The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[megalomaniac]

pics of one of my coops/ nesting boxes...









this is basically a 4x8' coop with a divider in the middle of the coop, splitting it into two 4x4' coops. I can get by with very small coops, but have larger runs than most due to our warm weather. Chickens only go into the coops to roost at night, otherwise they spend the rest of the entire day outside in the run.

I can build a 4x8' coop with two double nesting boxes for around $300 in materials, but haven't gotten around to painting this one barnyard red like my other coops. In the last pic, the floor of the nesting box is actually around 4 inches lower than the entrance to the box. Again, that keeps most of the nesting material in the box rather than having it scattered out of the box and into the coop itself. The downside is it that it is harder to completely clean out the nesting boxes.

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

I had to carry warm water down this morning to unfreeze the water containers for my chickens! It was 23 this morning and snowing huge white flakes! The winds are high so all the chickens are locked up in their coops today.
And I got the roosters combs, wattles and ear lobes slathered in Bag Balm to hopefully prevent them from getting frostbite! They felt very violated after I grabbed them up and slathered their faces!! LOL
It is 21 degrees F. now and by dark tonight it will be near 0 degrees F.
Everyone will be getting their grain treats tonight before their bed time!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

And I got the roosters combs, wattles and ear lobes slathered in Bag Balm to hopefully prevent them from getting frostbite! They felt very violated after I grabbed them up and slathered their faces!! LOL

My chooks have no idea how spoiled they are in the mild climate here.

 

[Faraday40]

Right now we're at -2'F (Feels like -29 with wind chill.)
Tonight we'll drop to -11'F (but less wind, so still -29 wind chill) and then we'll finally start to heat up. We should be back into the double digits by this weekend! Chicago winters are fun!

My flock is in an insulated coop (no heater) & has 2 attached runs. The tall run has home made clear vinyl sheeting windows but I didn't have time to make the run extension "look pretty." I simply stapled up some plastic sheeting. The sun helps heat the runs like a green house.




"Does she seriously expect us to walk in the snow!"


As you can see above, my girls refuse to go out in the snow. (And those pics were taken when it was still warm!) I put a roost next to the "windows" so they can look outside & get warm in the sun.

My favorite feature (especially today) is my heated waterer. I put a submergible heater inside a 5 gal bucket with horizontal chicken nipples. Water stays liquid as well as clean. I also made a treadle feeder for similar reasons.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

*BRRRRRR* I was moaning when it was 41F in my house and I couldn't turn on the heat because the brooder was on top of a heater vent! My blood is too thin for the kind of temps you're talking about.

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

Well I just went outside to check on everyone again before dark and I found my roosters are getting prepared for the below 0 degree F. temps tonight and started growing feathers on his comb and wattles!!
LOL this is too funny!! I am just kidding Where I applied Bag Balm to them earlier today it makes their combs sticky like petroleum and when he preened his feathers the loose feathers stuck to his comb But it looks funny!! I love these boys!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

He's very handsome, even with his jaunty feathered crown.

 

[Faraday40]

Well I just went outside to check on everyone again before dark and I found my roosters are getting prepared for the below 0 degree F. temps tonight and started growing feathers on his comb and wattles!!
LOL this is too funny!! I am just kidding Where I applied Bag Balm to them earlier today it makes their combs sticky like petroleum and when he preened his feathers the loose feathers stuck to his comb But it looks funny!! I love these boys!

Does Bag Balm work better than Vaseline? My poor roo has some black on the very tips of his comb. I used Vaseline, but the windchill was -29'F. Yesterday's high was at best 0'F, so I'm not sure what else to do.

Besides feathers, DIRT sticks to the Vaseline. Most of my chickens have grayish heads.

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

Well the Bag Balm worked to a point last night!

Good News: Everyone is alive and no major frostbite! Bad/Good news: My Big blue boy got very minor frostbite to three of the points on his comb. But I slathered him again in Bag Balm to hopefully heal as much as possible! AND he is the only one that got frostbitten!

Now all I can do is hope that he did not get too stressed and does not temporarily loose his fertility!!

But all things considered with it getting down to 0 degrees F. possibly a few degrees colder than that! I have no added heat and they are the only two in that 4 x 12 coop I'd give the Bag Balm an A+! Without it I am sure the blue would be much worse and all of my boys would have had frostbite!

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me decide on what to do for my babies during these extreme cold conditions!

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

Tonight when I went out to lock everyone up I noticed that my splash roosters wattles were swollen and just a tad discolored. I assume that that means his wattles were very mildly frostbitten?

I slathered both the boy in bag balm again so hopefully that will help!