Not yet laying, behavior concerns.

[ChickenCanoe]

Malingerers!

 

[Themotherofchickens]

Post some pics of your coop and we can help spot any issues.
Would be good if you had a water heater out there.
You can just cover the nests around roost time, I cover an hour before roost time, then uncover when I lock up after dark.

Today my husband went and bought me a new coop, homemade by my neighbor and set up in -1 degree. We are going to build a covered tunnel into the old coop on Monday so they can go outside but for a couple days they are staying in. Have to be able to get to the ground, i May even be reaching. Regardless, their survival trumped going outside for a few days. They hate the snow.

I’m feeling long winded today so please excuse me. You can see the photo of my old and new coop being installed here. When i rode up there tonight my hens were looking out the window at me. Their first window.

I am going to write a very crappy and long review about my old coop being totally unsuitable for winter with the poor construction and drafts. You can maybe see it if you are able to zoom in.

Even though people said to get rid of the straw, I did not. I’m using pine shaving and some straw and hoping mites hate the cold as much as i do.

I am also using some ammonia fighting horse stall sandy stuff that i read on another blog works well, just on my dropping board.

I saw a mouse out by my coop today. They were outside but looking around. That concerned me. I’m considering planting peppermint in the spring. I have also read it will keep them cool in the summer.

My bucket does have one of those drop in metal heaters in it but the spickets keep freezing. Since moving to the new coop this afternoon 2 are unfrozen do I’m hoping that continues. The water i was bringing due to the frozen spickets did freeze every two hours in those red and clear water containers.

Trust me, I’m deep in research on keeping these chickens well.

I will post more pics tomorrow as i do have other questions.

 

[CannedMonster]

We have the same coop you do lol. The Tractor Supply "Made In China" PO...
But, out here in Southern Idaho our weather isn't that bad. In fact, it got up to 40 degrees today. It works okay for us for now. We only have 5 chickens.

Seems like I may need some advice as well...
Interestingly, our pullets were hatched in mid-August also. One Golden Sex Link and three Wyandottes. I was hoping the sex-link might lay soon. Her wattles are red but not really her comb yet. I started giving them layer feed recently because, on the bag, it says to do that at 18 weeks. But since they're late season chicks, maybe I should switch back to grower feed until I actually see eggs?
Or just offer grower feed and oyster shells?
How do they know to eat the oyster shells? (I have already been offering that as well as grit.
Sometimes they act like they don't know what is food and what isn't.
I do give them lots of treats. They seem to get bored with the snow...
How much is 10% of their feed?
I give them stuff like sunflower seed kernels, rolled oats, flax seeds, some greens, and sometimes vegetable or meat scraps

 

[aart]

Great new coop!! Yippeee!!

ven though people said to get rid of the straw, I did not. I’m using pine shaving and some straw and hoping mites hate the cold as much as i do.

Mites can shelter in straw but it's a bit of a myth that they will come in with the straw. Unless you already have mites, I'd not worry too much. Just do regular checks for bugs, will be easier with your new walk in coop.

I am also using some ammonia fighting horse stall sandy stuff that i read on another blog works well, just on my dropping board.

Sweet PDZ? Good stuff, I use it on my poop boards too.

My bucket does have one of those drop in metal heaters in it but the spickets keep freezing. Since moving to the new coop this afternoon 2 are unfrozen do I’m hoping that continues. The water i was bringing due to the frozen spickets did freeze every two hours in those red and clear water containers.

Please post some pics of your waterer, improvements may be possible. Also, please add your location to your profile, so it's always there.

I saw a mouse out by my coop today. They were outside but looking around. That concerned me. I’m considering planting peppermint in the spring. I have also read it will keep them cool in the summer.

Start trapping, check everyday to remove corpses and reset traps. Putting snap traps in shoe boxes with small holes for mouse entrance and keeps chicken from getting nailed. Keep your feed bag in a metal garbage can to deter feeding mice. Setup a up a spill free feeder so birds don't scatter 'mouse food' onto the floor.

How much is 10% of their feed?

Well, you need to know how much feed your birds eat daily. I do this by dumping a roughly measured amount of feed in feeder every morning, I use quart milk bottles with bottoms cut out as scoops. If they clean it all up by the next morning add a bit more, if they have left some add a bit less. Doing this for a week or two, without giving any other foods/treats, you'll get a pretty good idea of how much they are consuming by volume. It's not as exact as a perfect 10%, but gives you an idea of the proportions.

 

[Themotherofchickens]

[QUOTE="aart, post: 19389837, member: 175197]

Please post some pics of your waterer, improvements may be possible. Also, please add your location to your profile, so it's always there.

Start trapping, check everyday to remove corpses and reset traps. Putting snap traps in shoe boxes with small holes for mouse entrance and keeps chicken from getting nailed. Keep your feed bag in a metal garbage can to deter feeding mice. Setup a up a spill free feeder so birds don't scatter 'mouse food' onto[/QUOTE]


See photos of my waterer and the heater that drops in. Do you know what kind of heater it is? It’s a heavy metal thing. Can’t find the box so not sure the name.
My new problem is water spilling out of the spickets onto the shavings. I put a piece of log under the waterer to catch the water. Not sure it’s helping
Is there a better waterer or something else i could try to eliminate so much spillage? Water is now totally unfrozen but open to ideas.

I forgot to take a pic of my feeder bits it made with pvc pipes and has virtually no spilling. I found the idea on Pinterest.

 

[aart]

Ah, those are vertical nipples(installed in bottom of bucket) prone to leakage and hard to keep thawed. Horizontal nipples(installed in side of bucket) work much better on both counts.

You might be able to add some insulation, @jthornton has successfully done so.
Might put a dish under waterer to catch drips...or just keep changing the shavings under there.

 

[jthornton]

Is there a better waterer or something else i could try to eliminate so much spillage? Water is now totally unfrozen but open to ideas.

I added a closed cell foam sheet under my bucket then the bottom from another bucket to shield the foam from chicken peckers. I put landscaping rocks around the bucket base with pea gravel so no mud.

JT