Preparing Your Flock & Coop for WINTER

[coop410silkies]

We have given them plates of leftovers. They will eat almost anything. Just make sure it's an occasional treat. They will even eat chicken! The cannibals.

yeah, mine love meat - probably because I myself am not a vegetarian. My flocks go crazy over hamburger, pork, lamb, fowl (including chicken!), and liver and other organs from any species. They also are fond of milk and dairy products. If it's an animal based protein, they scramble for it. I would like for them to eat more mice, of course. My favorite thing to give them is extra eggs from the flock, shells included. They of course are relishing all the grasshopper hatch this August; some of my hens - the Speckled Sussex - like to "fish" for earthworms when it floods. I imagine they love fish when they can get it, but I don't feed it for fear of attracting raccoons. I like to give them bones to ease boredom in the coop. They scavenge carrion, as well; I have seen only one eat a dead chicken. Or maybe it was the maggots. Point is, they're quite carnivorous. I think the animal protein adds to their vigor and overall health, that it provides what's needed to regenerate damaged tissue. It adds interest to their diet, they are more enthusiastic about eating, and they more easily put on weight for the winter. Good Question..

 

[CanaDawn]

yeah, mine love meat - probably because I myself am not a vegetarian. My flocks go crazy over hamburger, pork, lamb, fowl (including chicken!), and liver and other organs from any species. They also are fond of milk and dairy products. If it's an animal based protein, they scramble for it. I would like for them to eat more mice, of course. My favorite thing to give them is extra eggs from the flock, shells included. They of course are relishing all the grasshopper hatch this August; some of my hens - the Speckled Sussex - like to "fish" for earthworms when it floods. I imagine they love fish when they can get it, but I don't feed it for fear of attracting raccoons. I like to give them bones to ease boredom in the coop. They scavenge carrion, as well; I have seen only one eat a dead chicken. Or maybe it was the maggots. Point is, they're quite carnivorous. I think the animal protein adds to their vigor and overall health, that it provides what's needed to regenerate damaged tissue. It adds interest to their diet, they are more enthusiastic about eating, and they more easily put on weight for the winter. Good Question..

I tried mine with yogurt after someone else here said their hens went nuts for it and got a mediocre response. Might try it again as they are a bit older and have spent the summer free range - do chicken palates develop? lol

We don't have raccoons here (yet...) but the dog is sure interested in what the hens get.....now that you mention fish, I remember that being an "old timey" sort of thing to do (give fish guts/heads or even a whole fish to the hens). I did think about canned tuna.

They are definitely omnivorous, and like their meats. Watching them stalk mice is quite something! The ones I have now don't, but the ones in my past sure did...and anything else that they could gobble up. Pandemonium ensued here when I lifted a bag of mulch and discovered big fat earthworms underneath...I had only moments to get out of the way before the girls came rushing over iwth all their petticoats bundled up under their arms...

 

[MeepBeep]

I just keep reading "heating is bad" as if that statement is true in all situations, and just as a fact in itself, and as you said it just simply isn't black and white.

I fully agree, it's not the black and white answer that many repeat... Instead people should evaluate their specific situation and make an educated decision based on their own pros and cons...

In general heat is not necessary for poultry, but not being necessary simply does not equate to being bad or harmful, like many suggest or imply...

Could be that's what you're saying and I'm misinterpreting, but I'm kind of also responding to MeepBeep saying she's apparently been told that heating is "downright harmful".

I'm a he And yes it irks me when people insist that if I don't do it 'their way' I'm doing it wrong, that is patently flawed reasoning but many around here


Here is why "I" heat my coop...

• ZERO risk or even a concern of any frostbite on any birds
  
• I have a mixed flock and although peafowl can handle cold well, they are not the most cold hardy and I will not take the risk of damaging mine with frostbite, I have been there and done that, not pretty
  
• Much less worries about young, sick or elderly birds suffering exposure
  
• My dogs share the coop with the chickens, and they fully enjoy the heat
  
• It's worlds more comfortable for me to go into the coop and do daily maintenance
  
• At the 35°-40°F I heat the coop to it to it becomes a very good refrigerator to store all the fresh produce I feed them, with no freeze damage
  
• Minimal to no lose in egg production due to temps
  
• Lower winter feed cost and consumption (this actually negates almost all the heating cost)
  
• No limitations on only 'cold hardly' breeds
  
• No frozen drinking water concerns
  
• No ice skating rink in the coop when water drips or spills (this is a big concern of mine as the coop is about 2 feet bellow grade, thus on a warm day water will leak in and freeze the floor as the temps drop)
  
• In reference to the above heating allows my coop to dry out when water does leak or spill
  
• No frozen poop stuck to things
  
• No frozen water pipes and the damage that results from that (yes my coop has indoor plumbing)
  
• No frozen eggs or concerns

As for those that keep pounding the 'acclimation' drum, I'm willing to bet that if you took the temp of the air around the birds in a small coop with a high bird density, that the temp in that coop would exceed the temp I heat mine to, especially on a sunny day... There is a world of difference from heating to say 70°F or heating to just above freezing. birds maintained at temps just above freezing are 'acclimated' to cold weather, just not extreme cold...

