The new girls seem to like gardening tools. ..
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Southern NY, Dutchess county and below
- Thread starter ChickenAl
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The new girls seem to like gardening tools. ..
Sent from tapatalk in a Galaxy far far away
Too cold out for November 
Brrrrrr
Read this blog from My pet chickens.
Pasted it here incase anyone's interested.
Cold weather chickens – 8 things NOT to do to in winterNovember 16, 2012
How to prepare your chickens for winter isn’t especially intuitive, and many people may take steps that can actually make things more difficult for their flock rather than helping them to become cold weather chickens! Choosing cold hardy breeds (if you live in an area of cold winters) is certainly an important first step! But presuming you’ve already made good breed choices, you’ll also want to know what NOT to do for your cold weather chickens.
1. Don’t keep your chickens closed up in their coop when it’s cold.
We like to go outside, even in the winter!
Instead, good cold weather chickens can be allowed to decide when they want to stay in or come out. You might think that your chickens won’t want to go outside in the snow, and sometimes that’s true. Some of your chickens will hate it, and will stay inside most of the day, but others won’t mind it at all. The only time I keep the coop door closed during the day is when the snow is too deep for my cold weather chickens to walk in, or when it’s just so bitter and windy I know no one will come out. (And even then, I sometimes open the door just in case).
2. Don’t tightly insulate your coop. I know that seems strange, but it’s true–tightly insulated coops can cause more harm than good. If your coop is tightly insulated, not only will it retain heat, it will also retain moisture… and retaining moisture in the coop is very, very bad. Chickens create a lot of moisture from their respirations. A lot of moisture also evaporates from their droppings. And in winter, they’ll be spending more time inside, even if just because of the longer winter nights! More droppings build up–and more moisture—and a lot of moisture in the air to condense and freeze will contribute to frostbite. All that humidity also increases the risk of unhealthy conditions in the coop leading to respiratory ailments and mold-related illnesses. Plus, poor ventilation can also cause ammonia gas to build up inside your coop, which is damaging to your chickens’ lungs. Cold weather chickens need a coop to be well ventilated but not drafty.
3. Don’t heat your coop. This is another piece of advice that seems completely counter-intuitive… however it’s good advice for a number of reasons. Chickens adapt to lower temperatures over time. If the coop is heated, they’ll never become real cold weather chickens—they’ll never get used to the cold winter temperatures outside. Then, if you lose power and their heat goes out, the sudden sharp drop in temperatures with no time to acclimate means you could lose your whole flock in one terrible, fell swoop. Even if it doesn’t come to that, if your chickens are hesitant to spend time outside, they will spend even more time inside the coop making the air wet and breathing the unhealthy, moist air. Finally, heating the coop is often a fire hazard. Remember, chicken coops are generally pretty dusty places, and we hear stories every year from people who have lost their coops—and their flock—to chicken coop fires. The only time I heat my coop is during a sudden, precipitous drop in temperature, just to help ease the transition for my cold weather chickens.
4. Don’t forget to gather eggs more often than usual. If you have cold weather chickens, some may continue to lay during the winter, and the eggs could freeze. While this doesn’t really hurt them, exactly, it IS a risk for bacterial contamination, because the frozen egg contents expand, and can create tiny hairline cracks in the shell you might not see with the naked eye. The cracks can let bacteria into the shell. Of course, at cold temperatures, the bacteria doesn’t grow very quickly, but nonetheless, keeping cracked eggs is just not a good idea. Plus, there’s nothing like opening your refrigerator to find that an egg has thawed and seeped out all over everything—ugh, what a mess!
