, i've had nothing but issues. Right now I have one that appears to have a sour crop (I'm treating her with Monostat). Also it appears that 3 of my girls have or may have frost bite. I'm not sure what I can do about that they say it is caused by humidity, but my coop always matches the humidity outside (I have a gauge in there) and it has been extremely humid this year, today was 95 percent, yesterday 90 day before that 80, awful). However, I have removed their upper roost today so they have to roost lower see photo.

I changed their waterer back to a nipple waterer with a tank heater in it as I was using a heated bowl waterer, but Fi and morticia seem to dunk their whole face in there when they take a drink. I'm not sure how it will go though (stay unfrozen). we'll see. The waterer is in the run. that is where I feed them as well. I empty the poop trays every day and clean the wood chips on the floor of the coop everyday. I have sweet PDZ in the trays and mixed in with the wood chips on the floor to help dry everything out.
I put up green house panels on 3 sides of the run, the west, east, and north. The south side I left open except for the hardware cloth, the girls spend everyday outside.



How do all of you handle winter? does anybody use heaters? radiant heat panels?
Good to find this thread, I can use all the help I can get!

 

[jailerjoe]

I struggle with hummidity as well. I'm deep litter so I just rake it once or twice a week. I've ventalated like crazy. I'm pretty sure my buttercup got frostbite (not a good comb for my neck of the woods. I've decided against heaters due to fire potential and all the info I've read suggests my chickens will acclimate and be just fine. I did insulate my coop and nesting boxes.

Never heard of Nowthen. Where's that? Nice looking coop btw.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Cluckies,
You feed Monistat to your chicken? I have never heard of that. Honestly, I don't believe it is something you want to use internally either. Here is what I do to treat Sour Crop: First ,turn the bird upside down by the feet and make it vomit out whatever you can from the crop. Be sure to not allow it to choke on whatever you are aspirating out, this may mean bringing it up to catch its breath at some point during the process. But the way you do it is to make sure the head remains down, and massage the contents of the crop from its bottom toward the neck and get all that you can out. Then, take the bird off all feed and give only water with Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) for 3 days. Then only feed yogurt and scrambled egg for a couple of days, then slowly feed crumbles or mash for a few days until the crop and shrunk back down somewhat and whatever was causing the blockage and the "sour" to start is cleared.
I have found that the birds I have had get this have indulged themselves on too much grass. One even pigged out on straw, which I rarely see any birds eat straw, but have seen them eat hay as well and see these issues arise.

As for the frostbite, the best thing you can do is keep their coop dry and ventillated. Not much you can do beyond that for the housing. I have tried Vaseline on their combs, but have started using Vicks Vaporub on the large combs and wattles this year after hearing about using it this summer and fall from other breeders. I think it does help quite a bit. I think it likely helps them breathe better too with some of that on their head. Some things you just cannot stop from happening when it gets down in the really cold temps, but we do the best we can. Frostbite can be painful, but it alone will not kill birds.

Good luck.

 

[Cluckies]

jailerjoe - Nowthen is between Elk River and St. Francis, just north of Ramsey. Thanks! My coop is insulated as well as the nesting boxes too.

Minniechickmama - Actually heard about the monostat on this forum, this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/630307/sour-crop-cured-with-monistat, looks like it is totally safe from what i've read. Seems like many, many people have used it with excellent results. I did massage her crop and tip her head down the first day and liquid came out, but I did not want her to aspirate so didn't do it again. Her crop seems to have returned to normal size, we'll see how she does. My chickens had never seen straw, but I put it in the run as the front had got snow in it before I got the panels up all the way (only had them on the back under the coop) so the sand up there froze (I have dirt under the coop though), I didn't want them hurting themselves jumping off of their branch so I put straw in, aoon after she got the sour crop, I'm not sure if it is related or not, but removed the straw and put wood chips out there just like in the coop. She is back in the coop with the girls, she was in the house for 2 days, the first day she just laid around pretty much, the second day she was back to her old self. her poo is alot better, it was clear water the first day, today it had some water, but was mostly solid. fingers crossed!

 

[duluthralphie]

I thought monistat was some kind of female hygiene product. Am I wrong? You feed that to your chickens? For what??


I know I am old time, I have nothing fancy for my chickens, I use udder balm, vicks vapour rub, and Vaseline mixed with generous portions of love and caring... I have vinegar and cayenne pepper on hand. That's it.. I find all these other things interesting just not sure where or when to use them. If a need developed I would be on here asking and learning fast!


How can anyone not know where Nowthen is? It was near the center of the universe when I was growing up. It had Twin Lakes roller rink in it. Which was open Wednesday,Friday, Saturday (private parties) and twice on Sunday, Afternoon and evenings. It had the largest number of out dated 45s on hand for us to skate too, I was there almost every night it was open...

It was a meeting place for kids from Anoka, St Francis and Elk river schools. My first crush happened in Nowthen My first date was taking a girl to Nowthen, (hint to you young guys, DO NOT TAKE A NON_SKATING GIRL TO A ROLLER RINK!. There will be no second date if you do.

Now Nowthen has the Antique tractor show. How can one miss that?

Rattling over, have a great day.