NY chicken lover!!!!

[featherz]

Going to be putting my little county boy chicks outside in the growout coop tomorrow.. YAY! no more house chicks. I now have two crowing, and one is the little runty peanut butter \clone. If anyone is interested in a baby roo in a few weeks let me know. I will probably just keep one bantam roo and maybe one LF but should have at least three more. They are gonna be gorgeous so I'll post pics when I can!



(Free, but you have to come get them lol).

 

[stonykill]

Maybe I will see you there as well....If I remember what you looked like!!!!

there ya go. I might even shave so you recognize me

 

[rancher hicks]

ridiculous

I have some 6 year old Sumatra's who have lived every night of their life in a tree (much to my displeasure) and rain, snow, freezing rain, 60 mph winds, they are fine. The "fact" passed around BYC that drafts kill chickens is poop

Don't fall of your chair Stony, but I agree.

This coop frost bite and insulation.




This coop no frost bite and just two tarps over the top.

 

[stonykill]

Stony, as a new discoverer of just how many breeds of chickens there are, & having a curious nature, I'd like to ask (about having to go outside - do you feel this would apply to all breeds (assuming they aren't some tropical thing) and situations? I ask because I wonder if the game bird types like the Sumatras (am I correct in thinking they are more like a wild type (closer to pheasant, partridge etc than some breeds?)) would maybe be more suited to this lifestyle? Just to be clear, I'm asking from a learning point of view, not being argumentative.

For your consideration, here close to the lake we get high winds, like you mentioned you have had, but also tons of snow, as you may be aware... at our house we are square in the lake effect almost every time; it is not a surprise to have 2-3 or more feet of snow in a day or night, pretty much run of the mill. Sometimes days in a row of it. Several years ago we 13 feet in one weekend - which is unusual lol.
We are rural, so the flock will be free range at all times i.e. the pop door open during the day no matter the weather, no run, but we don't really have any perching type trees, branches on the hardwood are too high. I imagine they could use the Spruces, but so far the BCM (the only ones outside yet) don't seem inclined to even go near them...

Anyone I'm happy to hear your experience and thoughts or questions to join in the discussion too, I just directed it at Stony as he mentions his experience, so I figure he may have some thoughts for me to digest.

Everything you read from hatcheries on Sumatra's is wrong. Every hatchery says they are only heat tollerent not cold hardy. Someone forgot to tell my birds.

. And every other flock of Sumatra's I know of.
With that said the tree living Sumatra's are a bad influence on some of the LF hens and roosters. I have several LF birds that also live in tree's. 25 to 30 feet up. Including a Buff Orphington hen (who is thinking of going broody

) . My RIR's like to sleep in their coop right in front of the hardware cloth window all winter long. Right where the cold breeze blows.
DO NOT let them get started in perching in tree's unless you want to wake up to dead birds now and then. I have to be on CONSTANT predator patrol. The 1st year I had the Sumatra's, the 1st winter I lost 2/3 rds of the flock to predatation. This original flock were adults when I got them and they lived in tree's at their former home. Nothing I did could keep this original flock penned up. But I still have many from that original flock. Old wise birds.
As to going outside. Well look at it this way. The "Experts" seem to agree chickens may be 10,000 years old. Looking at it in that respect humans have been keeping them a very short time and they survived without us pampering them. Chickens are just birds. Birds naturally eat outside.
I would not own a breed of bird who would not go outside in inclement weather. One of the MANY reasons I won't have silkies

We get snow but not like you. To lighten the load on yourself you may want to build a large covered (tarped) run for the winters. Rancher has a few of those and has pics up on this thread. I work form home so I just snowblow paths for the chickens. 26 inches of snow or 1/2 inch, they go outside to eat. The EE's, the RIR's, the White leghorns, the mutts, the ducks, and yes the Sumatra's.

my .002. Well .0005 in this economy.

. I read a LOT but don't take a word of it as gospel until I try it myself

 

[stonykill]

Don't fall of your chair Stony, but I agree.

This coop frost bite and insulation.




This coop no frost bite and just two tarps over the top.

lol, and there are the pics I was refering to

 

[marquisella]

Ugh! DS said tonight that if he gets transferred to Canada he'd have to go alone and leave the DIL with the three kids to deal with the sale of the house. Which she can not do alone. Long story but that's the way it is.

Since I'm the only one with no ties, other than the chickens, I'm in the position. We've no money really and DW would have to take care of the chickens.

Plus there are chicks I intend to keep. The two born yesterday are a black EE/Amer and the other a Lav. EE/Amer. Very pretty.

