The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[getaclue]

It does get down into the 30's here, but not very often. Like I said, it's not the cold that I protect from, but it usually rains, and gets windy for the temps. to drop, and my coop is totally open, because heat is a bigger factor here. I only cover the bottom portion of the coop, to keep the rain, and wind off of them in the winter.

 

[kitkat5505]

It says it's going down to 59 tonight. Usually, it doesn't get quite as cold as they forecast. I had quite a few errands to run, and simply didn't feel like buying tarps. I will tomorrow. My coop is totally open. I'm not concerned about it getting too cold, but normally when the temperature drops, it's raining, or very windy. Tonight, it's not raining, or windy, so I'm not concerned. Like I said, tomorrow I will get the tarps, because it's suppose to get down colder, and be more windy.

Our high today was 63*, it was so nice, didn’t even wear a jacket lol. We’ve been getting down in the 30s at night for a few weeks, and occasionally 20s. I’m planning to get some clear shower curtains to put on three sides of the run in a few weeks, mostly to keep wind and snow out as it gets colder, but don’t plan to add any heat source.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We are going below freezing at night this week. It's a big drop from the warmer weather we have been having. We get down into the -20's most winters for weeks with bitter wind chills, I have never added any heat, they all do fine with a few frostbitten combs or wattles on the roosters. We will see if that stops this winter with my nice new wooden siding instead of the tin. It already doesn't feel as cold in my shed so it should be nicer.

My old hens are slower to come of the roosts in winter, but I help them down and give them some warm oatmeal and mash, and some scratch to get them moving.

 

[getaclue]

I find a good hot cup of coffee helps. Me, not the chickens. LOL!

 

[speckledhen]

I find a good hot cup of coffee helps. Me, not the chickens. LOL!

Yup, doing that now, with my Neocell Collagen 1&3 in it for my joints. When we were cleaning out the garden yesterday, I pulled a big clump of grass that the tiller missed and gave it a toss over the high fence. Something in the shoulder joint right in the front popped loudly and painfully, not the first time that's happened, so it's very sore this a.m. Hopefully, my daily collagen will help it heal up quickly. I quit taking my NSAID arthritis meds about a year ago when Ladyhawk suggested the collagen supplement her bodybuilding lady friends swore by. After a few months, I dumped the meds. My ankle quit swelling up badly and has lots more flexibility. That stuff has done so much more for my ankle (the one I broke badly about 7 years ago) than any twice a day NSAID, which would do nothing for my joints and tendons and may eventually hurt my liver. Anyway, enough commercials! We get enough of those on what my dad called the idiot box.

As far as heat for chickens, naturally a well-feathered chicken is well-insulated and needs no heat. But, a chicken with no feathers can't keep warm well. That's why last winter, I put one of Atlas's daughters in the hospital cage with a reptile bulb over her and a bed of hay until her feathers began to cover her. Didn't take long. She was almost completely naked. And, for example, Neela, one of the blue Rock hens, has severe arthritis in one hock joint, plus is so thin now, she is a bag of bones with feathers. I'm not sure exactly why. She has a cyst that blocks off one of her nares and one of those weird cyst things on her tush like my late Ellie did (I did a thread on what I found when I cut that open, very strange!). So, poor Neela gets at least one place she can sit under, if the mean ones like Wendy will let her. Her sister, Alice, is always by her side. I sort of expect to find Neela gone one morning. She is 7 1/2 so not young by any stretch.

 

[getaclue]

speckledhen, I wanted to suggest something. When going through chemo, I get peripheral neuropathy, which is damaged nerve endings. It's quite painful. One of the side effect medications caused very achy joints, and muscles. I bought ginger root, and grated it, and made ginger tea (not too strong) with a little honey, and drank a cup or two daily. It really did help a lot. More than I expected it too. It's got some good anti-inflammatory properties. Unknowingly, I bought an older piece of ginger, and it began sprouting. I threw it in a pot with potting soil. It grew like crazy. I transplanted it, and got a good bed of it growing. I wonder if your older chickens would benefit from it. Maybe make a tea, and pour some on their feed? I don't know if they would eat a little raw chopped ginger, but maybe. I've read that it can be dried, and sprinkled into their food, so if you have a food dehydrator, or maybe used the stove on low to dry it out, it would work for them. Anyway, it's a thought.

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks, Cheryl. I do take ginger/lemon herbal tea with raw local honey myself. I could give the old girls oatmeal with ginger in there, sure. I'd probably put a lot of regular ground ginger in there to see if they'd balk at the taste first, but they'd probably be fine with it. Poor old things. It's windy and feels raw today, though the actual air temp is about 50*. Until we get used to the new lower temps, it always seems colder than it is.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

speckledhen, I wanted to suggest something. When going through chemo, I get peripheral neuropathy, which is damaged nerve endings. It's quite painful. One of the side effect medications caused very achy joints, and muscles. I bought ginger root, and grated it, and made ginger tea (not too strong) with a little honey, and drank a cup or two daily. It really did help a lot. More than I expected it too. It's got some good anti-inflammatory properties. Unknowingly, I bought an older piece of ginger, and it began sprouting. I threw it in a pot with potting soil. It grew like crazy. I transplanted it, and got a good bed of it growing. I wonder if your older chickens would benefit from it. Maybe make a tea, and pour some on their feed? I don't know if they would eat a little raw chopped ginger, but maybe. I've read that it can be dried, and sprinkled into their food, so if you have a food dehydrator, or maybe used the stove on low to dry it out, it would work for them. Anyway, it's a thought.

Has your neuropathy gone away, mine apparently is forever as it still persists after 3 years, my fingertips are the worse. Not bad enough to take meds anymore, but sometimes feels like electric shocks, especially in the evening.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks, Cheryl. I do take ginger/lemon herbal tea with raw local honey myself. I could give the old girls oatmeal with ginger in there, sure. I'd probably put a lot of regular ground ginger in there to see if they'd balk at the taste first, but they'd probably be fine with it. Poor old things. It's windy and feels raw today, though the actual air temp is about 50*. Until we get used to the new lower temps, it always seems colder than it is.

It is in the 30's here. Both me and my chickens love it. It did take a few days to get used to the new normal. They are talking some snowflakes by the end of the week, I'm excited. It won't stay, probably, but is always pretty to see.

Sorry about yours shoulder. I had both mine replaced 10 and 15 years ago so I know what that feels like. My left shoulder got so bad that it was constantly dislocating. Thankfully I finally found a doctor who was willing to help me. I was 35 years old and no one wanted to tell me about replacement due to my age. Life has been better now, though I don't have a functioning rotator cuff in the left one.

 

[getaclue]

Has your neuropathy gone away, mine apparently is forever as it still persists after 3 years, my fingertips are the worse. Not bad enough to take meds anymore, but sometimes feels like electric shocks, especially in the evening.

It's usually very tolerable, but not totally gone. The ginger tea helps most of the time, and I rarely have to do pain medication anymore, but there are those rare times, and nothing short of serious pain medication will give relief. That's funny. I have always described it like bad electrical shocks, like a constant cattle prod, or grabbing an electric fence, and not letting go. Everyone else describes it like pins, and needles.