Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[CackleJoy]

Thank you for that description! I have three which fit that tri-color mix. I couldn't see it very well because the red light is on. Makes me hopeful!

 

[FeyRaine]

TN can be weird as weather goes. I call it the swing state of weather. It all depends on how far the jet stream will swing. If it dips south in the winter we have weather more like Kentucky. If it stays north in the winter we have weather more like North Georgia. Most of the time we have something inbetween but about every 10 years or so we will have a terrible cold winter or a terrible hot summer/drought. Our last bad winter was 1999 and it was followed in 2000 with the worst drought in we had in couple score of years.

Most years it doesn't get below 20°, but I have seen temperatures as a kid at 5°. The problem in TN is that the temperature can hover just above the freezing mark and have a 20 mph wind that puts the windchill down to 21° and if you don't have a wind break you can get hypothermic quick. Add to that a cold rain just above freezing and the chance multiplies. If you are watching the raindrops hit a hard surface at those temperatures you can actually see the water get thick and slow the splash rings.

Elevation makes a huge difference also. Our property for example has an 800ft rise & we have had up to 3 inches of snow when ppl across the street (downhill) had none. We have also had actual temps to -20F w/ wind chills to -50F on more than one night & more than one winter in the last 5 years, we have also had daytime highs in Dec & Jan & Feb of 80F in the past several years. The wide sudden swings are very hard on everything but the real shocker for me is when my sister who moved to Alaska calls to make fun of me on days when her weather is warmer than mine

 

[RedRidge]

Quote: That's about right... most days it's really a little "too warm"...
Meaning the ground isn't frozen...
I prefer nights in the 20's rather than the 30's, but we get a mixture of both.
The forecasters are my friends in the winter... temps expected below freezing require an evening ritual here IF it's not supposed to be well above freezing the next day...
All exterior coop doors get closed... the thermocubes will kick on to activate the water heaters to keep water from freezing.
Temps dipping below freezing are not a problem during the night as long as it's expected to be above freezing the next day... which happens most of the time.
There will be a string of days here and there where we may not get above freezing for 4-5 days... those are the days/nights where more consideration has to be taken for frozen stock tanks, waterers, etc.
I was born and raised up north and remember being dug out of my house with enloaders as a child... so much snow... ugh. So this is really mild here... just unpredictable and ice is frequently a much bigger problem than snow.

Our new breeding pens are total open air with just a roof... the back hatch 2' up is plywood, but that's it.
That said, I have clear vinyl with Velcro to cover each section of wire in the winter... let's light in, but breaks the wind.
The reason for my original question was that I expect these new breeding pens will not be quite as warm (probably by 10 degrees or so) as the inside coops. In previous years everyone has been inside, but this year I will have birds in the 4 outside pens.
The problem is not when the weather is "the norm"... the problem is on those rare occasions when you get below 10 degrees. Can the birds stay warm enough on nights when it's below 20 or even below 10 with a pen like this? Assuming wind breaks are in place of course...

 

[SunnySkies]

Living where I do, where it gets cold (-5 is very possible) and my farm is very windy, if you provide a dry, draft free place, they will be fine at 10-20 degrees. As long as they can get out of direct drafts, chickens do well even at very cold temperatures. The biggest issue is actually humidity in a coop. If it is damp, the cold wetness causes frostbite and leads to respiratory issues. If you think about it, our birds came from a place with winter, and they probably roosted in trees!

I do not heat -- fire risk, as well as I think it messes with their thermoregulatory system.

I'd try out the outer coops myself.

 

[RedRidge]

Living where I do, where it gets cold (-5 is very possible) and my farm is very windy, if you provide a dry, draft free place, they will be fine at 10-20 degrees. As long as they can get out of direct drafts, chickens do well even at very cold temperatures. The biggest issue is actually humidity in a coop. If it is damp, the cold wetness causes frostbite and leads to respiratory issues. If you think about it, our birds came from a place with winter, and they probably roosted in trees!

I do not heat -- fire risk, as well as I think it messes with their thermoregulatory system.

I'd try out the outer coops myself.

Good to know.
Yes, humidity is quite a problem here... especially where the chickens live.
The elevation on my property varies a lot and over the last two weeks we have not seen the sun until 10:30 or 11 in the morning due to the extremely heavy fog.
We are "wet" every day until noon... that's the norm this time of year... my deck looks like it has rained every morning and it hasn't...
This poor guy... who has shelter... looks like this as the result of nothing more than dew... it hasn't rained here in 2 weeks.

