NY chicken lover!!!!

[Gramma Chick]

That should be fine ..
Mine is encased in plastic except for the front top which vents ..
my coop has 22 chickens .
I just covered the door / gate because snow moisture was coming in


The more Moist the coop is the more it smells too
In general chickens will wake up if you add light at night ..
I can give them food at night in darkness ..but if I turn on a light ..
All bets are off ...and I have to stay in there longer ..till they settle down again .
The darker the hen house ( where they lay)
is the less they should mess with the eggs and they like it darker to lay there

 

[boskelli1571]

Interesting article in this months Field & Stream on Dr Tom Whiting and his birds in case anyone is interested.

 

[NNYchick]

That should be fine ..
Mine is encased in plastic except for the front top which vents ..
my coop has 22 chickens .
I just covered the door / gate because snow moisture was coming in
View attachment 1210452
View attachment 1210453
The more Moist the coop is the more it smells too
In general chickens will wake up if you add light at night ..
I can give them food at night in darkness ..but if I turn on a light ..
All bets are off ...and I have to stay in there longer ..till they settle down again .
The darker the hen house ( where they lay)
is the less they should mess with the eggs and they like it darker to lay there

I’m going out today and add plastic to all the openings except above the door. My husband added an LED light strip for me a few weeks ago because it was dark when I went to work and dark when I got home so I was going out checking food and water by flashlight. I wasn’t able to see the chickens active and check them over because they were sleeping. I have that turn on at 6am and off at 6pm. I go out when I get home at 5 and plug in the string of Christmas lights so it doesn’t just go dark it gets dim, then I go out about 630 and shuffle them into the igloo, pick up food and unplug lights.
The funny thing is my little cockerel knows where she is suppose to lay he goes in there and makes his little noises and she goes in there and digs around. She was even in there when my older pullet layed this morning. Still left and went in igloos to lay. I did notice something though I think the bottom might be slippery for her as it seems her feet were slipping when she tried to squat. I’m going to see if I get some of that rubber shelf liner and put that under the shavings, see if that helps.
I do have to admit I liked having them in the garage yesterday, I got to go out and sit with them and chat. They are doing well today out in there pen dust bathing and chatting away. My older pullet I believe is preparing to go broody again as she was going around collecting straw and tucking it in her feathers. Silly thing she just started laying end of October went broody 2 weeks after laying 1st egg now she has been back to laying about a week.

 

[Aria]

YES,. I have the issue and read the article. Dr. Whitings birds are
beautiful and lay LARGE BLUE eggs and very often. We do miss the
eggs. These chickens do NOT like confinement. They fly and fly and
make a HUGE mess in the coop.

They people who gave them to us....did NOT tell us that. We found out later. When we called the lady who gave them to us...she told us THEY COULD NOT KEEP THEM. They are find outdoors...BUT THEY DO NOT LIKE CONFINEMENT. You need a large BARN. We have a small coop and had to find them a new home. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL CHICKENS. We know from experrience about Dr. Tim Whitings Chickens. Aria

 

[NNYchick]

So I was reading the topic of the week thread, about heat in coop. On there someone said they just give chickens bowls of snow, I’ve never heard of this in any other discussions about winter water. Anyone else do this, is it even ok. I know my chickens have been eating the snow off my boots when I go in there.

 

[Gramma Chick]

. On there someone said they just give chickens bowls of snow, .

I have put snow in their water dish in a pinch ..when I didnt have any water with me .
But not as a rule ..I have also seen chickens eat snow ...when their water dish was low ..
Seems to me that a animal that is in a unheated coop ..would prefer warm water .
rather than cold snow ..which would make them colder .
And snow when it melts makes less water than the space it took up frozen ..
So they would have to eat alot of snow to get their thirst satisfied .
Could be a money issue ..not wanting to spend money on a heated dish ?

 

[Gramma Chick]

My chickens waiting on the path I am shoveling to get under the deck ..Their Rec room

 

[NNYchick]

I think I might have figured out a way to prevent them from getting head wet when drinking. I filled up their summer plastic water jug ( to hold it down) and put it in the filled heated water dish. I saw a man on another forum do something similar to prevent his ducks from sticking their head in the water and getting it dirty. Hopefully this works because the heated poultry water container are expensive and don’t have very good reviews. Who designs a water container to be filled from the bottom.

 

[Aria]

Gramma Chick, Your chickens are BEAUTIFUL. And you have a lot
more snow than we do. What breeds do you have? And your
chickens seem LARGE. Regards, Aria

 

[Gramma Chick]

"NNYchick
Good idea ..Some people put in Rocks or pebbles too.
Also Remember ...It will dehydrate faster ..so it will need to be checked frequently.
My roosters wattles are always getting wet ..and it doesnt seem to bother them they just shake it off ...it does get a little wet near the dish ..LOL