NY chicken lover!!!!

[armorfirelady]

morning everyone ..with all this talk of winter i no i better get going on things here as well ..i have my coop made out of an amish made shed ..and at both ends near the top of the shed are little vents ..i had a alot of moisture last yr and fought off the frostbite of combs the best i could for my 4 birds ..this yr however i have 22 birds and was thinking of putting a small computer fan in one of the vents blowing air out ..i am hoping to remove the moisture but not the heat they [the birds]create..what do you all think ..bad idea or good idea..??? any input would be great ..



i also thought of using sand but now i am thinking i may try the woodchips ..right now i use straw..but i noticed the closer we get to winter the cost starts to jump ..i pay 7 bucks a bail now ..i have been looking for a farmer near me to buy from but am forced right now to buy from a stillwater feed store in jamestown ..i no the tractor store has straw but they want 11 bucks for a bail ..i no the woodchips i bought from them when my birds were just babys was kind of nice but there is alot of moisture in them ..i see someone mentioned 100% dry but am not sure the tractor store in lakewood carrys 100% dry ..i used straw all last winter and kept it nice and thick or deep..it worked ok but found a lot froze near the bottom..

You need a lot more ventilation. Mine are in a hoop coop made of cattle panels & covered with a billboard. lots of ventilation, never had frostbite or frozen hens. They snuggle together to stay warm and lay on their feet. Their feet are warmer than mine in boots and socks. I put a few hay bales around it as wind protection for the winter but the window in the door is open at least halfway or more unless winds are high & lots of snow. My shavings are dry all winter, no smell.

 

[wny egger]

You need a lot more ventilation. Mine are in a hoop coop made of cattle panels & covered with a billboard. lots of ventilation, never had frostbite or frozen hens. They snuggle together to stay warm and lay on their feet. Their feet are warmer than mine in boots and socks. I put a few hay bales around it as wind protection for the winter but the window in the door is open at least halfway or more unless winds are high & lots of snow. My shavings are dry all winter, no smell.

i have no windows in my coop ..i should put one in .i think the reason i havnt yet was because i have my coop in my side yard and theres a street light right there ...i do run lites to ,so they continue to lay ..but they come on at around 5 am..i will make the vents bigger and now maybe put a window in ..


i am going to check out the wood shavings..
i have a buddy who cuts trees for a living and has tons of wood chips but i dont think using them would be a good idea ....i dont no what kind of trees the chips come from..

 

[rancher hicks]

Lots of different ideas and not all work for everyone. IMO you just gotta find what works best for you.

 

[armorfirelady]

I agree rancher. And windows are easy to make. Make the frames out of scraps and cover with hardware cloth. You can cover part with plastic for the winter if needed

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

What is a good age to cull young roosters? I have 2 that I'm not sure what I'm going to do. They are the first LF chicks that I hatched out...Chipmunk and Pudgy...The are starting to spar with each other. I hope that they don't get any jerkier then they are now. I figured that I would cull them, but they are still pretty little. They are 13 weeks right now. I know that I want to wait a little longer if I do decide to cull so that hopefully I can fatten them up...But when would be a good time? Or should I just wait till they become a problem ...

 

[Lapeerian]

Some pictures from the 1890 Fair today. Took 4 LF hens, 3 banty Roos and 3 you LF Roos. Sold the EE hen and gave away 2 banty Roos. Did learn that they were a Black Breasted Red Dutch Game and a Blue Brassy Back Old English Game. John was the Judge, in case you wanted your birds evaluated and get pointers. He is also the State Fair poultry superintendent. Won a bag of Blue Seal Grow & Show, going to use that as I transition the youngsters off chick and onto layer. Nice day of relaxing for me and the chickens were well behaved for never being caged before. Well, except for the dang EE Roo that escaped his cage before packing in the car to leave home. He missed his chance at finding a new home, next time he is caught it is for dinner.

 

[featherz]

I do shavings for winter - IF they freeze up and I can't shift it, I add more shavings on top. Seems to work. Nice stuff when you shovel it out in the spring too. You do get the occasional poopsicle, tho.

All I am doing to 'prepare' is moving chickens around to cut down to two coops. One group of chickens I had put in my big coop moved themselves into another, smaller, coop - they will be toasty this winter as they are stuffed in there by their own choice!! =)

I have to take inventory on how many of my dog bowls are still working, but if I can cut down to two coops I should have no problems.

 

[Tab's chicken obsession]

Morning!

School is off to a good start for my girls. I've been harvesting my garden and now we're sorting birds for breeding. A good portion of our birds are molting and we only get a dozen eggs a day now.

 

[dragonlord483]

I do shavings for winter - IF they freeze up and I can't shift it, I add more shavings on top. Seems to work. Nice stuff when you shovel it out in the spring too. You do get the occasional poopsicle, tho.

All I am doing to 'prepare' is moving chickens around to cut down to two coops. One group of chickens I had put in my big coop moved themselves into another, smaller, coop - they will be toasty this winter as they are stuffed in there by their own choice!! =)

I have to take inventory on how many of my dog bowls are still working, but if I can cut down to two coops I should have no problems. 

I would like to use dog bowl but I don't think it will work I have the 5 gallon waterer so I USA fish tank heater but on cold nights the drinking part freezes

 

[featherz]

I would like to use dog bowl but I don't think it will work I have the 5 gallon waterer so I USA fish tank heater but on cold nights the drinking part freezes

I use heated dog bowls every year - even outside, they don't freeze. When it was minus 25, I got a ring of ice around the outside, but the water was still unfrozen.