Montana

[JacinLarkwell]

Well, winter has claimed it's 2nd and 3rd birds tonight (1st was back in that first cold snap in like November). My Cornish boys were looking a bit bad this morning and I'm kicking myself now because I was late for school and figured they should be fine until I got home since it was still sheltered a bit. One was frozen and one we were able to pull back and pit him in the warmest room of the barn.

Second was my sweet Ayam Cemani Frizzle. She wandered outside and we found her just past the point of return, and she didn't make it. We hadn't even thought about her because she was probably one of the best acting birds so far.

I'm devestated, and terrified because tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be even worse here.

 

[Bantambird]

How are your birds holding up? I’m in Blue Creek and my thermometer in my coop says 0F. My girls refuse to leave their coop. I’ve been replacing their water every 30 minutes (I decided to WFH today because, heck no I’m not driving downtown just to sit in my office when I can do the exact same thing at home).

I broke down and bought a cozy coop radiant heater from Shipton’s but when I tested it out first in my house, the surface temp got to 170F! So I really don’t feel comfortable putting that in the coop.

*Sigh* my silly boys refused to stay near their radiant heaters so all of them have comb damage and the legbar cocks all have wattle damage as well. I've been layering down pine bedding for them so they don't have to juggle over frozen turds, they usually hang outside so there's double the poops and they freeze pretty fast so keeping shavings down makes a difference. Feeding double rations to everyone. Turkeys take it like champs.

 

[Bantambird]

Well, winter has claimed it's 2nd and 3rd birds tonight (1st was back in that first cold snap in like November). My Cornish boys were looking a bit bad this morning and I'm kicking myself now because I was late for school and figured they should be fine until I got home since it was still sheltered a bit. One was frozen and one we were able to pull back and pit him in the warmest room of the barn.

Second was my sweet Ayam Cemani Frizzle. She wandered outside and we found her just past the point of return, and she didn't make it. We hadn't even thought about her because she was probably one of the best acting birds so far.

I'm devestated, and terrified because tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be even worse here.

Sorry for your loss

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Sorry for your loss

Thabks. I'm glad at least one of the Cornish boys made it so far, and I'm hoping to get some more Cemani from the seller I got my Frizzle from. We think she left and then it got dark and she couldn't find how to get back in

 

[JacinLarkwell]

*Sigh* my silly boys refused to stay near their radiant heaters so all of them have comb damage and the legbar cocks all have wattle damage as well. I've been layering down pine bedding for them so they don't have to juggle over frozen turds, they usually hang outside so there's double the poops and they freeze pretty fast so keeping shavings down makes a difference. Feeding double rations to everyone. Turkeys take it like champs.

Do you give yours warm mash as a snack?

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

*Sigh* my silly boys refused to stay near their radiant heaters so all of them have comb damage and the legbar cocks all have wattle damage as well. I've been layering down pine bedding for them so they don't have to juggle over frozen turds, they usually hang outside so there's double the poops and they freeze pretty fast so keeping shavings down makes a difference. Feeding double rations to everyone. Turkeys take it like champs.

Well, winter has claimed it's 2nd and 3rd birds tonight (1st was back in that first cold snap in like November). My Cornish boys were looking a bit bad this morning and I'm kicking myself now because I was late for school and figured they should be fine until I got home since it was still sheltered a bit. One was frozen and one we were able to pull back and pit him in the warmest room of the barn.

Second was my sweet Ayam Cemani Frizzle. She wandered outside and we found her just past the point of return, and she didn't make it. We hadn't even thought about her because she was probably one of the best acting birds so far.

I'm devestated, and terrified because tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be even worse here.

oh no! Sorry to hear about that. I’m so paranoid my chickens will freeze to death, so I’m kind of glad they won’t leave the coop. I keep tossing worms and scratch, spinach and blueberries, abs scrambled eggs to them. The more the eat, the warmer they stay. I’m lucky the last one finished molting about a week ago and is almost back to being fully feathered.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

*Sigh* my silly boys refused to stay near their radiant heaters so all of them have comb damage and the legbar cocks all have wattle damage as well. I've been layering down pine bedding for them so they don't have to juggle over frozen turds, they usually hang outside so there's double the poops and they freeze pretty fast so keeping shavings down makes a difference. Feeding double rations to everyone. Turkeys take it like champs.