5. Don’t let your water freeze. Keeping fresh, unfrozen water for your flock in the winter can be a challenge. There are always the heated waterers, but—I admit it—I don’t care for these very much. (There are people here at My Pet Chicken who swear by them, though, and they may work for you just fine.) Personally, I don’t like the fire risk, although they are much safer than as trying to heat the coop. I’ve also found them to be generally harder to use and clean than regular waterers. One heated waterer I had filled itself so close to the rim that it needed to be EXACTLY level so it wouldn’t simply pour its contents out on the floor. Another worked well, except for the fact that the chickens kept unplugging it. A third functioned nicely in reasonably mild cold weather, but in very bitter cold, the top of the reservoir would freeze, so that the bottom heated portion where the chickens were meant to drink from would run completely dry. I haven’t found a heated waterer that works very well for me and my cold weather chickens. Instead, I just use multiple waterers. In the morning, I bring in a fresh waterer, and bring in the waterer that was in the coop overnight, and is now frozen. By the time that one is thawed, the other one is nearly frozen, so I switch them out. It requires a lot of walking and carrying, but my preference is to do it that way rather than use expensive heated waterers for my flock.
6. Don’t put off coop cleaning. Because your cold weather chickens will be spending more time inside and creating more droppings inside as a result, the coop will need cleaning more often. For myself, I like to use the deep litter method for managing my coop rather than frequent cleanings, but even doing that, new bedding needs to be added more frequently in the winter to make sure everything stays dry and cozy.
7. Don’t let your birds get too bored. If they have a very small coop and run, there may not be a whole lot to entertain your flock like there is during warmer months. When snow is on the ground, there will be little or no sun bathing. With the ground frozen, dust bathing is unlikely. There won’t be lots of bugs to catch or greens to forage. Bored birds may become snippy or even aggressive with one another if there isn’t anything to think about or do other than reinforce the pecking order over and over again. Alleviate some of the boredom for your cold weather chickens by adding treats to their area. For instance, hang a head of cabbage in your coop for your girls to peck at. As they peck, it swings, making it more difficult to eat immediately, and keeping them entertained for hours. My chickens, seemingly unlike any other chickens in the world, don’t care for cabbage, but there are other treats that can work well for entertainment. For example, suet cakes work well. I prefer to use something high protein, like the Optimal Forage Cake designed for chickens and other domestic poultry, but in winter time something that’s also high in fat (like scratch or cracked corn) can give them the extra calories they need to help stay warm. You can also simply scatter some scratch inside the run for them to forage for—that will keep them entertained, too.
8. Don’t forget to protect their combs. Most cold weather chickens have small combs, but if you have breeds with very large combs, a little petroleum jelly can weatherize them, because it helps guard against frostbite. Spread a little petroleum jelly on their combs. Keep in mind that it needs to be a barely-there, thin layer to help keep their combs from getting chapped. Healthy skin decreases susceptibility to frostbite, so you’re just trying to keep the exposed skin from getting chapped and cracked. Some people assume if a little Vaseline is good, then more is better, but that’s not true! Put on only as much as you’d want on your lips to help keep them moist.
Brrrrrr
Read this blog from My pet chickens.
Pasted it here incase anyone's interested.
Cold weather chickens – 8 things NOT to do to in winterNovember 16, 2012
How to prepare your chickens for winter isn’t especially intuitive, and many people may take steps that can actually make things more difficult for their flock rather than helping them to become cold weather chickens! Choosing cold hardy breeds (if you live in an area of cold winters) is certainly an important first step! But presuming you’ve already made good breed choices, you’ll also want to know what NOT to do for your cold weather chickens.
1. Don’t keep your chickens closed up in their coop when it’s cold.
We like to go outside, even in the winter!
Instead, good cold weather chickens can be allowed to decide when they want to stay in or come out. You might think that your chickens won’t want to go outside in the snow, and sometimes that’s true. Some of your chickens will hate it, and will stay inside most of the day, but others won’t mind it at all. The only time I keep the coop door closed during the day is when the snow is too deep for my cold weather chickens to walk in, or when it’s just so bitter and windy I know no one will come out. (And even then, I sometimes open the door just in case).
