Texas

[IllegalChx]

Thank you, my girls looked cold fluffed out, they were huddled together, standing by the back door, until it got about 25F then they did their normal free ranging in the yard. I'm trying to let them be chickens. Ur it's hard!!

 

[jtn42248]

Thank you, my girls looked cold fluffed out, they were huddled together, standing by the back door, until it got about 25F then they did their normal free ranging in the yard. I'm trying to let them be chickens. Ur it's hard!!

They fluff up like that to hold warm air in their feathers and they will huddle together to share warmth. On a cold day mine look like feathered soccer balls.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:

 

[IllegalChx]

Wow they are fluffed out.
Thank you

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Wow they are fluffed out.
Thank you

When I first saw it, I was worried something was wrong (the only other time I've seen a bird like that was a juvenile who had really bad cocci - she and the others in the pen looked like puff balls, and it WASN'T cold). Then I realized she was just cold.

 

[bnjrob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire Ant Farm


My Naked Necks insist on roosting in the open air part of their coop, and refuse to sleep in their hen house. I did add this wind break yesterday just to keep the 26 mph winds coming at them when it was 29F. But in cold weather, even the two who roost separate form the others are totally fine. Of note, the roosts they are on are wide - sideways 2x4s, so they can keep their feet warm by sitting on them.


- Ant Farm
When I see people trying to baby their birds and then the ones like yours and mine who do whatever they want no matter the weather, I just have to laugh. Birds are a lot tougher than people realize and they survived without modern conveniences for a very long time.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
I certainly remember being a lot more worried when I first started keeping them. Silly me! Pretty sure almost all of my birds would roost in the trees if they could. (And they try! But there are too many predators including owls, so they get pulled back out of the tree until they learn not to bother...)


- Ant Farm

 

[jtn42248]

Me too. My first winter with birds I thought for sure they were all going to die. They did better than I did that winter. I got sick, they thrived.

 

[TexasLisa]

I just ran across a new business where you will be able to buy chicks and eggs. They are located 11 miles east of Conroe.

http://www.wringneck.com/the-coop.html

 

[buggal]

I just needed to get something off my mind.
Over the last few weeks our adult flock of 25 hens and 2 roosters has been killed off to 18 hens and not by choice. Our neighbor's dogs, 2 properties over, has come onto our property and killed our birds. The first time they killed 3 hens and 1 rooster, and wounded another hen (2 weeks ago), 5 days later they killed another 2 hens, then yesterday we were pulling onto the property and saw one of the 2 dogs carrying off one of our hens. My husband chased him and screamed at him. The dog dropped the hen, we thought she was dead but she jumped up and ran back to our property. They did kill our other rooster and 2 more hens. My husband was able to talk with the neighbor and explained to her what was going on. She said that she would pay for the damages, my husband explained that we were not looking for her money, we want her to keep her dogs on her property so they will stop killing our chickens. He also explained that if the dogs do come back on our property that they will be killed.
Would you do something differently?