Molting, Bare Skin, and Below Zero Weather in the Next Few Days

[knurse1]

You could protect their backs with chicken saddles. As for the rest of their bodies I'm not sure.

I have 3 walla that are solid. Concrete that are a branch off of a shop for my husband as ND. We have continuous hear at 60 degrees. The 4th wall of 2x4" and tha
t is where the water system runs continuous Anyway, I wish you luck

 

[JoannePeterson]

I have 3 walla that are solid. Concrete that are a branch off of a shop for my husband as ND. We have continuous hear at 60 degrees. The 4th wall of 2x4" and tha
t is where the water system runs continuous Anyway, I wish you luck

Thank you! I'm giving them fish, scrambled or chopped hardboiled eggs for extra protein, and my husband and I talked about and decided to purchase a small oil filled radiant heat radiator since some of our chickens have so much bare skin. (So far my chickens haven't tried to roost on it.) It keeps the coop a little above freezing set at 51 degrees F at the highest fan level and it warms things up slowly. I brought in the coop one of their waterers that's heated, and our chickens are in and out every little while. I have deep litter. So far, everything is dry, no frost has shown up inside the coop. And the weather forecast is to start warming up some. I do cover the bare spots of our chicken with a layer of pine salve to form a sort of protective barrier thinking it couldn't hurt and just might help. So far, no frostbite.

 

[DLA]

I am wondering what is the best way to care for my chickens with the upcoming weather. I have 8 Plymouth Barred Rock Hens. I've winterized the run and the coop, I have some ventilation in the coop, deep litter method, keep the water and feed outside with a run that we staples heavy gauge plastic sheeting. But all of my chickens are molting late with bare skin yet, and still into January. My coop is about 48 square feet. We are going to be having weather down to 11 degrees at night, and the next day down to -2 degrees, with a high of 16. And a long streak of normal very cold weather in the single digits and into the negative digits. We've been having prior to this upcoming streak, highs in the 30's - 40's and lows in the 20's-30's. This very much colder is coming on almost overnight. How do I protect the birds bare skin in the colder weather of negative and single digits?

So how did your girls do thru the cold now that temps are back to more reasonable winter temps?

 

[JoannePeterson]

So how did your girls do thru the cold now that temps are back to more reasonable winter temps?

Thank you for checking in! My husband and I agreed that a low temperature oil filled radiant heat radiator would be a good idea, and set it so it was just above freezing to help them. I gave them canned fish to help with feather growth and to help them with generating warmth along with a little grain before bed. I also put water inside, and the water inside was drank too, but also left food and water outside. I have a doubled canvas cover stapled up for the door so the windy air wouldn't come in as easily when I opened the door. The girls wandered in and out all day to warm up, eat a few nibbles, scratch, and come back in. They stayed with their feathers puffed up most of the time. So they did okay, I think one girl may have a little frostbite on one tiny protrusion/spike on her comb. I checked the inside of the coop to check of fogging up, or frosting the windows, or anywhere in the coop and it never showed up. I checked on them a few times a day. .

 

[DLA]

Thank you for checking in! My husband and I agreed that a low temperature oil filled radiant heat radiator would be a good idea, and set it so it was just above freezing to help them. I gave them canned fish to help with feather growth and to help them with generating warmth along with a little grain before bed. I also put water inside, and the water inside was drank too, but also left food and water outside. I have a doubled canvas cover stapled up for the door so the windy air wouldn't come in as easily when I opened the door. The girls wandered in and out all day to warm up, eat a few nibbles, scratch, and come back in. They stayed with their feathers puffed up most of the time. So they did okay, I think one girl may have a little frostbite on one tiny protrusion/spike on her comb. I checked the inside of the coop to check of fogging up, or frosting the windows, or anywhere in the coop and it never showed up. I checked on them a few times a day. .

I'm very glad to hear all went well.