Regarding cold weather flock maintenance, Jim the farmer says:

[Beekissed]

I only feed in the evenings right before the chickens go to roost and it's just their normal laying ration. I free range, so I like them to start the day without too much food to encourage good foraging. Feeding in the evening also insures they don't go to bed with an empty stomach.

It does cause more poop on the roosts but I rather like more manure in my bedding as it is intended for my garden in the spring.

As for eggshell production at night, I hadn't ever heard that but I do know this: The egg for the next day is already hardened and waiting in the shute by nightfall the previous evening. This I know because I do digital examination to determine who is laying and can palpate the hard-shelled egg through the intestinal wall.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
It doesn't really "harden" as shell formation is a continuous deposition of calcium carbonate applied by the shell gland over a 20 hour period. Unless they are laying very late in the day a majority of that shell formation is going on at night.

 

[True Grit]

It was very nice of you to post this welsummer 4. Thanks!

I can feel myself being pulled over to the non-heating side. In fact my thermo cube quit working so I unplugged the heat lamp the other day and haven't had it on since. It hasn't been that cold though, 20s and 30s. I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer in the coop with a remote display in the kitchen more out of a desire to learn about the humidity so am figuring out how best to ventilate. So far I leave the pop door open with heavy plastic stripping over the opening and the window open about 2 inches and it seems to be ok at 50-60% humidity. As the temps drop I expect the humidity to as well. I am keeping the heat lamp though as I know if it gets to be -20 in the coop I'll turn it on. At that temp it won't keep the coop warm enough to hurt anything, it will just take the edge off at night. It is a heavy duty plastic encased light and hung in two different ways.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Great info!

I've always felt a little guilty for not having an insulated coop, but my birds survived last winter very nicely. I feel better now!

I bag white pine needles in old feed bags for winter use so my chickens always have pine needles to dig in.

 

[SparksNV]

"Just like any other bird in the cold," he says

Look at the birds outside. Do they have a heated coop to come home to? I think this quote was an epipheny!​

 

[CarolAnn]

When I added two additional roosts to my coop I used closet rods. I didn't like them because they are smoooth, and my birds seemed to have quite a time getting settled. And there was nothing to really get a hold of when they jumped up there. After I started reading about the balance thing they have to do all night I decided to replace them with 2x4s. I've had one up for a week to watch them. They look much more comfortable/content on the 2x4 so the others go up today.

When talking about giving them corn, is this the cracked cor I see at the feed store? Or in the bird feed section?

How is the best way to give them their grit? I have grit (the ground granite type that still looks big to me) in a pan in one run and grit and oyster shell in goat feeder attached to the fence in the other run. It doesn't seem to be disappearing very fast in either location.

I asked this somewhere else but can you use all purpose sand, like sand box sand for grit? I plan to make a wood box, with cover, to put in the run for dust bath place for them during the months when the ground is frozen or snow covered. I am also going to rake leaves into big bags to store for their run.

I have a thermostat controlled heat lamp that will be used only for brief periods in very extreme cold. I had it on earlier in the week until I read the discussion about why they aren't needed. I went right out and turned it off. I bought a thermostat controlled water fount to keep the water from freezing.

I fill their feeder at night before they go in to roost. I will start putting out less feed and add corn to their feeder at night for that extra fuel. I don't have room to add additional feeders in the coop. If the cracked corn is what I want I'll get that this weekend.

I'll check back later. I so appreciate all the helpful info given here. This is my first winter with chickens and, like many others, I'm concerned that my girls and the dudes don't freeze they tushes off. Several of the things my farmer boy hubby has told me about chickens has turned out to be right on. AND I don't mind adding that I tell he was right every time. He already knew it but didn't press it too hard and let me find out for myself. I think may of us are a little more concerned with the comfort of our chickens than grandpa farmer was back in the day. Of course the ideas about what "comfort" means has changed some too. I tell hubby that these aren't his grandpa's chickens ya just throw in a shed with some hay. He's a good man, and doesn't even roll his eyes when he's around me and the chickens. I am blessed!!

 

[Mrs MIA]

CarolAnn, listen to your man...

Mine DOES roll his eyes. LOL! But he was as clueless as I was when we first started. If I had paid attention to what the majority of the others on the board told me, I could have saved myself a couple of years of super high heating bills.

I built my first coop based on what would be convenient/comfortable for me... it has now been renovated 3 more times to make it more comfortable for the girls, and they are so much happier.

Dropped to -4F last night, and still no heat, and everyone is fine, including the youngsters, ducks, turkeys, pheasants, quail...

No sign of frostbite, nothing. This time 3 years ago I'd be running around stringing heat lamps and freaking out. It's so nice not to worry about it.


On an aside... A few people have said to me, "But, but... they're my PETS! I can't do that to them! I can't let them freeze!" Not only are they my pets, they're part of my livelihood... it's in my best interests for them to be the happiest and healthiest they can be.

Why would I risk losing all of my breeders by not heating if it really wasn't for the best?

Just a thought. Of course, ask me how many heat lamps I have going in January when it's -40F outside.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Scratch grains from the feed store! I don't use grit for the big birds as they all have dirt runs and can pick up enough pebbles/small rocks to grind in their gizzards.

 

[nancypo]

This confirms that while I cooose to heat, I only use a 75 w reptile light. It was about 0 last night, and it was 36 in the upper condo area this morning. Gave the girls some warm oatmeal and raisens right before bed, and first thing this morning. We built a waterer heater, so no frozen water to deal with. Great ideas from Jim!

 

[nancypo]

And I will let them out more during the day, while I'm home, hawks in the area...