I’m so close to convincing my husband to add to our flock. I keep telling him “I know someone in Lockwood we can get blue layers and turkeys from!” Even though we don’t really know each other, I feel like we have an automatic connecting due to living in Montana and being obsessed with chickens!
My covenant allows up to 25 chickens, and we only have six right now. Our biggest holdup is my husband built the coop before we ever had chickens and before we really knew what we needed and wanted in a coop. Our coop is already way too small for the six girls, and I want to add three more.
I’m really made aware of the fact the coop is too small now that they refuse to leave. Normally they free-range and this summer kept the grasshoppers slightly more manageable than the previous year.
I’ve been looking online for used sheds that I could convert into a larger coop, but I swear people are selling dilapidated sheds for thousands of dollars!
I thought about buying a kit from sbars, but by the time I get all the labor put into it and any extras for foundation and whatnot, it’ll be the same price as a prebuilt.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I’m so close to convincing my husband to add to our flock. I keep telling him “I know someone in Lockwood we can get blue layers and turkeys from!” Even though we don’t really know each other, I feel like we have an automatic connecting due to living in Montana and being obsessed with chickens!
My covenant allows up to 25 chickens, and we only have six right now. Our biggest holdup is my husband built the coop before we ever had chickens and before we really knew what we needed and wanted in a coop. Our coop is already way too small for the six girls, and I want to add three more.
I’m really made aware of the fact the coop is too small now that they refuse to leave. Normally they free-range and this summer kept the grasshoppers slightly more manageable than the previous year.
I’ve been looking online for used sheds that I could convert into a larger coop, but I swear people are selling dilapidated sheds for thousands of dollars!
I thought about buying a kit from sbars, but by the time I get all the labor put into it and any extras for foundation and whatnot, it’ll be the same price as a prebuilt.

I'm in the same boat otherwise

 

[Bantambird]

I'm always scanning craigslist for coops. There's a guy who builds and sells fantastic setups that I would totally buy if I weren't poor, and I really need to expand badly myself. My first hatch is happening right now and I'm in and out of the hatchery. I'm just glad the building that the hatchery is in is super insulated so I can keep temps there pretty stable year round regardless. It's an old brick bunkhouse from between 1920-1940s, built from recycled brick. It was freestanding, and when my parents bought the place in 1989, the bunkhouse was in disrepair. It badly needed repointing and because there was no proper support for the walls it was bowing out at the windows. Dad banded the whole building, built a frame around it, replaced the roof with metal, sprayed the whole thing with structural foam on the outside and the whole roof ( I insisted on a ceiling vent) then put metal over that. A wall partitions the inside further separating the hatchery from the outdoors. The original walls are plaster and lathe so another layer yet of insulation.
If only I could protect the adult birds as well.
I feed the top choice scratch formula from Mintana mills in winter for extra calories on top of layer mash. They also get whatever table scraps six people produce.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I'm always scanning craigslist for coops. There's a guy who builds and sells fantastic setups that I would totally buy if I weren't poor, and I really need to expand badly myself. My first hatch is happening right now and I'm in and out of the hatchery. I'm just glad the building that the hatchery is in is super insulated so I can keep temps there pretty stable year round regardless. It's an old brick bunkhouse from between 1920-1940s, built from recycled brick. It was freestanding, and when my parents bought the place in 1989, the bunkhouse was in disrepair. It badly needed repointing and because there was no proper support for the walls it was bowing out at the windows. Dad banded the whole building, built a frame around it, replaced the roof with metal, sprayed the whole thing with structural foam on the outside and the whole roof ( I insisted on a ceiling vent) then put metal over that. A wall partitions the inside further separating the hatchery from the outdoors. The original walls are plaster and lathe so another layer yet of insulation.
If only I could protect the adult birds as well.
I feed the top choice scratch formula from Mintana mills in winter for extra calories on top of layer mash. They also get whatever table scraps six people produce.

Have you looked at hoop coops? Theyre super cheap and you can use the greenhouse tarps in the winter to help trap some more heat