Opinions of cold climate chicken keepers needed

[aart]

I prefer the lovely quartet of white tailed deer that strolled by last week. That was cool!

Unless you have an orchard to protect...then it's "Damn Deer!!"

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Unless you have an orchard to protect...then it's "Damn Deer!!"

I'll save that for when my apple trees and peach tree get big enough to look tasty. There is so much conservation land around here that it is not often you will see deer or moose. I think since this winter has been so long and cold the critters are expanding their foraging areas. The upside to the cold is that yogi and friends are still snoozing in their dens.

 

[Rebel58]

Currently -11° in Pa. Wind chill -35°. Inside my coop thermometer says 14° and 16% humidity. Have one small heat lamp in corner of coop, secured with bolts and protected by chicken wire. Gave them extra corn and oats for energy this morning. My flock seems happy and as ready as I am for spring!!!! Love this camera. I can check on them 24/7 and listen to them too.

 

[aart]

I'll save that for when my apple trees and peach tree get big enough to look tasty.

They will eat them no matter how small, they nibble on a sapling is likely to completely kill it....better get cages up pronto! Damn Deer!!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Good grief! It was so cold this morning, I could see NB’s breath as she bitched all the way to the nest box!!

 

[OhZark Biddies]

They will eat them no matter how small...

Indeed I planted a couple of bare root crab apple saplings that someone gave me this spring... this past summer every time they'd put on a leaf the deer would take them off... in our case the saplings bounced back each time... we'll see if they come back this spring?

My wife threatens to shoot them sometimes, but I remind her we don't shoot the "yard deer". Which she finds odd, since I spend a lot of time in the fall hunting deer.

This year our "pet" doe decided we were good baby sitters and would leave her twins in our yard all day while she was off... running errands or something... the twins would just be there in the morning, and then we'd see her pick them up in the evening, and they'd go off into the timber.

The cute little spotted critters would just hang out all day and watch us, watching them.

Here they are all grown up a couple weeks ago... they still visit almost every evening. Last night I went out just before dark to tuck in the chickens and they were out in the yard with their mother... they scampered off a few steps, as if to say "momma told us we have to do this when we see a people", and then they went back to doing what they were doing.

Here's one of them at the "fawn sippy cup" this summer... it'd be nice if she'd have helped with the weeding amongst those iris

Can you imagine it'll ever be that green again!

 

[aart]

Indeed I planted a couple of bare root crab apple saplings that someone gave me this spring... this past summer every time they'd put on a leaf the deer would take them off... in our case the saplings bounced back each time... we'll see if they come back this spring?

In the winter they will eat the branch tips and bark...which can kill the tree or at least ruin careful training pruning.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

In the winter they will eat the branch tips and bark...which can kill the tree or at least ruin careful training pruning.

Yeah, our house is surrounded by woodlands and we have some pastures nearby, so I think our deer have lots of browse to choose from... I did have a young buck show up in November and work over a young spruce tree this year with his head gear... but "knock on wood" they've left alone the plantings for the most part.

I have learned that there are some things that we simply can not plant though... at one point we tried planting some shrubs that must have tasted like deer candy, because they didn't fair well at all.

But your earlier point about tree cages is really the thing to keep in mind concerning deer and tree damage, and as you say most of it happens in the winter.

Interestingly, the local utility company tree trimming crew gave me a couple of loads wood chips/mulch in October... I had them dump it in one big pile and haven't done anything with it yet... but a few weeks ago when we had snow and drop in temps, the deer were climbing all over it, and dug in it in several places. I saw one bed in the snow there, so I was wondering if the pile was composting a bit and putting off heat, and the deer where laying on it to get warm?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Yeah, our house is surrounded by woodlands and we have some pastures nearby, so I think our deer have lots of browse to choose from... I did have a young buck show up in November and work over a young spruce tree this year with his head gear... but "knock on wood" they've left alone the plantings for the most part.

I have learned that there are some things that we simply can not plant though... at one point we tried planting some shrubs that must have tasted like deer candy, because they didn't fair well at all.

But your earlier point about tree cages is really the thing to keep in mind concerning deer and tree damage, and as you say most of it happens in the winter.

Interestingly, the local utility company tree trimming crew gave me a couple of loads wood chips/mulch in October... I had them dump it in one big pile and haven't done anything with it yet... but a few weeks ago when we had snow and drop in temps, the deer were climbing all over it, and dug in it in several places. I saw one bed in the snow there, so I was wondering if the pile was composting a bit and putting off heat, and the deer where laying on it to get warm?

I had trees in front of my house removed and put them in the woods in my backyard so the critters could have them. The deer stick to the woods pretty much. My apple trees are planted in the front yard near the street. Lots of traffic for a dead end street. I've not seen nibbles on the trees or deer tracks in the front yard. Will keep my fingers crossed. I do have fence wire and posts if needed.

 

[CannedMonster]

Here’s what some are doing for SMALL flocks during the polar vortex...