2. Don’t tightly insulate your coop. I know that seems strange, but it’s true–tightly insulated coops can cause more harm than good. If your coop is tightly insulated, not only will it retain heat, it will also retain moisture… and retaining moisture in the coop is very, very bad. Chickens create a lot of moisture from their respirations. A lot of moisture also evaporates from their droppings. And in winter, they’ll be spending more time inside, even if just because of the longer winter nights! More droppings build up–and more moisture—and a lot of moisture in the air to condense and freeze will contribute to frostbite. All that humidity also increases the risk of unhealthy conditions in the coop leading to respiratory ailments and mold-related illnesses. Plus, poor ventilation can also cause ammonia gas to build up inside your coop, which is damaging to your chickens’ lungs. Cold weather chickens need a coop to be well ventilated but not drafty.
3. Don’t heat your coop. This is another piece of advice that seems completely counter-intuitive… however it’s good advice for a number of reasons. Chickens adapt to lower temperatures over time. If the coop is heated, they’ll never become real cold weather chickens—they’ll never get used to the cold winter temperatures outside. Then, if you lose power and their heat goes out, the sudden sharp drop in temperatures with no time to acclimate means you could lose your whole flock in one terrible, fell swoop. Even if it doesn’t come to that, if your chickens are hesitant to spend time outside, they will spend even more time inside the coop making the air wet and breathing the unhealthy, moist air. Finally, heating the coop is often a fire hazard. Remember, chicken coops are generally pretty dusty places, and we hear stories every year from people who have lost their coops—and their flock—to chicken coop fires. The only time I heat my coop is during a sudden, precipitous drop in temperature, just to help ease the transition for my cold weather chickens.
4. Don’t forget to gather eggs more often than usual. If you have cold weather chickens, some may continue to lay during the winter, and the eggs could freeze. While this doesn’t really hurt them, exactly, it IS a risk for bacterial contamination, because the frozen egg contents expand, and can create tiny hairline cracks in the shell you might not see with the naked eye. The cracks can let bacteria into the shell. Of course, at cold temperatures, the bacteria doesn’t grow very quickly, but nonetheless, keeping cracked eggs is just not a good idea. Plus, there’s nothing like opening your refrigerator to find that an egg has thawed and seeped out all over everything—ugh, what a mess!
5. Don’t let your water freeze. Keeping fresh, unfrozen water for your flock in the winter can be a challenge. There are always the heated waterers, but—I admit it—I don’t care for these very much. (There are people here at My Pet Chicken who swear by them, though, and they may work for you just fine.) Personally, I don’t like the fire risk, although they are much safer than as trying to heat the coop. I’ve also found them to be generally harder to use and clean than regular waterers. One heated waterer I had filled itself so close to the rim that it needed to be EXACTLY level so it wouldn’t simply pour its contents out on the floor. Another worked well, except for the fact that the chickens kept unplugging it. A third functioned nicely in reasonably mild cold weather, but in very bitter cold, the top of the reservoir would freeze, so that the bottom heated portion where the chickens were meant to drink from would run completely dry. I haven’t found a heated waterer that works very well for me and my cold weather chickens. Instead, I just use multiple waterers. In the morning, I bring in a fresh waterer, and bring in the waterer that was in the coop overnight, and is now frozen. By the time that one is thawed, the other one is nearly frozen, so I switch them out. It requires a lot of walking and carrying, but my preference is to do it that way rather than use expensive heated waterers for my flock.
6. Don’t put off coop cleaning. Because your cold weather chickens will be spending more time inside and creating more droppings inside as a result, the coop will need cleaning more often. For myself, I like to use the deep litter method for managing my coop rather than frequent cleanings, but even doing that, new bedding needs to be added more frequently in the winter to make sure everything stays dry and cozy.
