Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

It is the wind that makes me procrastinate about getting outside in the winter, more than that temperature. I know once I get out there, if I have proper clothing on, I will be fine. I have froze my hydrant by leaving the hose on once. I had to schlep water to all the birds for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, it was in late winter I did that. However, I had ducks at the time and needed to make 3 trips just for their water, and it was icy from melting and refreezing. I learned my lesson though.
I am not crazy about the dog bowls since they get all poopy when the dumb birds walk in them or think they are a roost and poop in them, and when it drops below zero, they ice over most of the way on top. However, I am hesitant to put in a water line, even with a heat cable in it or wrapped around it. If it does freeze, I will have a huge mess if or when it thaws. I use rubber bowls for the bantam pens and outdoor pens (yes, folks, I keep chickens outside all winter - with shelter and can keep out of the wind, but they are Minnesota tough or Nature culls the weak birds), and break the ice out daily. The worst ones for the open top bowls are the Silkies who get their poofy heads in the water, then they get ice balls on their heads that dangle in their eyes, or they just get filthy from water and pecking around. I would like to get them taped soon so they don't have that issue.
It is a challenge at times with the winters we have, but I still will argue against folks putting heat lamps in their coops. On the Chicken Whisperer's page you can find yet another fire caused by a heat lamp in a coop, and this time it ended up doing almost $100K in damage. Chickens are pretty tough critters. Give them a sheltered, draft free, DRY place to coop up and they will be fine in the winter.

 

[duluthralphie]

I agree with everything you said Minniechickmama!

watering is a pain in the rear!

I use the heated bases from Fleetfarm with the steel waterers. They are not perfect. I have one in the coop, which I worry about even though they say for indoor use only.

I have one outside and that one is always icing over and seems to leak. I am thinking of using a dog waterer with a "cover" over most of it and leaving a small wedged area for them to get water from. I was thinking of putting them inside a barrel with a portion of the barrel cut away and surround it with bales.

I worry everytime I use the hydrant, is this going to be the time it is frozen? I have no hose on it but I have 3 hydrants on the farm and only 1 is in working condition. I need to replace them next summer, of course, I needed to replace them last summer.

We are not normal people. I had to go to Menards today and on the way I had the radio on... The announcer read the weather and said" It will be warming tomorrow to an unseasonably warm 29 degrees".

That is just not right! I am thinking of protesting our cold climate by emptying aerosol cans to speed up global warming!

I let my birds out everyday to free range too. They actually seem to enjoy the weather.

Well enough procrastinating time to go run the birds into the coop and put them night-night. I have 4-5 that would rather sleep outside, I make them go in every night.

 

[jailerjoe]

I worry everytime I use the hydrant, is this going to be the time it is frozen?  I have no hose on it but I have 3 hydrants on the farm and only 1 is in working condition.  I need to replace them next summer, of course, I needed to replace them last summer.

Are they supposed to stay unfrozen? I have one in my backyard but have never used it during the winter. Never had to use it.

We are not normal people. I had to go to Menards today and on the way I had the radio on... The announcer read the weather and said" It will be warming tomorrow to an unseasonably warm 29 degrees".

You got that right. We're most definitly not normal. Willingly choosing to endure this climate year after year just isn't right.

I let my birds out everyday to free range too. They actually seem to enjoy the weather

After that first initial cold snap my birds are braving the weather. I had to coax them out of the coop with sprouts, fodder and other goodies but now they run right out expecting something yummy and usually stay out.

 

[duluthralphie]

The hydrants are suppose to work in all weather. The actual mechanism is below the frost level and will drain back when used so it never freezes.

A hose on it prevents the drain back and they freeze.

Mine are broken down below. I need to replace them.

One of them has a broken line going to it, so I need to replace that too.

 

[Chickenchick11]

With all this cold weather my chickens egg production has gone WAY down. I used to average 4-5 eggs a day from 6 hens. I got 0 eggs on Monday and yesterday, and only 1 egg today.

 

[duluthralphie]

With all this cold weather my chickens egg production has gone WAY down. I used to average 4-5 eggs a day from 6 hens. I got 0 eggs on Monday and yesterday, and only 1 egg today.

I am getting 14-18 eggs a day out of about 35 hens.

But mine are young and just started laying. I also have a light on a timer on them for about another week or so.

 

[Chickenchick11]

I am getting 14-18 eggs a day out of about 35 hens.

But mine are young and just started laying. I also have a light on a timer on them for about another week or so.

Mine are 19 months old. Two of them are molting so I know those ones aren't laying eggs. I decided against artificial lighting but they do get some extra lighting from a heat lamp that's in there.

 

[jailerjoe]

With all this cold weather my chickens egg production has gone WAY down. I used to average 4-5 eggs a day from 6 hens. I got 0 eggs on Monday and yesterday, and only 1 egg today.

I'm getting 8-10 eggs per day from 10 hens. Mine too are young as I just got them last spring. I added an extra hour or so of light but I think the fact that they're young and I'm feeding fodder each day is helping.

 

[duluthralphie]

What do you mean by feeding fodder?


I have always thought of fodder as being silage, is it a chopped something?

BTW I feed mine household garbage. They love it!

And I have one I throw a mouse too whenever I can, she loves chasing down, torturing and eating a mouse.

 

[jailerjoe]

What do you mean by feeding fodder?


I have always thought of fodder as being silage, is it a chopped something?

BTW I feed mine household garbage. They love it!

And I have one I throw a mouse too whenever I can, she loves chasing down, torturing and eating a mouse.

Fodder in this sense is sprouted barley, oat or wheat seed that I let go for about 7 days. The seed sprout and grow to 3-4 inches and then I feed it to my chickens. They go nuts for it. Here's a YouTube video that explains how I do it: