North Carolina

[jtbass2756]

I hate this cold weather but it finally feels like it's supposed to. Anyway, here's a pic of my dream home lol

Its almost my dream home. I want it dug a little further back into the hill so that the earth creates almost a total insulation for it. AND I would like only the front available to the world and I want it facing east, Around here we get our worst weather from all the other directions (I guess we could count the hurricanes)... For that I would not want to be at the bottom of the hill....,.closer to the top but not on top AND (lolol) steel doors to pull down to protect my glassed in living room.. I don't want much do I. I have dreamed of this kind of house for years. Funny that I found that my dad had also been dreaming of it...found house plans in the house after he had passed away although we had never discussed it. ! (I also want an underground creek to be conveniently flowing thru part of the house.)

 

[anjovi6]

That just might depend who you know.
Scott

That is true to a great extent and how much you would like to donate to an individuals FAVORITE charity.

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Good morning folks

It's a balmy 14 degrees out there right now...........I wonder
how many kids are going to be wearing shorts to school
today. They want me in a bit early today to warm the bus
an extra 15 minutes......most days we are only allowed a
5 minute warm-up. Bundle up , stay warm and be careful folks.

hope everyone has a good day

 

[WNCcluck]

A pleasant 0* here. Not too bad since we're supposed to get to 30* during the day. Be warm and happy, friends. Remember there are folks who don't have chickens to come home to. e

 

[dutchlion]

thanks for the words of encouragement! made it through the first night ok! I put hay out in the run for them today to snuggle into or play with... whichever they prefer! stay warm everyone!!!

 

[cwhittington]

Is it spring yet??

 

[dutchlion]

Resist the urge to use a heat lamp and to completely enclose the coop. The major concern during cold weather is frostbite. Frostbite becomes a bigger concern when there is too much humidity in the coop...this can be exacerbated by heating lamps and poor ventilation. Just make sure they have somewhere to roost where they are protected from wind shears and they are equipped to handle the rest!

PS, I put a blanket on my old mare this morning too

i hope your mare is warm! my OTTB dislikes the cold so much (not that i blame her!)

i have read about people using radiant heaters in their coops... what's the scoop on those? i had several chickens shivering this morning... is that normal? i left piles of hay in the run for them to snuggle in or play with (whichever they prefer)... but i'm concerned about the nights... we have ventaliation that runs all the way around the very top of the coop (anywhere from 1-2 inches covered in hardwear cloth)... but we did cover the windows with tarps to help keep the cold out... Stay warm!

 

[starlingdaly]

Today my chickens decided to gift me with six...yes, six! ...eggs!  Two were pullet eggs, so the younger girls are starting up.  However, my last male quail was dead when I went to do night chores.  Sigh.  All the females will go to freezer camp this weekend.  I'll have to order more quail chicks for spring.  I kept four males, but have lost them all to one thing or another.  It's discouraging.

I only started raising Coturnix quail this year and have been loving it! I have lost a couple of males to fighting injuries (they are really rough on each other if there are females around!!!) and I lost one girl randomly, no visible injuries and she was at POL so not quite sure what happened and I was sick that week so I didn't do a necropsy.

Out of curiosity, what have you lost your males to? Still so much for me to learn about quail.

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

14 here, with a high of 30 projected. Everyone has good, draft-free housing, and food and water available. I'll switch out water bottles and break ice again in a few hours. As long as they can stay hydrated, they can keep themselves warm.

At least the wind quit! Last night it was raging like a hurricane out there....minus the actual rain. It sounded like a major storm! But this morning it is pretty still. A good improvement!

Dream houses...While I love the dug-in houses, and find them practical, I think I'd rather have an elevated house, like a beach house. It would need a full, wrap-around veranda, roof of solar panels alternating with skylights, and a living room with a graded, drained floor and full glass. Gotta keep the plants happy!

I keep telling myself when I win the lottery, I will build it. But I never remember to actually buy a lottery ticket, so the odds aren't in my favor.

Stay warm!

 

[cwhittington]

i hope your mare is warm! my OTTB dislikes the cold so much (not that i blame her!)

i have read about people using radiant heaters in their coops... what's the scoop on those? i had several chickens shivering this morning... is that normal? i left piles of hay in the run for them to snuggle in or play with (whichever they prefer)... but i'm concerned about the nights... we have ventaliation that runs all the way around the very top of the coop (anywhere from 1-2 inches covered in hardwear cloth)... but we did cover the windows with tarps to help keep the cold out... Stay warm!

I wouldn't consider myself an expert on the matter, but here's a thread with a lot of varying recommendations and opinions. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/67728/heating-the-chicken-coop-in-winter-any-suggestions

As for me, I feed corn and don't add any heat. Check out the hardiness of the breed of chickens you have as well...some are more cold hardy than others.