- Apr 13, 2010
- 2,110
- 153
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Howdy fellow enablers! Dh made it back from GA before the storm hit. Guess he needs a bigger gun for pigs cause the .223 didnt take it down. I was hoping for some pig. We ended up getting 14 inches of snow, much to the dismay of the chickens. Thank goodness my mother gave us her snowblower when she moved south otherwise we would still be shoveling. As it is I have half the big run filled up six feet high so the terrorists can get out. Now we are in the cold although the ice age that arrived overnight has been upgraded to the polar express. I think the addition of poultry cell to everyones water the last two weeks has given them the boost they need in this cold. I think Eowyn is laying again (silkie hen) as Ive gotten two eggs from Legolas coop this week. The terrorist girls have picked up a little. Both the Duke and Rooster Cogburn have a little frostbite on their combs and waddles otherwise my inspections of everyone shows them to be in good shape. Actually, my heritage rir girls are solid and out every day.
Yaktrax--quite possibly the best invention ever! I got them just before the first snow we got when I was home alone. I was dredding shoveling and snowblowing because of all the ice in my yard and on my driveway. Slipped these onto my high rubber muckboots (I dont have winter boots) and boy could I walk everywhere with no problem. Even on clear ice I got good traction. I was careful to not be overconfident. Have not taken them off my boots since then. I highly recommend them to all of you.
Aria---in this super cold weather silkies can be affected. Mine live in unheated coops and I just put plastic over the sides of the runs to break the wind. I close the double door on the little coop and put a feedbag over the window of legolas coop to block the wind. I put extra shavings in the coops and replenish the floor of their runs with the bagged leaves/pine needles from fall. You say an older hen died then a young one? You probably need to get your hands on all of them and get under their feathers and feel their weight. If you have any that feel a little light or thin, you may want to increase the number of feeding stations so everyone gets to eat. I have also been putting poultry cell in all my waterers the last two weeks to give everyone a boost of vitamins and minerals. You can find it at tsc. While yours are in a barn, make sure that the moisture level is low. If its too high, they can suffer from frostbite and respiratory problems. With it being so cold up there, you could cook them some oatmeal and add a little molasses to it along with some finely chopped fruit. I hope this helps. Let me know how they are doing. I like to keep weight checking all my cheeps as that tells me if I need to adjust feeding or bring someone in for a few days of r and r.
So looking forward to spring...and hatching...and planting...and hatching.
Yaktrax--quite possibly the best invention ever! I got them just before the first snow we got when I was home alone. I was dredding shoveling and snowblowing because of all the ice in my yard and on my driveway. Slipped these onto my high rubber muckboots (I dont have winter boots) and boy could I walk everywhere with no problem. Even on clear ice I got good traction. I was careful to not be overconfident. Have not taken them off my boots since then. I highly recommend them to all of you.
Aria---in this super cold weather silkies can be affected. Mine live in unheated coops and I just put plastic over the sides of the runs to break the wind. I close the double door on the little coop and put a feedbag over the window of legolas coop to block the wind. I put extra shavings in the coops and replenish the floor of their runs with the bagged leaves/pine needles from fall. You say an older hen died then a young one? You probably need to get your hands on all of them and get under their feathers and feel their weight. If you have any that feel a little light or thin, you may want to increase the number of feeding stations so everyone gets to eat. I have also been putting poultry cell in all my waterers the last two weeks to give everyone a boost of vitamins and minerals. You can find it at tsc. While yours are in a barn, make sure that the moisture level is low. If its too high, they can suffer from frostbite and respiratory problems. With it being so cold up there, you could cook them some oatmeal and add a little molasses to it along with some finely chopped fruit. I hope this helps. Let me know how they are doing. I like to keep weight checking all my cheeps as that tells me if I need to adjust feeding or bring someone in for a few days of r and r.
So looking forward to spring...and hatching...and planting...and hatching.
