Ontario, Canada

[Candee]

Hey there, there seems to be more and more backyard chicken keepers in southern Ontario all the time. I'm in Cold Springs, near Cobourg. This is my first year with chickens and have lots to learn and this site has been very helpful.

 

[chicalicious]

This is our second winter keeping chickens. This year was WAY colder than their first
But everyone is happy-they look like giant pillows on their roosts. Have 2 barrd rock hatch
Days coming mid march hope my colombian rock will adopt them. Sooo excited!

 

[jsmith2952]

@chichalicious: how have your hens been dealing with all the snow? Do they come outside? My girls have a covered run but won't put their feet on snow--I've gone through bales and bales of straw just to give them somewhere to walk.

 

[Candee]

Our coop is separate from a small barn and so they have to travel over snow to get to the barn, which is where they like to hang out during the day. So they will walk on snow, but reluctantly. Sometimes they fly over to the barn. Pretty funny to see. We only have 4 hens. I noticed that lately they've been losing feathers. There's small feathers all over the barn and in the coop. Have yours been doing that?

 

[jsmith2952]

I have three hens and two for sure are in moult. There are feathers everywhere! It's so strange to me that they'd moult when they need feathers the most! I checked them all over because just by looking at them you'd never know any feathers were missing--they're soooo fluffy!! But one girl has bald patches on her neck and the other has a ton of pin feathers around her neck and missing feathers on top of her head. I'm only getting 2 of 3 eggs and sometimes just 1of 3. I don't heat or light the coop. I read somewhere to increase their protein during moult so I've been giving them some extras (cooked eggs, tofu, sunflower seeds, etc). They seem normalish--just a bit more quiet and aren't really into being touched.
I heard on the news today that we've gotten snow for 60 of the past 89 days ...what a long winter this must be for the chickens!!

 

[Candee]

Thanks, that's helpful to know. I think I'll increase their protein like you mentioned.

 

[katiaobie]

I'm from westover Ontario going to be getting chickens and ducks in a few weeks cannot wait to get started. I've already gotten advice about quarantining the birds for a month and how to introduce them to the existing girls. This site is very helpful with a lot of friendly people.

 

[jsmith2952]

@candee--how are your hens? Was it a moult? Has laying increased again?

I'm happy to report I'm getitng 3 of 3 again most days an their feathers are almost completely back in. It's amazing how shiny and fresh the girls look now!

Welcome, katiaobie! Chickens AND ducks! That's pretty exciting! BYC is a great source for info and the people here are pretty helpful! Best of luck!

 

[cprocup]

Hi ! I'm from Thunder Bay, ON , and I just picked up my girls last week(18 ready to lay hens - 19 weeks old ) . It's still cold and snowy here. Do you think with the weather still being cold it will take the hens longer to give me that first wonderful , lovely egg? And how warm do you find it has to get before they make that first trek outside? This is my first year with chickens since I was a kid so I need a refresher! Also brought a few day-old ducklings into the mix, but they are living inside the house for the foreseeable future.

 

[Candee]

Hey Thunder Bay. This has been my first year owning chickens. My 4 hens won't be a year old until May 1 but even as young birds they wanted outside all winter and this was an exceptionally cold one in Southern Ontario. They stopped laying in late November and started laying again late in March, even with the snow and cold weather we were having. I have been surprised at how resilient they are - don't seem to mind the cold, wind, rain or snow. Enjoy!