The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[nova022]

They will live..they might not like it and they will by uncomfortable..but animals deal with all kinds of conditions. I would keep the nests as dry as possible and replace the bedding. I would not bother adding PDZ. Make sure they can at least roost in a dry area free from being rained on.

Their roost, poop boards and nests are high and dry. Only their feet would get wet when they walk to the pop door to go outside. I am concerned about the humidity inside the coop and whether it would cause respiratory problems. There are plenty of vents to circulate the air and they will pretty much only be in there to sleep and lay. It is supposed to rain through Sunday with the worst days being Thursday and Friday.

 

[nova022]

Question: Do they get outside during the day or are they confined to the coop?

They have a good size covered run and their pop door is open for them to come and go. They mostly stay outside except when they go in to lay and when they go in to sleep which is around 8:00PM. I try to let them free range when I am home, but with the rain I have not been as willing to stay outside as they are. ; )

 

[nova022]

Quote:

It seems like it is raining (or snowing) every where. I will keep it turned and let it dry out. Thanks.

 

[stonykill]

we haven't had a real rain in almost a month. Dryer than a popcorn fart around here

 

[nova022]

As long as they can get outside during the day they should be ok - but leave all your windows open (even at night) to prevent upper respiratory infections. Good air flow is key.

Thanks for the reply. I will leave everything open as much as possible. When I am home I opened the people door and took the lids off the nest box. I will do this every chance I get. We just need a nice sunny day or two.

 

[nova022]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I just knew I was going to have a bunch of sick soggy chickens.
The funny thing is they love the rain. They will stand out in it when there is perfectly good cover to run under. I remember feeling that way as a child so maybe they are on to something.

 

[nova022]

we haven't had a real rain in almost a month. Dryer than a popcorn fart around here

Ha ha! Never heard that expression before. Hope you get some rain then. I am not complaining (too much) about ours. It will be hot and dry here soon enough and then I will be wishing for rain.

 

[aaggjg]

To make all of you with cold weather feel a bit better, the warm weather here means a constant battle with MITES!! and unfortunately they are winning! I thought I was finally getting the upper hand but I don't think that is the case at all anymore. They are loving the warmth and breeding like well SUPER MITES UGH!!!! So can people please weigh in and let me know what else I should be doing to rid my coops of these horrible critters!!

I have 2 coops as my garden is on a terraced hillside leading down to a dry creek bed so to make runs big enough to prevent overcrowding I needed 2 coops

.... Thats my story and I am sticking to it

... My hens can only come out to play in the yard when I am out with them as there are too many predators looking for an easy tasty snack. So they get out for 2-3 hours a day in the morning ..... One coop has had mites for a long time and the other did not ... until today ... Okay probably been in there for a little while but I finally saw mites on one of the hens from coop 2 (I look all the time just to be sure)

I have been attempting to do DL in my coops using pine shavings and like LM's I shovel in a few scoops of garden soil to help kick start the DL. The DL is on linoleum lined plywood. I stir the litter daily but I still get occasional ammonia build up.... My coops are wood ... I do have some ventilation but probably could use more ... especially in coop 1. I have been spraying the perches walls and every nook and cranny with Neem oil as well as Orange Guard and an essential oil mix.... I have various herbs in the nest boxes and as I can not find sulfir blocks at my feed store so I was sprinkling garden sulfur in the DL to try and help deter the mites .... I have been applying NS to vents and gave them ash bathes a while ago, but I am fresh out of wood ash .... I do have DE so I guess I could use that in a pinch despite its controversial status as a "helper" "pest deterrer " ....

So here is my question what else should I be doing?? I cleaned out the coop entirely when I first noticed the mites but that didn't seem to help either .... should I do that again?? I'm at a loss and I really don't want my girls to suffer any more!!

 

[stonykill]

Ha ha! Never heard that expression before. Hope you get some rain then. I am not complaining (too much) about ours. It will be hot and dry here soon enough and then I will be wishing for rain.

a saying my grandfather used to use a lot

 

[jlynnet]

  a saying my grandfather used to use a lot

I too grew up hearing that phrase and many more!