NY chicken lover!!!!

[Aria]

Gramdma....SUPER idea. Will tell my husband. Now we need to find a place to purchase
the trout. We also have Gold Fish. Thanks again. Aria

 

[JLaw]

I would absolutely like to meet you! Before I was born, my grandfather had chickens. My father, very old man now, didn't really talk about it much. So I asked him today, he's in very bad health, about chickens. He said, when he was a little boy, they never had a chicken with frostbite, ever. They retained 30 laying hens over the winter in a heated coop. He said the chickens didn't go outside in weather like this and his mother got about an egg a day, all winter. This was depression era so at this time the eggs would have been very important.

At that time, I understand, that my family fed many strangers. My dad did say that yes, you should heat the area for laying chickens in winter, and always provide water, lots and lots of water, that is warm enough to drink. He said water is the most important thing for the layers in winter. I mean, he's old, so as times have improved it would seem that the ability to have animals in much better conditions would be more available. Maybe others disagree with this, citing that other animals live in the cold, but likewise chickens can live in very warm climates too, that do not get freezing cold temperatures. Is there an objective, controlled study to show that exposure of a chicken to very cold temperatures improves the overall health of the bird? As opposed to having a chicken living in temperate climates? I mean, without the research, it's only varying opinions. I'm not sure where to go to find animal studies. PubMed and NIH sites predominantly apply to humans.

I'd love to meet the old farmers! And new farmers! And see the current set-ups, for chickens, other animals, and gardening/fruit trees. It's true that this isn't a money making venture. It'd be nice for the farm to have income and pay bills, because corporate development is so cool. It's a real accomplishment to watch a business develop and eventually become sustainable. This retirement project isn't to "get rich", but to enjoy life a little. The stock market works very well for making money, LOL!

I cant afford to heat my house much less a coop. 30 birds 1 egg a day? I have I think 10 layers one or two in molt and I get 6-7 in my non heated coop. True I run a light for extra hours though. Water and food is out side so they have to go out to eat and drink.

As for the studies showing exposing them to cold temp improving health I'm sure there have been studies. The thing is when you heat the coop you have to have it heated all the time you cant loose power. They wont be use to the heat and wont be able to handle it correctly. I would think being in heated coop they're down wouldn't be as full seeing it wouldn't be needed so they wont have insulation when its cold. Also you need ventilation to keep them from having respiratory problems. If your heating, the heat just went out the window. People have been having non heated coops for years I highly doubt washingtons time frame they heated the coops the most heat chickens got was from a barn with animals probably.

Others are citing that other animals don't need heat but you make the statement that chickens also live in very warm weather...... Ah hello other animals live in very warm weather also and they don't need heat up here. Cats dogs deer horses birds they all live in multi climate zones and don't need heat.

As for meeting old farmers and new farmers to see set ups you don't have to. The amazing thing of the internet lets you see they're setups online. We even have a spot on this website to show you how to build coops and you can see healthy living birds with no heat. I'm sure you can google "do I need to heat my chicken coop" and 95% will be saying no you don't what you need to do is make sure they have a place with good ventilation and no drafts. Even then some birds don't need it look at stony's birds who like it outside the coop.

Any ways good luck I'm done as others have pointed out you seem to be trolling the forums. Google could answer just about all your questions and the ones your asking are ones that are in a lot of guides on this site already.

 

[Lynzi777]

Sorry about the rats. I kinda thought that there would be more. I am finding tunnels in the snow. They are small, one inch diameter tunnels, so I'm thinking mice or voles...I guess I should get some traps too. Perhaps I can reduce the population duri g the snowy season while the girls hang out in the coop. Since it is so sunny I have their door open. The farthest anyone has gone is the step.

I slid on the walkway gently landing on the back of my butt and rolling to my back. Very soft landing, but I was imagining myself in 20 years not faring so well.

Have had some eggs that were cracked from the cold, so I steamed them, and the ones that had intact membranes I made into egg salad, and the one that gushed out Bella enjoyed. The sprouts are really helping the eggs, they were super golden, just like summer. My favorite thing to sprout is guess what! Alfalfa! So glad to be able to finally spell it!

Well the only reason I thought they were gone was because those traps were out back for a week without anything getting caught in them. We moved them to the side of the house, nothing. Moved them to the front, nothing...until I came across this one earlier. I need to get rid of these things, can't have them coming into my house! I should let my neighbor know about them incase she wants to have her husband put some traps out if they haven't already.

My horse friend is out and about again. I went out to get my mail and he was way out down near my end of the street. I brought him an apple then he took off in the far back of the pasture. He's out there visiting the other horse farm now. Silly Spirit. At least the entire property (not just his pasture) is pretty much fenced in.