I've got broodies all over the place on tons of eggs. I know they won't hatch them all but when they do things need to be dealt with.

If I go to AL again I'll be gone for a while and no idea when I'll get back.

It will definitely cut in to my spring plans and summer crop plans.

Don't even mention her family they are nuts with a capital N.

Oh I can't think about this right now, if I do I'll go crazy. I'll think about it tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day. Help me Jesus.

If they really need your help, have them come to you...it will be easier on you and you will have your chickens to vent to if needed....

 

[marquisella]

Quote: Here is my take, just my opinion...
Chickens are not natives of the North East. They are in our care. I don't put in heat in the coops either, I agree on that. But, Where you feed them doesn't matter, you are still keeping them alive artificially, by giving them water & food, neither of which they could find during our winters. I used to have a co worker that bragged to me one year, that he never gave his chickens water all winter, they ate the snow. HHMmmm. Everyone has their methods. We wont all agree. But sometimes chickens will huddle together for warmth, inside a coop or out. That is natural for them. It doesn't mean there is something wrong with them, its just their nature, especially the young ones.

 

[Lynzi777]

Here is my take, just my opinion...
Chickens are not natives of the North East. They are in our care. I don't put in heat in the coops either, I agree on that. But, Where you feed them doesn't matter, you are still keeping them alive artificially, by giving them water & food, neither of which they could find during our winters. I used to have a co worker that bragged to me one year, that he never gave his chickens water all winter, they ate the snow. HHMmmm. Everyone has their methods. We wont all agree. But sometimes chickens will huddle together for warmth, inside a coop or out. That is natural for them. It doesn't mean there is something wrong with them, its just their nature, especially the young ones.

Oh I wouldnt keep the food and water out of their coops in the winter, mine take look one look at the snow and go back into their coop. So I know they wouldn't venture out for it. Mine did turn to eating snow when their water was frozen tho. I'd be inside refilling water and they'd be pecking at snow. I was just thinking about this now that the weather is warmer, it has definitely help cut back on the amount of feed I go thru now that they're out free ranging again.

 

[stonykill]

Here is my take, just my opinion...
Chickens are not natives of the North East. They are in our care. I don't put in heat in the coops either, I agree on that. But, Where you feed them doesn't matter, you are still keeping them alive artificially, by giving them water & food, neither of which they could find during our winters. I used to have a co worker that bragged to me one year, that he never gave his chickens water all winter, they ate the snow. HHMmmm. Everyone has their methods. We wont all agree. But sometimes chickens will huddle together for warmth, inside a coop or out. That is natural for them. It doesn't mean there is something wrong with them, its just their nature, especially the young ones.

maybe not but pheasants, turkeys, grouse, and ducks are. All larger birds who acclimate to the conditions. We all should not agree. We all aren't the same, we all don't have the same amount of birds or the same set ups. Or the same expectations. I only put in writing here what I have personally done or personally do and what works for me. Your results may vary

Oh I wouldnt keep the food and water out of their coops in the winter, mine take look one look at the snow and go back into their coop. So I know they wouldn't venture out for it. Mine did turn to eating snow when their water was frozen tho. I'd be inside refilling water and they'd be pecking at snow. I was just thinking about this now that the weather is warmer, it has definitely help cut back on the amount of feed I go thru now that they're out free ranging again.

my RIR coop only gets water in the winter if there is no snow. My RIR's in particular used to also look at snow and go back inside. Don't give them a choice and they adapt. Now they go out no matter the weather. Water and food in the coop is far too messy for me to deal with. I change the coop litter once a year. With 9 coops I would go broke trying to change the litter in each coop weekly. I just top each coop off weekly with shavings form my workshop.

 

[Lynzi777]

maybe not but pheasants, turkeys, grouse, and ducks are. All larger birds who acclimate to the conditions. We all should not agree. We all aren't the same, we all don't have the same amount of birds or the same set ups. Or the same expectations. I only put in writing here what I have personally done or personally do and what works for me. Your results may vary
my RIR coop only gets water in the winter if there is no snow. My RIR's in particular used to also look at snow and go back inside. Don't give them a choice and they adapt. Now they go out no matter the weather. Water and food in the coop is far too messy for me to deal with. I change the coop litter once a year. With 9 coops I would go broke trying to change the litter in each coop weekly. I just top each coop off weekly with shavings form my workshop.

This was one of the reasons why I took the waterers OUT of the coops and turned them into buckets of water in their run. At least the food will stay in the coop and they'll scratch around for it if their bowl gets emptied. But I am liking how much cleaner the coops are staying now that they're out of them every day and out in the yard.