Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

Hi Everyone, I just joined BYC and wanted to say hi to all the Minnesota chicken enthusiasts.

Welcome, fellow Minnesotan!

 

[Minniechickmama]

Has anybody here tried a moisturizer dispenser for their hens? Mine have chapped white combs and they aren't the most cooperative girls when it comes to getting caught for vasaline or lanolin application. So I was thinking of a sponge or piece of sheepskin or something that I could put a bunch of protectant on for the hens to apply themselves through pecking or rubbing.
Anyone have suggestions for how I might make something like that or a good pecking 'target' that I could position a sponge over?

They may be faded too from not laying, or are they? When they stop laying during these short days, their legs, combs and wattles fade a bit and look drier than they are.

 

[Vashjir]

They may be faded too from not laying, or are they? When they stop laying during these short days, their legs, combs and wattles fade a bit and look drier than they are.

Gotcha, they certainly aren't frostbitten or terribly flaky, so it may just be part of their 'winter strike'. I'm installing a light this weekend to hopefully get em going again.

Lalaland-
Thanks for the advice, but their coop has plenty of ventilation considering how tiny it is. The A-frame roof is fully vented and there is plenty of air intake along the edges,

 

[joyfulkeeper]

Welcome, fellow Minnesotan!

Thanks for the welcome.

I am nervous about our cold snap coming. I had the coop closed up a little too much early last week and it got very frosty inside. I've been working hard at getting it all dried out and opened things up a lot more... I think it is doing well now. With the windows open how do you prevent drafts? Do you just keep the sides closed where the wind is blowing from? I have ducks on the floor and chickens on the roosts. This is our first year so I am learning, but I want to keep the flock healthy. Any advice and reassurance would be welcome.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Do your best to keep it clean and dry. It is going to be tough with ducks in with the chickens to do that. I keep my ducks outside all winter. This year I only have a pair of Calls for ducks and they are in a hutch.
If you have windows on more than one side that you can open, close all but the one to the South or East, but if you leave two open, you can get some wind blowing through. One window will allow some air exchange without getting too much air movement. I also recommend deep litter. I have 3 inches of shavings in each pen which gives them plenty of scratching material and they aren't standing on a cold floor, well, not terribly cold anwyay. This week, it is going to be uncomfortable and I am sure my birds aren't going to be really happy with what is coming any more than anyone else's. I am still working on better sheltering for my outdoor flock that seem to be too stupid to go in out of the rain and snow and would rather stand in the mud next to the big building than go into a coop that is dry and out of the wind. I have to go put them in at night and it is getting to be a real drag.
Remember, July heat is a lot harder on the birds that this cold coming.

 

[lalaland]

Gotcha, they certainly aren't frostbitten or terribly flaky, so it may just be part of their 'winter strike'. I'm installing a light this weekend to hopefully get em going again.

Lalaland-
Thanks for the advice, but their coop has plenty of ventilation considering how tiny it is. The A-frame roof is fully vented and there is plenty of air intake along the edges,

glad it isn't frostbite! If you see frost buildup in the coop, then you know the ventilation is inadequate. It is amazing how much moisture the chickens give out.

Thanks for the welcome.

I am nervous about our cold snap coming. I had the coop closed up a little too much early last week and it got very frosty inside. I've been working hard at getting it all dried out and opened things up a lot more... I think it is doing well now. With the windows open how do you prevent drafts? Do you just keep the sides closed where the wind is blowing from? I have ducks on the floor and chickens on the roosts. This is our first year so I am learning, but I want to keep the flock healthy. Any advice and reassurance would be welcome.

I learned to stick my fingers in the chickens feathers to see how warm they are. When the coop has been subzero, literally, and I start to worry, I do the feather thing. They have always been warm and toasty under the feathers. Now one year, I had a late molting hen who was practically naked in parts, and I hauled in a heat lamp for her. Because she did not have enough feathers to keep herself warm she looked like a porcupine.

I think Minnechickmama has given you the best advice.

 

[joyfulkeeper]

Do your best to keep it clean and dry. It is going to be tough with ducks in with the chickens to do that. I keep my ducks outside all winter. This year I only have a pair of Calls for ducks and they are in a hutch.
If you have windows on more than one side that you can open, close all but the one to the South or East, but if you leave two open, you can get some wind blowing through. One window will allow some air exchange without getting too much air movement. I also recommend deep litter. I have 3 inches of shavings in each pen which gives them plenty of scratching material and they aren't standing on a cold floor, well, not terribly cold anwyay. This week, it is going to be uncomfortable and I am sure my birds aren't going to be really happy with what is coming any more than anyone else's. I am still working on better sheltering for my outdoor flock that seem to be too stupid to go in out of the rain and snow and would rather stand in the mud next to the big building than go into a coop that is dry and out of the wind. I have to go put them in at night and it is getting to be a real drag.
Remember, July heat is a lot harder on the birds that this cold coming.

The east facing window is the largest and is not right next to the roost so I will try just leaving that one open. I am using DLM and have about 4-5 inches of shavings in there already... we have to fluff and add quite a bit because of the ducks. We let our flock out to free-range forage all day and yesterday we had to chase the chickens in when it started raining heavy... we just worked hard at drying everything out in the coop, I don't need the chickens going in there soaked and making everything wet again... the ducks add enough moisture just being ducks. They usually go in at night though, at least the chickens do, the ducks are usually outside near the coop until we go out with food and then they waddle in.
We are considering making a separate duck house next year. Now that I know they don't need much more than a dry wind break and protection from predators, I think we can design something cheap.
Give us updates on how it goes with your outdoor flock and what you end up doing with them.
I don't like the really cold we will be having, but I don't like the humid heat either. So goes it in Minnesota though, don't ya know.

glad it isn't frostbite! If you see frost buildup in the coop, then you know the ventilation is inadequate. It is amazing how much moisture the chickens give out.

I learned to stick my fingers in the chickens feathers to see how warm they are. When the coop has been subzero, literally, and I start to worry, I do the feather thing. They have always been warm and toasty under the feathers. Now one year, I had a late molting hen who was practically naked in parts, and I hauled in a heat lamp for her. Because she did not have enough feathers to keep herself warm she looked like a porcupine.

I think Minnechickmama has given you the best advice.

Thanks for the tip, I will reassure myself by checking how warm they are in the subzero temps we'll be getting. Mostly, I worry about combs, wattles, and feet. I will keep trying to balance warmth with keeping it dry and ventilated. Now my whole family knows to watch for frost on the windows and readjust windows as needed.
Did you nickname your hen "porcupine"? That name would have stuck with my kids and she would have been called that for life.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I built a duck house for the ones we have kept in the past over winter. Those dumb things stayed out almost 100% of the time. The only time they went in on their own was when it get down to about -20 and the wind blowing. Otherwise, I tossed out hay or straw and they would sit in that and tuck their heads under their wings. Ducks, by their very nature like all the slop and wet, so I keep them all separate. If you can get a chain link pen with a tarp over it and a dog house, that is about all you would need for the ducks to stay over winter. I use large rubber tubs that I can tip over and break the ice out daily.

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

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[Triplell]

Ugh its still snowing!!! We have already gotten 8 inches with possible 10 more to go. Old man winter is making up for lost time I believe. How much has anyone else gotten?