NY chicken lover!!!!

[Sew the Farmers Wife]

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Lots of them around my area in Orange County....................

Is that near NY City? I wonder if any show at the State Fair?

 

[Tdub4chiks]

Karin J. :

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You crack me up. I'm dying of the heat today and you're already worried about snow! When it gets really cold and snowy your chickens will probabbly choose to spend most of thier time in the coop. I found it easiest to shovel a path to the coop every day and a small area of the run so they could come out if they choose. It's definately easier to have an established path to maintain so that when the drifts start blowing again it's easier to clean up. (Does that make sense?)

I am also concerned about the snow. I live in Oswego county. Still working on the coop trying to insulate and am not sure if I will do a heat lamp or not. Should I? Will the girls get frost bitten or do they know enough to stay indoors when we get 4 ft of snow?

Thanks for any help.​

 

[MyBlackHen]

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I've read that you're not supposed to put in a heat lamp because if it goes out for some reason (power outage, bulb out, etc.), the chickens will die. It is better to let them acclimate to the cold. They can handle cold as long as there is no draft. Also, some breeds are more cold-hardy than others (larger combs are less cold-tolerant). From different threads/blogs that I've seen so far, chickens don't love walking around in the snow, so if they don't like it, they'll just stay inside.

I say "I've read ..." because this will be my first winter with chickens, too. But that is what I'm planning to do based on what I've read and based on what my friends do who already have chickens.

Oh, and of course they need water (not ice!) so you need to accommodate for that as well.

 

[chicken stalker]

My first year I kept chickens had a couple get frost bite on their combs but they were large comb breeds not really suited to our winters. Last year I screwed windows on to the coop (previously I just used plastic). No frost bite. Mine don't tend to go out in the snow, though I do shovel them a path just in case they get the urge to go out. No light but I do have base heaters for their water. Somewhere on BYC there is a thread to make a base heater out of a cookie tin.

 

[MyBlackHen]

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Here's the thread for the cookie tin waterer - such a great idea! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=107951&p=1

 

[Karin J.]

When it gets rally cold it heepls to coat thier combs with vaseline to prevent frostbite.

 

[jerseygirl1]

First winter, I went out EVERY night with the vaseline and did my good deed on their combs and wattles - made no difference. Now, I figure if they can make it thru all those years in the cold during prehistoric times right on up the ladder, they don't need no vaseline..................

 

[Karin J.]

I don't know... I had 1 roo lose a piece of his comb to frostbite. After that I did the vaseline and no more problems.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Anyone want to go in on the Ideal Bantam special today - .85 each????? 25 minimum......................

 

[magsrags]

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Great price, if I weren't incubating so many eggs right now I'd go for it.
Where in NJ are you?
Sorry meant to say NY.LOL