Newbie with inherited chickens

[AuntieB]

Good morning all,

My name is Barbara. I am brand new here. I recently inherited my newphews 6 redstar girls. Tomorrow the girls will be exactly 19 weeks old. I found this forum because of something I noticed on one, and in searching I realized I had a lot to learn, and quikly because the girls are here ! Our girls came for my pet chicken, they were vaccinated for Mareks and he started them on medicated chick feed immediately. now at 19 weeks they are switching from Dumor's starter finisher to Dumor's layer crumble. They have access to grit, fresh water always. I have pine shavings in their coop. ( how cute are they that they put themselves in at night... I am coming to love this girls.

We are in NY, so winter is fast approaching and would love advice on that. should I keep a heat lamp on over night when it gets cold?
and do I open the door even when it's cold out? Give them the option to com out or not if it is snowing???

See brand new...

Talk soon

Barb

 

[sourland]

Hi, Barb, welcome to BYC. If your coop is dry, draft free and well ventilated they will not need supplemental heat. They have their own down comforters/insulation. You may have to shovel their run to convince them that the snow is not a dangerous thing. Enjoy and good luck with your flock.

 

[N F C]

Hi Barb, welcome to BYC!

Funny you should mention getting ready for colder weather. Look at the slideshow on the Home Page...you should see a photo of a chicken in the snow and a caption that says "Winter is Coming!". You can click on that picture and read what comes up.

Here in FL I haven't had to worry too much about cold weather (although it can and does freeze a couple times a year) but chickens generally do better with cold weather than they do with hot weather.

Good luck to you, enjoy your new flock, and thanks for joining us!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC, Barbara. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on sourland; Red Stars (Red Sex Links) are cold hardy, so if your coop is draft free, dry, and well ventilated to keep moisture from building up in it, your pullets will be fine. Feathers are a wonderful insulator and moisture is a much greater danger than cold. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your Red Stars.

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]