North to Alaska!

[Jerschicks]

New to this site. Been here a few months. I just ordered my first flock. 12 Buff orpies, 6 columbian wyandottes, 6 black giants and 6 red leghorns. These girls will be my primary flock. I also ordered 10 cornish X to start some meet production.

 

[Terry Morache]

Nice where in Alaska are you

 

[Alaskan]

I always have frostbite where I am at (my coop set up is great, but I am on the coast, so just high general humidity), and I was thinking that my leghorns were going to have a horrid time.

Even though my roosters (not leghorns) lost all of their thin comb points..... the girls have gotten some spots but oddly enough the combs look OK. What is going on with the girls is actually a bit odd, but doesn't look bad.

 

[Jerschicks]

Fairbanks. My girls are due to arrive the first week of March and I hope to have them out into their coop by mid April. Are weather here is really dry. So in their insulated coop im building im not too concerned about frostbite atm.

 

[Jerschicks]

Being new to all of this I would like any information or advise about raising chickens here in Ak.

 

[Alaskan]

I can't say it enough, wide perches, WIDE perches!

Frostbite on the combs and wattles is no big thing, but frostbite in the toes....well..... just don't go there.

I now use 2x4s and 4x4s for perches and even though I still have frostbite on single comb birds, I never have any frostbite on toes.

And with the 2x4s they perch on the wide side.

 

[Jerschicks]

yeah i was going to go with 2x4s for the perches. Do you use a poop board under the roost? If so how do you like it?

 

[Alaskan]

I just put in poop trays this summer for the first time and LOVE THEM!

It makes the coop much better.


HOWEVER:

When it is above freezing the Sweet PDZ worked well.

Below freezing, if you have a low concentration of birds to poop tray area, or are very good at cleaning every day, it might be OK.

But, I don't like cleaning the coop if it is way cold, so it can go a week or more before I decide to take the time to clean the tray. Also, and snow that blows onto the PDZ will also freesze it into a concrete like block.

I have decided that I am going to switch to feed bags as a poop tray liner. That way I can leave it until it looks nasty, then pull it out and pop in a new one.

I still might use the PDZ in the summer. It was the definite best way to go when I crammed a bunch of chicks in a tractor to grow out over the summer.

 

[Jerschicks]

sounds good. Thanks. I will post pics when I get the coop done and when the babies arrive.

 

[Terry Morache]

I live in Willow and am just making plans to build my coop get stuff for my brooder n order chicks