Surviving Minnesota!

[Cebarmlds]

Good morning!
It's 5 degrees outside and 21 in the coop right now so I'm glad I didn't turn the panel on last night

 

[duluthralphie]

I have not looked at the temp here in the center of the Banana belt.....

I am afraid too.

 

[duluthralphie]

I looked at the weather not all bad. Visibility is 11 miles.. dew point is 3 so no fog...winds are less than 2 mph.... Could be worse..

The temp thingy must be broken.... Not at all a reasonable reading. I will get a new one at Menard's today.

 

[BantyChooks]

The temp thingy must be broken.... Not at all a reasonable reading. I will get a new one at Menard's today.

There seems to be a lot of that broken-thermometer thing going around this time of year.

 

[ejb3810]

It is minus 3 degrees here now but will likely get lower before sunrise ? On a positive note the high is forecast to be 22 which is several degrees above yesterdays high.
My birds get no heat in their coop and they like it. I do not attempt to get eggs in the winter months, and I believe it is good for the birds life cycle that way. All things need a rest period to promote a long and healthy life.
If I decide to show birds again it will be with adult birds, as I am not about to devote precious time to early hatching and chick rearing to show pullets or cockerels. At my age there is likely not enough time left to accomplish all I would like to, so I must plan wisely. The wisely part is where the complication comes in.
At least my wife is not demanding that I check the oil on the ratchet whacker in her car.

 

[duluthralphie]

Hatching this time of year is a pain. I have lights on in my pole barn and only for my showbirds or the ones I think will produce show birds....

I let the rest go dormant also, they eat less then and do not become as bored.

I a thinking of dumping my SS line because of problems I have in them and I do not think I have enough years of bird raising left to correct the problems that are occurring.. In addition, I am somewhat upset with Cuddles. I spent a ton of money on his comb last year. The early cold snap and my own illness caught me off guard and he has severe frost bite on it now. In addition to having an nearly all white tail come in this molt. I have a young cockerel, but I am not happy with him either. The "perfect" cockerel died on the third day of cage training. Because he wanted to ruin my life!

Even my winning Pullet this year is going to be a one time show bird only. She has too much white on her to be showed next year. I am 99.9% sure she will be way too white after her molt. Too bad because her body type was perfect. So perfect, Holm and I had a hard time deciding which was the pullet and which was the hen....Luckily the hen was coming out of a molt and had a few immature feathers. (She was BB last year. Pullet this year) Open Note to the other guy showing SS..YOU WILL NEVER BEAT ME UNLESS I QUIT!!! Give up.... (that should make it easier next year)


I find too much coop time with artificial light makes bored birds and then I get egg eaters... (BTW I have a SS hen eating eggs and no idea which one it is. I am thinking the one I showed. as they pick up bad habits at the shows)

 

[jerryse]

Brr 19 here in the tropics . I know you have it worse . 3 dog night up there . Egg production is way down no lights on yet . I do have 1 mixed bantam that is laying every day .

 

[duluthralphie]

Brr 19 here in the tropics . I know you have it worse . 3 dog night up there . Egg production is way down no lights on yet . I do have 1 mixed bantam that is laying every day .

I have a STOOOOOPID turkey hen that crawls into a chicken nest box...3/4 of her butt hangs out. BUT she still manages to drop an egg in the box everyday... I think she thinks she is a chicken.

 

[jerryse]

I bet nobody does a coop run in their jammies this morning .

 

[Cebarmlds]

I leave the pop door open always until the temps are 10 below. This morning none of the birds left the coop until 745. I was ready to go shoo them out but didn’t have to.