Thank you. My girls seem to be handling this weather much better than my boys. My husband keeps telling me the same thing, they're built for this kind of cold. Lol
Yes, I would agree. I would say there's usually pre-existing issues (genes, breed, parasite load, whatever) that make them weaker, and those issues might not be detectable. Or, in my case, even the hardiest bantams have a tough time in these temperatures. Simple matter of feather structure. Breeding for toughness will help reduce losses over time.
Well said my friend. This is my point exactly.
It's been rather widely noted that the males are more fragile, at least on the northern threads. Kind of interesting. There have been a few theories tossed around but no conclusive data.
Yes, I agree. And of course it depends on the breed as well, among with a number of various things, but I was just speaking in general. Thank you.
No one has ever been able to explain (to my satisfaction) the difference between a draft and a proper ventilation.... I think any hole in the coop is a "vent", and in the real cold it can be a lethal opening. Ventilation is important, but it is a lot more important in the heat than in the cold. In the cold, you just want a little ventilation, It is overemphasized (IMO) More important to get the birds in a space where they can warm it up with their own body heat, Too much ventilation is just cold air coming in and replacing the warmer.... It was 20 here in Georgia last night and tonight the same... I am going to put some plastic over the majority of the vents and close the doors. They only roost at night, the rest of the day they are up and about, mostly under the coop where I know it is plenty warm. The sleeping area is the problem area in most cases.
A draft in a chicken coop is when the birds are in the direct path of the airflow. You need to have good air flow through the coop, but you also need to take care to position things in such a way so that the birds are not going to be spending the night sitting in the middle of the airflow.
EXACTLY! This all stems from about a week ago. My neighbor also has chickens, 4 of them, who pretty much live at my place. I feed them everyday, while feeding my own flock and they don't cause any problems with my flock so I don't mind. But anyways, about a week ago, I returned home from the store to find my neighbor's hen, who I named "Penelope," standing in front of my coop, which was closed. It was sleeting/snowing, had been since the day before. It was around 10°F. She was not moving at all. The 3 of her fellow flock mates were all standing around her, leaning their heads up under here, as if they knew something was wrong. I called her name, still nothing. These are the kind of hens that run to your car when you pull in the drive, especially if they hear the noise of grocery bags lol which I was carrying in at the time. When I reached down to touch her back, she was soaked from the sleet and snow and her feathers were hard and frozen. She was very lethargic, barely moving at all, only to blink her eyes, that was about it. I carried her inside, dried her feathers off with a towel and let her warm up for a few. I took her back out, the neighbor was not home, so I put her in my coop. She wouldn't eat or drink, usually this hen is a gluten and eats right out of my hand. I sat her up on the roost on top of some straw bedding. She stood there, facing away from me. I went out a few hours later to check on her, she was still in the exact same position. For 3 days! She stayed standing on the roost. The 4th morning when I went out to the coop, she had finally warmed up enough to come down for breakfast. She drank a ton of water while I was out there too. Now, I know that her being left out in the snow with nowhere to go for shelter is what caused her near death experience, however I do believe that even the cold hardy, healthy breeds, who are exposed to EXTREMELY COLD temps, for weeks at a time like what we're going through now, can take a toll on these animals resulting in stress, sickness and even death. Yes, there are tons of chicken owners out there who I'm sure will disagree and say that they've never lost a bird to the "cold," and I believe you. But then you have chicken owners such as myself, and the original person who created this thread, among with numerous others who have commented, who indeed have witnessed, or experienced a death of their own due to the cold. I just feel like even when you do everything right in regards to ventilation, no drafts, no heat, proper nutrition, plenty of dry bedding changed daily, water removed before bed time, healthy birds, etc, etc, etc. Sometimes it's just inevitable. We can't stop mother nature. So to the original person who created this thread, I do believe that your silkie literally "froze to death." And I am very sorry for your loss. As a fellow silkie owner myself, when I seen that my 9 month old male silkies fur were both covered in ice, I was fortunate enough to be able to bring them inside, and I know that a lot of ppl aren't able to do this. I feel, that had I not brought them inside, I would have found them both dead too. Sorry for writing a book lol I'm done now.