7. Don’t let your birds get too bored. If they have a very small coop and run, there may not be a whole lot to entertain your flock like there is during warmer months. When snow is on the ground, there will be little or no sun bathing. With the ground frozen, dust bathing is unlikely. There won’t be lots of bugs to catch or greens to forage. Bored birds may become snippy or even aggressive with one another if there isn’t anything to think about or do other than reinforce the pecking order over and over again. Alleviate some of the boredom for your cold weather chickens by adding treats to their area. For instance, hang a head of cabbage in your coop for your girls to peck at. As they peck, it swings, making it more difficult to eat immediately, and keeping them entertained for hours. My chickens, seemingly unlike any other chickens in the world, don’t care for cabbage, but there are other treats that can work well for entertainment. For example, suet cakes work well. I prefer to use something high protein, like the Optimal Forage Cake designed for chickens and other domestic poultry, but in winter time something that’s also high in fat (like scratch or cracked corn) can give them the extra calories they need to help stay warm. You can also simply scatter some scratch inside the run for them to forage for—that will keep them entertained, too.
8. Don’t forget to protect their combs. Most cold weather chickens have small combs, but if you have breeds with very large combs, a little petroleum jelly can weatherize them, because it helps guard against frostbite. Spread a little petroleum jelly on their combs. Keep in mind that it needs to be a barely-there, thin layer to help keep their combs from getting chapped. Healthy skin decreases susceptibility to frostbite, so you’re just trying to keep the exposed skin from getting chapped and cracked. Some people assume if a little Vaseline is good, then more is better, but that’s not true! Put on only as much as you’d want on your lips to help keep them moist.
- Feb 5, 2012
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The new girls seem to like gardening tools. ..
Sent from tapatalk in a Galaxy far far away[/quotebeautiful girls Tina...What do they charge for a Fall clean-up???
Quote:
Great information. Thank you!
Great information. Thank you!
Hello everyone.
I've been super busy with a zillion projects and haven't been keeping up with this thread for weeks. This evening I spent some time reading all the posts that I've missed so I could catch up with you all and see what you've all been up to.
So sorry to read of the losses and the predators and the code enforcers and all the rest of the tzuris.
But happy to read of the great adjustments, moves, new chickens, and all your travels to shows and get togethers.
My small flock of six girls are just about done with their molting and most of the new feathers are in. Only the two newest are still laying; the two Easter Eggers "Rumpy" and "Smoke" each give me a light blue egg about four times a week. Haven't had an egg from the others for weeks and weeks now. Am thinking that the Delaware and the Marans are about 4 years old now, and may or may not get back to laying in the Spring. I'm sure the two Buff Orpingtons will though.
It's gotten into my head to try and find one or two standard size (not bantam) FRIZZLE-feathered started pullets to join my flock in the Spring. I tried emailing and phoning the Frizzle society but the email bounced back as undeliverable and the phone number is not in service. Hmmmmm.
I emailed a few farms and asked them if they might have some started Frizzle pullets available for sale in March or April, but none of them will ship adolescent birds.
Some recent changes that happened around here: I set up an indoor dust bath for the girls. Took a big blue rubbery plastic washtub and sunk it into a hole in the ground inside the ChickArena. Filled the tub with equal parts of top soil, peat moss, fine sand, and the dirt that I dug out to make the hole for the tub. Then added about a cup of food-grade diatomaceous earth and mixed it all up. The girls just love it and they dived right in and wiggled and wriggled and fluffed in it.
It took about three years, but all the grass in their half of the backyard was completely gone by this September. So I found a not too expensive sod farm and abracadabra the whole brown- earth disaster turned into bright green thick grass in a flash. I kept the girls locked in the ChickArena for three days to give the sod time to breathe and send down some roots. It's been about three weeks now and it still looks great. If it lasts three years, I'll be content.
I brought home two free pumpkins from the Pathmark supermarket about two weeks ago. They let me have them because they were cracked and a bit bruised and were destined for the trash anyway. I cut them in half and they have been a huge hit with the flock. The girls stroll over to them throughout the day and peck away at them. It'll probably take them a month to eat up all the insides.
