Question after question after question...

[dabners]

Hi,

I am new here, though I've been lurking for several months and I have some questions that I either haven't seen answered or for which I haven't seen much of a consensus (perhaps because there isn't one!?!).

I have seven 8 week old chicks and one 3-4 week old chick (I got guilted into her at our local Agway) and I am going to be away for a few days. Just so I can be sure that I am leaving enough water, has anyone ever calculated how much each of your chickens drinks in a day? Don't worry, I'll at least double it in case it gets warm!

What about feed? I've seen numbers ranging from just a few grams up to .25 lbs per day per chicken. Mine wander freely during the day so they are both supplementing their diets but burning more energy.

For those of you that use DE... How much do you put in their food and how much do you distribute around their coop? Any trick to this? We have a barn swallow nest very near our coop and I've noticed these tiny darkish little bugs that will swarm onto my hand if I put it down near the swallow droppings, so I'm assuming that we've been infested with some sort of mite. In your experience will DE likely cure this problem?

And looking into the future... I've only recently moved to Northern PA, and I'm not totally acclimated to the cold. For those of you in cold climates, do you keep food and water in your coop during winter or do your feathered friends still willingly go outside for refreshment? My chicks are in a straw bail coop and we are going a deep litter approach to bedding. Don't worry, I know I am going to have to replace the bottom bails every year!

Thank you all so much, I have already learned so much and I can't wait to learn even more!

Dabners
______
Wife of one patient husband, mom of one patient toddler, eight impatient chicks, one recently adopted neurotic beagle and instructor to ~eighty marginally willing math students.

 

[danielle82]

I'm new to chcikens so I don't dare give an answer, but I'm positive someone on here will! You can also use that cool search feature, for locating old threads with some good information! I've done it before

 

[kathyinmo]

I use DE everywhere .... inside coop, outside coop, dust bath, in the food. The % to use is 2 % in the food. So, if you have 50 pound bag of food, put in 1 pound DE and mix it around a bit. (You can use a 1 pound coffee can or similiar size.) I use it liberally on the coop floor bedding. I sprinkle it around with a flour sifter. My hens are too young to lay yet. But, I plan to dust it in the nests as well, when the time comes. No exact science or measurement, just sprinkle it about.
Hope this is helpful.

 

[Judy]

The bugs by the swallow droppings do not sound like mites/lice -- they sound like something your chickens will eat, for better or worse. Yes, DE will help control/manage lice/mites on them, as well as intestinal worms. Afraid I would run off the barn swallow. Wild birds carry parasites like lice/mites, and some nasty chicken diseases. You probably can't prevent all contact, but I would cut it down where I could.

Chickens vary a bit about going out in the cold (obviously I'm only sharing what I have read here) but often will stay in if there is deep snow or it is really cold. People up there often find a larger coop is a good idea, to prevent their feeling crowded for those stretches of rough weather.

Can't really help you on the food and water; I just refill, whatever. I'd go with having several containers around, so if one gets knocked over or rained on or whatever, they will have an alternative. I have 4 free range hens. I am not sure where they are usually drinking from, and they don't eat much feed at all, even in winter, though both are always available. They do return to the coop to lay, bless their hearts. They also return at dusk, and I lock them up at night.

You are going to want some sort of water heater for cold weather so their water does not freeze. If you have power at your coop it will be a lot simpler. A simple water warmer can be made with an old metal cookie tin, a lamp kit and a small wattage light bulb. Light bulb goes in the cookie tin and water on top, if you didn't already picture it. Or you can mount a light bulb in a concrete block and put the waterer on top. They do make nonfreezing waterers for dogs, which some use. I am sure there are more ideas to heat water on BYC; not a problem I have. The alternative is a lot of water carrying or refilling.

Another thing about cold winters is the roost. They need at least the flat side of a 2x4 or wider. Chickens don't really like to hang onto a round roost, anyway, but in cold weather, this lets them sit on their feet which prevents frostbitten feet/toes. If they have large combs/wattles, you will want to put Vaseline on them on the coldest nights, if you can, also to prevent frostbite.