Hi all, thought I'd send an update from nr Buffalo, as I've got a new phone that takes much better pictures than my old one - hence even more chicken pictures than before!
Made a few changes in the coop this winter, used to have the heated water bowl inside a plastic milk crate on the floor, but this didn't stop the poop from going in the water, so, as the girls never use the upper nest box anyway, I tucked it into that top slot, they can still access it fine and the water is staying much cleaner with that roof over it.
Picked up lots of tips on this thread, this years bedding is dry leaves and pine needles I collected in the garden over the fall. Also hung one of the metal box type feeders, usually used for suet blocks for wild birds, but been putting some fresh fruit and veg like apples and kale in that to help combat winter boredom. As you'll see in the photos, they are all enjoying that.
Our 2 oldest chickens don't lay in the winter at all, but our Red Sexlink Ginger started laying at the end of the summer, and is still laying 4-6 eggs a week, despite the wintery weather, and lack of daylight - (we don't use any heat lamps or supplemental light). Our newest additions, the Easter Eggers Dove (white one) and Princess Di (brown one) are 30 weeks now, and seeing some reddening in their mini combs, so looking forward to some blue shelled eggs.
My coworkers are really catching on to the kind of things the chickens will eat - the kale came from an Edible Arrangement one of them received, another brought me the peelings and cores when she baked an apple pie, and just today I came home with a bag full of watermelon rind for them to work on.
Temps here didn't get too bad, last weekend was our coldest, down to -2, the chickens have no interest in leaving the coop, even though they have a covered greenhouse style run, but I physically lift them out onto the porch when I need to get in there to clean, so the other pics are of them enjoying some grains on a snowy day.
Enjoy the pictures.
Gramma, how is Cowboy doing?
In a place now where I'll be able to back more often.
He will lose a small portion of his wattles and some points on his comb...but most of it remained intact