I covered the whole ChickAreana with heavy duty tarps again for the winter. I leave two inches open at the top of the four sides, and the ceiling/roof remains wide open to the air. The raised roof keeps the rain and snow out, but allows full air circulation. The deep litter method keeps the playhouse coop warm enough, no need for any artificial heat.
I use three different heaters to keep the three waterers free of ice. Cookie tin with a mug warmer inside it has a water bowl sitting directly on it.
Dear Hubby glued a hanging shelf beneath the one-gallon red and white hanging waterer and I just slide a mug warmer right onto the shelf.
The big two-gallon red and white hanging waterer sits directly on a heated dog water bowl. I use a thick heavy duty outdoor extension cord to run electricity to the ChickArena. The cords from the mug warmers and the dog bowl go straight up to the ceiling and plug into the extension cord. Works great.
Yesterday, I sprayed Blu-Kote gentian violet all over my Buff Orpington LaVerne again. She lost all her previous purple-sprayed feathers in the molt and I need the purple so I can tell if I'm looking at LaVerne or my other Buff Orpington, Shirley.
I drove over to that kitchen cabinet factory in Oceanside last week and filled up my car again with twenty-two huge bags of free wood shavings. Great for the deep litter method.
Well that's it for now... If anyone (Roberta????) has any ideas about a source of Frizzle started pullets, please let me know. Thanks.
Stay warm Everybody, stay safe,
-Carolyn252
I've been super busy with a zillion projects and haven't been keeping up with this thread for weeks. This evening I spent some time reading all the posts that I've missed so I could catch up with you all and see what you've all been up to.
So sorry to read of the losses and the predators and the code enforcers and all the rest of the tzuris.
But happy to read of the great adjustments, moves, new chickens, and all your travels to shows and get togethers.
My small flock of six girls are just about done with their molting and most of the new feathers are in. Only the two newest are still laying; the two Easter Eggers "Rumpy" and "Smoke" each give me a light blue egg about four times a week. Haven't had an egg from the others for weeks and weeks now. Am thinking that the Delaware and the Marans are about 4 years old now, and may or may not get back to laying in the Spring. I'm sure the two Buff Orpingtons will though.
It's gotten into my head to try and find one or two standard size (not bantam) FRIZZLE-feathered started pullets to join my flock in the Spring. I tried emailing and phoning the Frizzle society but the email bounced back as undeliverable and the phone number is not in service. Hmmmmm.
I emailed a few farms and asked them if they might have some started Frizzle pullets available for sale in March or April, but none of them will ship adolescent birds.
Some recent changes that happened around here: I set up an indoor dust bath for the girls. Took a big blue rubbery plastic washtub and sunk it into a hole in the ground inside the ChickArena. Filled the tub with equal parts of top soil, peat moss, fine sand, and the dirt that I dug out to make the hole for the tub. Then added about a cup of food-grade diatomaceous earth and mixed it all up. The girls just love it and they dived right in and wiggled and wriggled and fluffed in it.
It took about three years, but all the grass in their half of the backyard was completely gone by this September. So I found a not too expensive sod farm and abracadabra the whole brown- earth disaster turned into bright green thick grass in a flash. I kept the girls locked in the ChickArena for three days to give the sod time to breathe and send down some roots. It's been about three weeks now and it still looks great. If it lasts three years, I'll be content.
I brought home two free pumpkins from the Pathmark supermarket about two weeks ago. They let me have them because they were cracked and a bit bruised and were destined for the trash anyway. I cut them in half and they have been a huge hit with the flock. The girls stroll over to them throughout the day and peck away at them. It'll probably take them a month to eat up all the insides.
I covered the whole ChickAreana with heavy duty tarps again for the winter. I leave two inches open at the top of the four sides, and the ceiling/roof remains wide open to the air. The raised roof keeps the rain and snow out, but allows full air circulation. The deep litter method keeps the playhouse coop warm enough, no need for any artificial heat.