 

[Glasshen]

Why not, where do you live? If it is Syracuse area, please come visit. Before you go forward with expensive projects for livestock, you really must see if you can handle the dirt factor. Researching more is pointless until you come to grips with the day in, day out facts. When I was thinking about chickens my friend arranged for a visit to her brother and SIL's home and chicken coops. It was an eye opener. They had had chickens for years, and the SIL had had flocks before in the Midwest. I was shocked to see that the yard for the chickens had no vegetation, a fence that foxes were still digging under, and the coop was filled with poop and smelled bad. He also told me that since they have an egg business the year before they had a couple dozen chicks in the basement for a couple of months until the weather was reasonable for them to go out to the coop. He said he never saw so much dust. I was confronted at that time with reality, and had to deal with it. I decided to give it a go, and with the help of those on the thread it has gone ok. I am not a crack housekeeper. I can camp, and use dirty restrooms by not touching things, and washing my hands a lot. I can walk barefoot and have mud and worse squish through my feet. Vacuuming is done when absolutely necessary, or company is coming.

Please go see some chickens before you invest any more money.

 

[JLaw]

Well the only reason I thought they were gone was because those traps were out back for a week without anything getting caught in them. We moved them to the side of the house, nothing. Moved them to the front, nothing...until I came across this one earlier. I need to get rid of these things, can't have them coming into my house! I should let my neighbor know about them incase she wants to have her husband put some traps out if they haven't already.

My horse friend is out and about again. I went out to get my mail and he was way out down near my end of the street. I brought him an apple then he took off in the far back of the pasture. He's out there visiting the other horse farm now. Silly Spirit. At least the entire property (not just his pasture) is pretty much fenced in.

lol i thought you meant someone who had a horse as your horse friend. Not the actual horse. In that case i want a horse friend also. only thing around me is grape fields or the dairy farm up the road but cows always inside.

Good luck with those rats. I have a field mouse living under my mud room i see it from time to time running under the foundation. I have traps inside guess i need to get some for outside.

 

[ke5hde]

Why not, where do you live? If it is Syracuse area, please come visit. Before you go forward with expensive projects for livestock, you really must see if you can handle the dirt factor. Researching more is pointless until you come to grips with the day in, day out facts. When I was thinking about chickens my friend arranged for a visit to her brother and SIL's home and chicken coops. It was an eye opener. They had had chickens for years, and the SIL had had flocks before in the Midwest. I was shocked to see that the yard for the chickens had no vegetation, a fence that foxes were still digging under, and the coop was filled with poop and smelled bad. He also told me that since they have an egg business the year before they had a couple dozen chicks in the basement for a couple of months until the weather was reasonable for them to go out to the coop. He said he never saw so much dust. I was confronted at that time with reality, and had to deal with it. I decided to give it a go, and with the help of those on the thread it has gone ok. I am not a crack housekeeper. I can camp, and use dirty restrooms by not touching things, and washing my hands a lot. I can walk barefoot and have mud and worse squish through my feet. Vacuuming is done when absolutely necessary, or company is coming.

Please go see some chickens before you invest any more money.

Agreed. There's plenty of us around.

 

[JerseyHen]

Just jumping in here to comment on the heat/no heat in the winter. Ever hear of the "Wood's" style coop? Here is some information and some threads discussing it.

http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/fresh-air-poultry-houses2.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter

Basically chickens need to be protected from wind and drafts, not cold. Buttoning them up creates humidity, humidity causes frostbite. These houses are fully open in the front, the depth of them prevents drafts. Keep them dry and out of the wind.

Just my 2 cents. I don't coddle my chickens. They are better for it. I have a rooster by himself in an uninsulated, chicken tractor with a lot of ventilation. He has not gotten any frostbite and is hale and hearty. One of the roosters in my "good" coop got frostbite because I chose to keep them shut in too long on a cold day and it got damp with respiration in there.

 

[Lynzi777]

lol i thought you meant someone who had a horse as your horse friend. Not the actual horse. In that case i want a horse friend also. only thing around me is grape fields or the dairy farm up the road but cows always inside.

Good luck with those rats. I have a field mouse living under my mud room i see it from time to time running under the foundation. I have traps inside guess i need to get some for outside.

LOL, I guess that does like that when I look at it from that point of view. But yes, an actual horse. I want a horse too, but I'm so nervous about getting one and then DH coming home with the news that we have to move again.

Then what? If we were staying here for a while I would get one and keep it across the street with that horse so he had a friend. Poor thing is all alone out there. Then again, who knows if he would even LIKE the company of another horse.

 

[Xovan]

@Glasshen you made my day with your bathroom comment. 42 yo and I still laugh at potty humor got to love that. Question though, I have 25 chickens and they don't smell. (not the meat chickens I raised last year, god, PU!!!!!) but the layers coop does not smell as bad as the barn at the state fair.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Afternoon all. Just finished hauling water and goodies to the cheeps. Had some milk that was going so I heated it up then mixed it with some feed and oatmeal. Added my cooked veges and the fat plus the guts from the squash I cooked. I would say from the way they attacked it they loved it. Sun feels good but its still cold out.

We have a woods style coop. Works well. Built it from scratch from our own trees. No problems with ventilation or drafts and is comfortable even on these cold days. Cold but comfortable. Havent had any complaints from the tenants anyways.