Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BY Bob]

The Husky dog can live comfortably in sub zero temperatures because it's fur is different to other dogs who live in more temperate climates.

I could ask if you have you examined a Buckeye chicken to see if their feathers haven't adapted to the cooler climate just like the Huskie's fur or the Maine Coon's paw but I know you haven't. I will assume that you mean that there is no scientific literature that states this as a fact. I would respond that the lack of a scientific study does not mean that it is not so.

I myself have no idea. I have never examined a Buckeye chicken nor would I know what I'm looking for. I do however believe it is foolish to believe that it is not possible. Animals are amazing and all kinds of animals have been able to adapt and survive in extreme environments. In fact, even if it is not true today, it does not mean that they could not adapt and thrive. Chickens have proven time and again how adaptable they are.

 

[Ribh]

some nights my lot decide to pile into one or another coop till its busting at the seams while another one a foot away sits empty!

My lot had plenty of roosting space. 9 on the top rail was fairly comfortable but some nights there'd be as many as 15 up there. No~one could move & if anyone sneezed someone fell off! Most of mine snuggle up ~ even in summer. Beatha is the exception.

 

[BY Bob]

I wonder if that's because they don't like the snow or don't like the cold. Maybe both.
Do you know what the temperature is in the coop Bob?

Yes. I keep careful track of the coop temperature. For example, right now it is 56°F with 59% humidity in the Cluckle Hut.

 

[Ribh]

I am still reading your thread, but that is the little troublemaker, right?

Campines are a breed known for their foraging, aren't they? Not a breed who "takes confinement well."

Yes. I love Campines. They are smart & quite crazy. This morning she was running round the yard screaming her head off because she didn't like her options for laying. I eventually locked her in the shed where she quickly produced a very large egg. They are good fliers, good foragers, easygoing within the larger flock but not overly people friendly . She often nests in really odd places.

 

[Shadrach]

I could ask if you have you examined a Buckeye chicken to see if their feathers haven't adapted to the cooler climate just like the Huskie's fur or the Maine Coon's paw but I know you haven't. I will assume that you mean that there is no scientific literature that states this as a fact. I would respond that the lack of a scientific study does not mean that it is not so.

I myself have no idea. I have never examined a Buckeye chicken nor would I know what I'm looking for. I do however believe it is foolish to believe that it is not possible. Animals are amazing and all kinds of animals have been able to adapt and survive in extreme environments. In fact, even if it is not true today, it does not mean that they could not adapt and thrive. Chickens have proven time and again how adaptable they are.

You would be correct and correct again that I cannot find any scientific study that confirms there are any physiological changes in what are reputed to be cold hardy breeds. Not for nor against.
However. I've read a lot of this is how they are stuff which I know beyond doubt that they are not. This doesn't mean it is the case here though and until such evidence can be found, I'll keep my doubts.

 

[Shadrach]

Yes. I keep careful track of the coop temperature. For example, right now it is 56°F with 59% humidity in the Cluckle Hut.

View attachment 2931243

And outiside?

 

[BY Bob]

And outiside?

Right now it is 62°F with 36% humidity.

I am keeping a close watch on the humidity right now. I may need to remove the waterer from the Cluckle Hut or add more ventilation. This is the Hut's first winter and I'm not certain how much humidity it is going to hold in just yet.

 

[pennyJo1960]

One of my original birds long gone now but tax paid

 

[GregnLety]

Sure, I let the chickens into my house when it was cold and/or wet. In fact, they could come and go in my house as they pleased.
Try it and see. Maybe your husband might enjoy a biit of company.

We have a hen that was always sick as a young pullet so she was kept in our spare bedroom. We slowly integrated her with one of our flocks but for a long time she would peck on our door to be let inside. She would come inside and go to her room and lay her egg. A while late she'll come and let you know she wants to back outside. Attached is a pic of her hanging out in the kitchen with Lety.

 

[NatJ]

It's taken a long time to move from the recomended one square foot per bird advice that was around when I was a teenager to the four square foot currently suggested.

I don't know what source you were reading, or when you were a teenager, or whether recommendations are different in different countries.

I've lived in the USA my whole life, and I've seen many sources, over quite a few decades, that consistently recommended 4 square feet per chicken (sometimes broken down as 4/3/2 square feet for large/small/bantam breeds.)

For more nuanced guidelines, I can offer quotes from two chicken books with very different publication dates, but neither is exactly new. One is meant for backyard flocks, the other for commercial farmers.

From 1976: "If you plan to raise large breeds at least 4 square feet will be needed for each bird, and bantams should have not less than two square feet each. Of couse, if the chickens will be confined to the coop for a great part of the time, they will need more room; allow ten square feet for each large bird..."
(Chickens in Your Backyard, by Rick & Gail Luttmann)

From 1925:
"The smaller the flock, the more floor space is required per hen. Ten hens might need 6 to 8 square feet per bird; while 125 hens might be kept profitabley with an allowance of 3.2 sq. ft. per hen."
(Practical Poultry Management, by James E. Rice and Harold E. Botsford)

(I can't check most of the other books I used to read, because they are not new enough to be in my local library, but not old enough to be out-of-copyright and posted online. But I clearly remember that 4 square feet per hen was always the default for the ones that didn't bother to give more nuanced guidelines.)