On the goat and alfalfa topic, goats can be fed a vast variety of food as is evidenced worldwide, what they can't handle well is drastic, fast or frequent changes to their diets... And of course too much of anything can be bad... My goats (and llamas) are all free pasture fed all summer, the pasture gets over-seeded every spring with a premium horse pasture seed... During the winter I feed them a good horse quality hay that is at least 25% alfalfa, with the rest pasture grass hay and sometimes clover and they do very well on this diet even though it lacks any grains... Others feed their goats a lot of grains and they do well... The biggest thing to remember with goats (and most animals) is to not change up their diets without taking it gradual and giving them time to adjust to the new diet...

 

[CanaDawn]

Sorry 'bout the missed guess on gender, I did pause before I typed wondering if I actually knew which pronoun to use...

 

[CanaDawn]

Ok, so...deeply technical question: I have just learned that some plants require long spells or short spells of darkness in a 24 hrs period to bloom (ie....summer blooming in Northern Hemisphere need short dark, fall need long dark.) In the short dark situation, a brief amount of light that breaks up a long dark spell is enough to trigger bloom (or repress in long dark species)

Thinking now about chickens...If one wanted to keep egg production during a long dark, does this need to be a period of continuous light, or can it a) be broken into shorter segments or b) are chickens more sensitive to the length of dark, where a brief period of light would reset the internal monitor. Chickens aren't plants, but now I'm curious. Anyone experimented either on purpose or by chance with this sort of question?

 

[MeepBeep]

Lighting should be a continuous a 14-16 hours followed by continuous 10-8 hours dark to keep egg production up...

Shorter cycles of light are likely to slow down egg laying and/or trigger a molt....

 

[CanaDawn]

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/avian/pfs14.htm
Apparently the continuous light is also something of dogma, and there's quite a few variations that have been tried and successfully used.

 

[sssss]

Hello!

These pics are great.
I doo have some questions (I am still very new and I can't figure out how to post a new thread yet.
Anyway so the babes and myself and partner are prepping for the Winter (as the rest of the world ) we live in Ottawa Ontario Canada and if anyone knows anything about this place is that it gets cold, very cold in the Winter.
We have 5 girls (2 silkies, 3rohde islands I think) and I just need some proper direction on how I can help them survive the season? They're in a sweet little fenced run with hay, kind of a make shift but it's done well for the month we've had them. Will it be too cold for them? Do we need to put heaters in? Should I just give them away? I would bring them inside if I could but probably wouldn't be approved :| any help is appreciated!

 

[RnRRidgerunner]

Hello!

These pics are great.
I doo have some questions (I am still very new and I can't figure out how to post a new thread yet.
Anyway so the babes and myself and partner are prepping for the Winter (as the rest of the world ) we live in Ottawa Ontario Canada and if anyone knows anything about this place is that it gets cold, very cold in the Winter.
We have 5 girls (2 silkies, 3rohde islands I think) and I just need some proper direction on how I can help them survive the season? They're in a sweet little fenced run with hay, kind of a make shift but it's done well for the month we've had them. Will it be too cold for them? Do we need to put heaters in? Should I just give them away? I would bring them inside if I could but probably wouldn't be approved :| any help is appreciated!

Welcome to BYC!

Can you post some pictures of your coop, fenced run, feeder, waterer, etc? Do you have electric out to the coop? I use a five gallon bucket with a lid and horizontal chicken nipples for water and I insert an electric bucket heater I got from Tractor supply or some other farm store you might have. What sort of coop do you have? Are they in a barn or garage that opens to the outside? The main thing is they need ventilation, but not a drafty open coop area. It must keep dry also. Outside without a coop and they will get frost bite on their combs and wattles. you can coat them lightly with Vaseline. Straw bale igloo? Just a thought. Need some info to work with. lol

My Stagecoach Chicken Tractor winterized for Oklahoma, put 6-8 inches of straw under and inside floor for winter. They did very well last winter. I let them out during day into run. They appreciate straw outside to walk around on in places too. lol

Then there are those that make sweaters for their girls. LOL I had to throw that out there.


I electrified the run fencing to keep out the predators at night. Seems we have panthers, coyotes, wild dogs, raccoons, possum, you name it. No bears yet.
Ask questions many on here to give you their best advice. Enjoy your chicks and nothing better than home grown eggs. Yum!

 

[MinHemmingford]

Hi all, I am also in Canada (southwest Quebec to be exact, not too far from Ottawa). I just got 6 hens and one rooster (Rhode Island Reds). I converted a small outbuilding for their coop. I've been told, it'll be too cold for them, I'll need to insulate it, get heat lamps, etc. On here, I've read they should be fine! I think I'll just keep a light bulb in there and a heated waterer, and lots of food. I haven't built their run yet but it will be off to the left of the coop. The coop is under tree cover and doesn't get a lot of sun, it will get more sun in winter since some of the trees will lose their leaves. As for ventilation, there are openings up in the peaks of the gables, I was going to fill them in with wood. Do you think I should just put up some hardware cloth? Please see attached pic. Thank you in advance for any advice!