 

[ki4got]

Good to know.
Yes, humidity is quite a problem here... especially where the chickens live.
The elevation on my property varies a lot and over the last two weeks we have not seen the sun until 10:30 or 11 in the morning due to the extremely heavy fog.
We are "wet" every day until noon... that's the norm this time of year... my deck looks like it has rained every morning and it hasn't...
This poor guy... who has shelter... looks like this as the result of nothing more than dew... it hasn't rained here in 2 weeks.

ROFL my standard poodle looks something like that most days from running in the weeds/brush/woods every morning looking for 'squeaks'. aka chipmunks, squirrels, etc.
but add to the dirt burdocks and other assorted burr-type seeds. LOL some require scissors to remove.

 

[RedRidge]

Quote: Awesome thing about the maremma coats... once the sun comes up they are dry, clean and snow white... they just shed any burs and dirt. I never brush them... it's awesome

 

[SunnySkies]

That pup looks awful familiar! Mine love to roll in the wet dewy grass and look just like that, only much bigger!

I was stupid when I first got my GPs and bought these things called brushes....now that they are getting an adult coat, they don't need brushing. What a waste of money. The dirt and weeds and burrs and stuff just falls out on its own. They don't even have mats.

Your property sounds a lot like ours. I'm considering calling our place Hurricane Hills Farm because it is very hilly (think goats) and windy. The front pasture is so steep it is unsafe to mow.

The cool weather is making my dogs rowdy. Think they scared the SFH flock. I found them all in the woods, past the dog fence...where the dogs can't play with them (the dogs have been on my nerves this morning....I take my eyes off them for a second, and they try to play with their charges).

But the SFH flock has discovered the forest is a nice place to forage! I can see them from where I sit, and they are having a good time.

 

[Penny Hen]

Awesome thing about the maremma coats... once the sun comes up they are dry, clean and snow white... they just shed any burs and dirt. I never brush them... it's awesome

Do the Maremma's shed their winter coat like the Pryenese? I am a spinner and if any of you collect fiber from either of these dog breed you have trade item for me.

 

[Penny Hen]

That's about right... most days it's really a little "too warm"...
Meaning the ground isn't frozen...
I prefer nights in the 20's rather than the 30's, but we get a mixture of both.
The forecasters are my friends in the winter... temps expected below freezing require an evening ritual here IF it's not supposed to be well above freezing the next day...
All exterior coop doors get closed... the thermocubes will kick on to activate the water heaters to keep water from freezing.
Temps dipping below freezing are not a problem during the night as long as it's expected to be above freezing the next day... which happens most of the time.
There will be a string of days here and there where we may not get above freezing for 4-5 days... those are the days/nights where more consideration has to be taken for frozen stock tanks, waterers, etc.
I was born and raised up north and remember being dug out of my house with enloaders as a child... so much snow... ugh. So this is really mild here... just unpredictable and ice is frequently a much bigger problem than snow.

Our new breeding pens are total open air with just a roof... the back hatch 2' up is plywood, but that's it.
That said, I have clear vinyl with Velcro to cover each section of wire in the winter... let's light in, but breaks the wind.
The reason for my original question was that I expect these new breeding pens will not be quite as warm (probably by 10 degrees or so) as the inside coops. In previous years everyone has been inside, but this year I will have birds in the 4 outside pens.
The problem is not when the weather is "the norm"... the problem is on those rare occasions when you get below 10 degrees. Can the birds stay warm enough on nights when it's below 20 or even below 10 with a pen like this? Assuming wind breaks are in place of course...

I saw a wonderful passive solar heater that a man built for a little diner. Of course I takes getting the sun on it. but it is a black wood box filled with fist sized and bigger stone. You could also use brick. That provides a thermal sink in the day and at night it reverses and radiates. Put a black plastic drain tube in the upper side of the box and pipe it to the location/s that you want warmed. If it has to go some distance one of the fans like you put in a computer or incubator will work to pump the warm air along.

In 1999 caught me without any deicing gadgets so I took bricks and heated them in the over (after washing them) and used the hot bricks to melt the 3 to 4 inches of ice on the water. Likewise you could heat brick and stack it in the pen. You don't heat it so hot that it can flash anything, Just warm enough to radiate warmth and counter some of the cold humidity. I won't argue that it is a pain in the butt as far as being labor intensive. I got pretty tired of heating brick that winter, but it is something to keep in mind if you have an emergency that catches you unprepared with a better solution. That said I was using this for my sheep and lambs. I didn't have chickens at that time. Warm bricks in a towel make a very good lamb warmer.