I use three different heaters to keep the three waterers free of ice. Cookie tin with a mug warmer inside it has a water bowl sitting directly on it.
Dear Hubby glued a hanging shelf beneath the one-gallon red and white hanging waterer and I just slide a mug warmer right onto the shelf.
The big two-gallon red and white hanging waterer sits directly on a heated dog water bowl. I use a thick heavy duty outdoor extension cord to run electricity to the ChickArena. The cords from the mug warmers and the dog bowl go straight up to the ceiling and plug into the extension cord. Works great.
Yesterday, I sprayed Blu-Kote gentian violet all over my Buff Orpington LaVerne again. She lost all her previous purple-sprayed feathers in the molt and I need the purple so I can tell if I'm looking at LaVerne or my other Buff Orpington, Shirley.
I drove over to that kitchen cabinet factory in Oceanside last week and filled up my car again with twenty-two huge bags of free wood shavings. Great for the deep litter method.
Well that's it for now... If anyone (Roberta????) has any ideas about a source of Frizzle started pullets, please let me know. Thanks.
Stay warm Everybody, stay safe,
-Carolyn252
Started out cooking up cabbage for the girls ended up making a big pot of cabbage soup.
Don't worry girls you'll still get half.
It's so weird only having 6* girls
I keep looking at chick catalogs wishing I could order some for the spring
Oh well
Don't worry girls you'll still get half.
It's so weird only having 6* girls
I keep looking at chick catalogs wishing I could order some for the spring
Oh well
Carolyn, Vera is starting a frizzled Polish breeding program, and we DO vaccinate for Mareks!
She has a few hatchery Polish (non-frizzled) that she is looking to sell.... let me know.
I haven't been getting notices, so I haven't logged on in a while. Gotta look into this.
Stay sane throughout the holidaze everyone!
She has a few hatchery Polish (non-frizzled) that she is looking to sell.... let me know.
I haven't been getting notices, so I haven't logged on in a while. Gotta look into this.
Stay sane throughout the holidaze everyone!
Roberta, I'm going to send you a private message.
I have 2 off color buff-ish Silkie hens that need a home. Almost calico color. $20 each or $30 for the pair.
Hi, everyone.
I was just contacted out of the blue by a young woman by the name of Elvire who got my name from the web as someone who keeps chickens. Her company bought her a hen to use in a film project. The project is over and now she needs to find a good home for this hen. Elvire and the chicken are in Brooklyn. Could you please phone her and see if you can take the chicken off her hands or at least direct her further. Elvire has a car and says she'll be happy to drive the chicken to you.
At my suggestion just now, Elvire has joined BYC.com and her member name is chickengiver. Her email address is [email protected] or you can call her on her cell phone at 347 688-2802. She emailed a photo of the chicken to me and I've attached it here to this posting. Not sure of the breed, but she looks lovely. (If you know where she can get some poultry feed in or near Brooklyn, please let her know. I suggested that she feed it some scrambled eggs, and cheese and yogurt, and sunflower seeds and romaine lettuce until she can find some actual chicken feed.)
-Carolyn252
I was just contacted out of the blue by a young woman by the name of Elvire who got my name from the web as someone who keeps chickens. Her company bought her a hen to use in a film project. The project is over and now she needs to find a good home for this hen. Elvire and the chicken are in Brooklyn. Could you please phone her and see if you can take the chicken off her hands or at least direct her further. Elvire has a car and says she'll be happy to drive the chicken to you.
At my suggestion just now, Elvire has joined BYC.com and her member name is chickengiver. Her email address is [email protected] or you can call her on her cell phone at 347 688-2802. She emailed a photo of the chicken to me and I've attached it here to this posting. Not sure of the breed, but she looks lovely. (If you know where she can get some poultry feed in or near Brooklyn, please let her know. I suggested that she feed it some scrambled eggs, and cheese and yogurt, and sunflower seeds and romaine lettuce until she can find some actual chicken feed.)
-Carolyn252
Last edited:
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