Minnesota!

[NathanZee]

In addition to what Bogtown said about Bag Balm is that it will also help soften the skin up and be more pliable, especially as it gets cold and coats the skin very very well. It started as something fair farmers put on their cows udders in winter so they wouldn't get frostbite on them, and so it will keep the skin pliable for milking them. The menthol in it also stimulates circulation which helps in healing too. So, clean first, use the stuff I posted earlier, then coat with bag balm. There is another brand called Dr. Naylors in a white and red tin. I just bought some Bag Balm the other day and since it is something I have seen used since I could walk, I went with that.

I'm hoping I can defeat this foot thing before it gets too cold, but I don't know how long it will take.

This evening we got out the tiller and ground up the pen, removed all the weeds and stumps, (the ducks helped by removing all earthworms and other bugs!), and now they have nice soft soil to walk on, so I hope that helps!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I bet it will Nathan.

The panel is safer than the heat lamps yes. You can hold your hand on it and it won't burn. It radiates a nice heat that's not overly done. Too much heat and you run the risk of de wintering your birds.

 

[NathanZee]

I have a light question. Ducks and chickens are supposed to have 14 hours of light everyday if you want them to lay year round right? Would 7 AM to 9PM be best, or 6AM to 8PM, or what?

 

[Cluckies]

it is best to add extra light in the morning and let them go to bed naturally so they are not caught in the dark, not in the nest or on the roost, when the lights suddenly goes out. I'm not sure about ducks, but chickens cannot see well in the dark.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Yeah, that's way I figured I would ask here. I am going go cover my run 14'x24'x24'x16', and put Polly all the way around the sides. My chickens can go under my coop, so I will put straw bails around it. All my water is outside my coop right now and I would like to keep it that way. I like the idea of the nipples because the water should stay cleaner, waste less, so I shouldn't have to fill and clean it as often. The ones I got are spring loaded so the don't drip like the gravity one, that's why I figure if the water is warm enough they shouldn't freeze. What do you think? I could always add another pipe and a pump, then the water would be moving and not have a chance to freeze.

Even if you are pumping, I wouldn't rely on that alone to keep it from freezing unless you have some heat in it too for those coldest days and nights. My coop is 10-15 degrees warmer than outside, but that still means when it is -20, it is -10 inside. Even wrapping in poly might not keep it warm enough? I would make sure I had a back-up plan just in case.
I use large heated dog bowls, but they have to be cleaned daily which is a pain in the butt. I am going to try some nipple waterers with a 2.5 gallon bucket inside a 5 gallon bucket, wrapped in heat tape and insulated in between. We shall see how that holds up. I will still have something underneath to catch if there any leaks or drips. I may try a second method using a 3" PVC pipe wrapped with heat tape and insulation too. No way to test different ways until the cold hits, so I need to prep those on these rainy days.

 

[KlopKlop]

i spent my first evening away from work doing some work on my winter chicken run in the corn crib. its in the slatted side and needed some holes in the floor fixed and a door added. after that we had to reorganize the house from washing carpets this weekend. what a task!

We picked 40 eggs today which is a new record for us. makes me wonder if some of our girls dont have a secret nest now that we have been letting them free range all day starting when the sun comes up. The rain kept them in most of the day so the nests were full!

we are due for our first shot of snow tomorrow evening. i cant believe it! i have so much more to do!!!

trying to get this all typed up and posted before my eye lids get too heavy and i pass out. zzzzzzz

 

[Minniechickmama]

There is some debate on it, but if you add more in the morning than night, then the lights go off closer to natural roosting time. However, I have had mine set before to go off at 9:30 and they were all on the roost anyway pretty close to natural sundown.
Mine start crowing at 4am even now with no extra lights on yet, so it shouldn't make much difference for that if I turn them on at 4am or 6am. LOL Man, are they loud at 4am too! I hear them when I get up to use the bathroom or get a drink and think, "Those stupid things, it is still dark!"

Don't increase the lights all at once when you do turn them on though, gradually increase to what your max hours are going to be.


I found that when the chickens stopped laying in the fall for molt and with shorter days, the ducks were laying their best. They didn't stop until we started staying below freezing. Of course, their eggs would be in the snow and ice, and frozen, and cracked most of the time. I made the silly things a house and put straw in it and they slept on the snow anyway and didn't go inside until it hit -20.

 

[KlopKlop]

There is some debate on it, but if you add more in the morning than night, then the lights go off closer to natural roosting time. However, I have had mine set before to go off at 9:30 and they were all on the roost anyway pretty close to natural sundown.
Mine start crowing at 4am even now with no extra lights on yet, so it shouldn't make much difference for that if I turn them on at 4am or 6am. LOL Man, are they loud at 4am too! I hear them when I get up to use the bathroom or get a drink and think, "Those stupid things, it is still dark!"

Don't increase the lights all at once when you do turn them on though, gradually increase to what your max hours are going to be.

mine run 5:30am to 9:30pm and i think i will start them going off sooner now that they go in so early

 

[Minniechickmama]

it is best to add extra light in the morning and let them go to bed naturally so they are not caught in the dark, not in the nest or on the roost, when the lights suddenly goes out. I'm not sure about ducks, but chickens cannot see well in the dark.

Ducks can see way better than chickens. What you say makes sense, but I have gone out several times and they are all on the roosts 2-3 hours before the lights are out. They find their way on the roost though, in my experience, but I have low roosts too.

I know ducks can see because I have gone out after it is plenty dark and they see me and started quacking and are running to the gate. You can sneak up on a chicken in the dark easily, but ducks run away.

 

[KlopKlop]

mine run 5:30am to 9:30pm and i think i will start them going off sooner now that they go in so early

Posting That made me remember that I left the light switch on in one coop. Had to make an undies run in the rain to shut it off! Would hate to screw up their lay cycle by leaving on all night