Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[BullChick]

Same here, birds are staying in either the coop or enclosed portions of the runs, only 9° here....
We have to go out though, one of my Brother-in-Laws passed away and we will be spending today and tomorrow at the funeral home

Need me to watch your ducks?

 

[meganberk]

Does anyone heat their coops? Im worried about the girls in this frigid cold. this is my first year with chickens

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Does anyone heat their coops? Im worried about the girls in this frigid cold. this is my first year with chickens

Just protect them from the wind and they should be fine. I put plastic and tarps around my run to protect them. The only time I have ever added any supplemental heat was when it was -12 out and I just added 1 heat lamp to the coop to help a little. It only warmed it a little bit but that was my first year with them and honestly, I don't think they even needed it.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

GM all:

Quite chilly out there...chooks are staying inside so far....and so am I.....

Same here, birds are staying in either the coop or enclosed portions of the runs, only 9° here....
We have to go out though, one of my Brother-in-Laws passed away and we will be spending today and tomorrow at the funeral home

So sorry for your loss. . It's such a terrible time of the year to lose someone.

Does anyone heat their coops? Im worried about the girls in this frigid cold. this is my first year with chickens

Just protect them from the wind and they should be fine. I put plastic and tarps around my run to protect them. The only time I have ever added any supplemental heat was when it was -12 out and I just added 1 heat lamp to the coop to help a little. It only warmed it a little bit but that was my first year with them and honestly, I don't think they even needed it.

X2! I know it will be very chilly tonight, but my coop is much better now that it's insulated!

I think I lost a chicken. When I just came home, some of my chooks were outside the chicken door, laying on the ramp. There was a turkey with them too and the Tom turkey was underneath the ramp. When I got everyone inside, I found I was missing a CCL. . She could have gotten snatched earlier, but I can't imagine even if she was alive that she would make it through the night. I wonder if something spooked them at dusk, or if the door closed earlier than usual. I have it set for the light settings, not at a scheduled time.

On the plus side, I think I may have gotten my first turkey egg. @dheltzel, what do you think? It's much bigger than my other girls have been laying. Unfortunately, it froze a bit and cracked.

 

[dheltzel]

So sorry for your loss.

. It's such a terrible time of the year to lose someone.
X2! I know it will be very chilly tonight, but my coop is much better now that it's insulated!

I think I lost a chicken. When I just came home, some of my chooks were outside the chicken door, laying on the ramp.

There was a turkey with them too and the Tom turkey was underneath the ramp. When I got everyone inside, I found I was missing a CCL.

. She could have gotten snatched earlier, but I can't imagine even if she was alive that she would make it through the night. I wonder if something spooked them at dusk, or if the door closed earlier than usual. I have it set for the light settings, not at a scheduled time.

On the plus side, I think I may have gotten my first turkey egg. @dheltzel , what do you think? It's much bigger than my other girls have been laying. Unfortunately, it froze a bit and cracked.

Yup, looks like a Midget White turkey egg.
Sorry about the Legbar. If she is out there and finds a protected area, she might very well show up tomorrow

 

[gonehencrazy]

Right now I have 5 hens sleeping in nesting boxes and another on the floor? Is this because it's too cold?! I can turn the heat lamp on!! The ones on the roosts are more hunkered down then usual which is to be expected. Just weird that hens that are usually on the roost are in boxes. I've had a few in the boxes lately but not 5!!!

 

[fisherlady]

Need me to watch your ducks?

Thank you for the offer but thankfully he lived local to us so we are ok for animal care.

So sorry for your loss. . It's such a terrible time of the year to lose someone.
X2! I know it will be very chilly tonight, but my coop is much better now that it's insulated!

I think I lost a chicken. When I just came home, some of my chooks were outside the chicken door, laying on the ramp. There was a turkey with them too and the Tom turkey was underneath the ramp. When I got everyone inside, I found I was missing a CCL. . She could have gotten snatched earlier, but I can't imagine even if she was alive that she would make it through the night. I wonder if something spooked them at dusk, or if the door closed earlier than usual. I have it set for the light settings, not at a scheduled time.

On the plus side, I think I may have gotten my first turkey egg. @dheltzel, what do you think? It's much bigger than my other girls have been laying. Unfortunately, it froze a bit and cracked.

Thank you for the condolences, this time of year does seem to amplify the loss, which is never easy to begin with...DH's family seems really bad for this. In the last 3 years we lost my mother in law and a brother in law on Thanksgiving weeks and his nephew the week before Christmas last year.

I do hope the CCL shows up tomorrow in the daylight!

 

[fisherlady]

Right now I have 5 hens sleeping in nesting boxes and another on the floor? Is this because it's too cold?! I can turn the heat lamp on!! The ones on the roosts are more hunkered down then usual which is to be expected. Just weird that hens that are usually on the roost are in boxes. I've had a few in the boxes lately but not 5!!!

We have 2 who opted for boxes tonight also, the extreme cold can cause this and I wouldn't worry too much unless they decide to make it a regular habit.

 

[Prpjewel]

I was thinking lately about the tiny cardinals and woodpeckers that frequent my woods. If they can brave the cold, our big babies should be fine. And the majority of those birds don't even have a sheltered coop with shavings. Just my opinion.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Anyone who has or who ever has had a horse, what do they cost roughly to keep? And how much space to they need, stable wise.