North to Alaska!

[Alaskan]

I wonder if you could dock those combs.. When I was a kid in Arkansas..I went to school with some fellas my age that raised and fought birds,,,I mean we were just 10 to 12 yrs old. But they showed me how they docked the combed when they were young. So when they fought them less chance of injury...Wonder if this would work for big combed birds raised in Alaskas cold climate..Sound good?

It is probably a good idea, but I am a total wuss in regard to some things....

not sure I could dock combs, I just think it would be like de-horning cattle, or cutting off a bird toe nail way too short

 

[SarahInAlaska]

yeah, the big combs are kinda tricky.

I actually bought some leghorn chicks this year.  Is there a bigger comb in the entire chicken breed kingdom?  What was I thinking????

What was I thinking?  (egg production, I was thinking highest egg production of white eggs)

I have insulated my coop this year for the first time, and I am going to upgrade everything, so we will see how they do.


Several years back I had a cold (for Homer) winter and I had some frost bite.  Some roosters got their toes really frostbit, so I just ate those (I was too scared to see how it would progress).  A few combs got frost bite too, but the 'bad' parts just died and fell off, not as bad as I thought it would be, but also not something I want to repeat (which is why I am upgrading everything)

As to the snow, Homer doesn't *USUALLY* have any snowfall after the first week of May.

Not sure about the rest of Alaska though, is snow this late normal for the rest of you'll????  I had at least an inch again this morning!  The stuff that fell on snow stuck, but the stuff that fell on already melted areas melted after noon.

This was a record length winter for Anchorage. I'm only 25 but I've lived here my whole life and this is the latest I ever remember having snow. It's awful . As for the leghorns, mine are doing fine. When it gets super cold slap some Vaseline on to protect from frostbite. I got several a few months ago that came with nasty, swollen, partially black combs. After a week of slathering them in baby oil they were almost back to normal. Frostbite happens a lot up here. I've gotten several birds sans toe who lost it to frostbite.

 

[allsummedup]

This is certainly the latest I have seen it snow :/

 

[Alaska Fowl INC]

Razorblade and thats it..Like slicing cheese .The did arround 3 to 4 month....I think that would work..Better that out there everynight wipping vasoline .. That a little more than I want to do.


On another note..It did me no good last week to take a vacation day from work to get the outside coup rollin..Well its rolling..Just being used very sparingly.

 

[Alaskan]

Razorblade and thats it..Like slicing cheese .The did arround 3 to 4 month....I think that would work..Better that out there everynight wipping vasoline .. That a little more than I want to do.


On another note..It did me no good last week to take a vacation day from work to get the outside coup rollin..Well its rolling..Just being used very sparingly.

how much does it bleed?

I rather think that it would gush blood.....maybe I need to look into it.

Because I am NOT the kind of person who is going to be applying vasoline to a bunch of birds...... Not that I am at all apposed to other people doing it, I just know I wouldn't take the time to do it.

Sarah, I am impressed that you take the time to do that and help those birds back to health, you must be a high energy woman!

 

[laseterlass]

You cauterize to stop the bleeding. I spent my time around fighting birds as a teen. Even at 20 below I get little to no frostbite. It is not the cold but the humidity. My little coop 4x4x2.5 tall and 2 foot off the ground. Is not insulated and the 2x4 roost leaves their toes in their feathers and in pine shavings which are 6 to 8 inches deep. there is 8 feet x 2 inches of open ventilation along the front and back roof line. NO water in the coop. I had 6 L.F english orps in there one winter and 10 Duccles last winter. Not a bit of bite

 

[laseterlass]

 

[Alaskan]

That is a wonderful coop!

 

[allsummedup]

Nice coop indeed great job

 

[Alaska Fowl INC]

Nice,,,,