The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

Quote: Last year we had temps up to -30. I had hay bales around the perimeter of the hoop coop last year & just put some extra hay down when we had our blizzards when the temps were so low. They did just fine. This year I don't have the hay bales. The billboard tarp I used to cover the cattle panels this year keep more of the wind out. I actually had to open up some of the plastic because the temps were in the 50s & it seemed warm in the coop.

Anyways I am all for more ventilation is good. I have 2 roof vents and the window to the door is open year round. It faces north & most winds here come from the south/southwest. My hens have never had a problem from frostbite or the cold. I don't feed or water them inside the coop. They have to come outside for both. They also don't spend the day in the coop. They go to an old covered run for the day or out in the veggie garden to dig it up.


This is the coop about 6 weeks ago when we had over 7 ft of snow. You can see the snow is piled up over halfway up the rear cattle panel.

I dont have a pic of the cattle panel on this computer but if you click on my profile pic it should take you to my pictures I have one of my coop there.

 

[Mrs. K]

COCHix I am growing fodder as supplement feed. They get it about every other day. They eat it up, but really I thought it would be a bigger treat. They seem more interested in the sprouted seed, vs the green grass part.

Mrs K

 

[Leahs Mom]

Mine is mostly sprout vs. the fodder (to grass stage). Mine love the sprouted seeds!

 

[COChix]

Last year we had temps up to -30. I had hay bales around the perimeter of the hoop coop last year & just put some extra hay down when we had our blizzards when the temps were so low. They did just fine. This year I don't have the hay bales. The billboard tarp I used to cover the cattle panels this year keep more of the wind out. I actually had to open up some of the plastic because the temps were in the 50s & it seemed warm in the coop. Anyways I am all for more ventilation is good. I have 2 roof vents and the window to the door is open year round. It faces north & most winds here come from the south/southwest. My hens have never had a problem from frostbite or the cold. I don't feed or water them inside the coop. They have to come outside for both. They also don't spend the day in the coop. They go to an old covered run for the day or out in the veggie garden to dig it up. This is the coop about 6 weeks ago when we had over 7 ft of snow. You can see the snow is piled up over halfway up the rear cattle panel. I dont have a pic of the cattle panel on this computer but if you click on my profile pic it should take you to my pictures I have one of my coop there.

Ok thanks, yes we have no food or water in our coop, they must go outside. I decided that right away having 25 chickens in that coop all winter would have some issues. So I tarped the run, it is halfway covered with doors as you see in a picture before I tarped it to provide covered space outdoors for them. I have straw in the run and they have plenty if roosting spots in their run to get off the ground as well. Ours spend their days outside unless it is bitterly cold, we allow them to free range when it is nicer temps, once the sun comes out again the gang definitely starts heading towards the free range area more and more.

I left the west side of the run snd the south side un tarped as it sits closer to an old garage which acts like a great wind break naturally. We have other venting in the front and a couple larger openings that I have covered with plastic currently. We also have an east facing window above the nest boxes in that pic of the coop in the snow. Those windows are currently covered as well, I have a temp and humidity monitor in the coop and will see what we dip down to tonight and what we sit at with humidity. The highest we have gotten in humidity has been 40% but that was when it was heavy snow as well. Last night for instance we didn't go above 21%. Here are some shots of the gang after last storm and my tarpping of the run.

COCHix I am growing fodder as supplement feed. They get it about every other day. They eat it up, but really I thought it would be a bigger treat. They seem more interested in the sprouted seed, vs the green grass part. Mrs K

Great to know, what are you growing? I am going to be doing a round of testing on ours, I am expecting ours to love it, they love everything healthy, lol. I have researched and am struggling with how much dry grains to start for one tray. I have the black seedling trays, two of them for this trial run. They will be germinated for probably 12-18 hours and then drained into seedling trays and put under grow lights for a few days. Depends how fast they grow. I have read differing arguments for barley length for chickens, so haven't decide how long yet. We have 25 chickens we are trying to help supplement our feeding costs since we are not fermenting during this cold. Boy do I miss that! Our feed bill has seemed to continue to go up each time, they are pigs! Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lacy Blues]

His wattles actually are not quite that big. Right now they're full of fluid and very heavy so they look longer and more pendulous than they did three days ago.

Thank you for the reminder of your pyrex feed situation. I remember reading that before but had forgotten it. I will have to see what I can work up for all these boys.

I sprout seeds for my birds too. Sometimes, if I'm a little behind the curve then they make it to fodder stage. I clip it with scissors to about one inch in length and leave about a half inch on the sprouted seed and stir it into their food so everybody gets their fair share without one or two birds hogging it all.

 

[COChix]

Mine is mostly sprout vs. the fodder (to grass stage).  Mine love the sprouted seeds!

I sprout as well, although I have been lazy lately, but they love sorouts and greens. They get all our garden scraps in the summer. They especially love broccoli and garbage leaves.

 

[COChix]

His wattles actually are not quite that big.  Right now they're full of fluid and very heavy so they look longer and more pendulous than they did three days ago.

Thank you for the reminder of your pyrex feed situation.  I remember reading that before but had forgotten it.  I will have to see what I can work up for all these boys.

I sprout seeds for my birds too.  Sometimes, if I'm a little behind the curve then they make it to fodder stage.  I clip it with scissors to about one inch in length and leave about a half inch on the sprouted seed and stir it into their food so everybody gets their fair share without one or two birds hogging it all.

So sorry for your roo's waddkes and man they look huge and not very comfortable. Also thanks fir the reminder in the Pyrex trick as we have an open water dish and need to raise it up so our roo's don't diontheir waddles in it. Glad yours swelling has gone down.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Oh, meant to address my local relative humidity too. I live in the high desert and it is extremely dry out there so I haven't really paid much attention in the past to relative humidity; I mean, how high could it be, right? I checked this morning. The temperature at the time was 21, I think, but I'm positive that the relative humidity was 80% and I was quite shocked by that. I figured it had to be raining cats and dogs to have humidity that high here. I will be paying closer attention to that.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I gave them chick waterers this afternoon. Those they can drink out of and still keep their wattles dry.

 

[COChix]

I gave them chick waterers this afternoon.  Those they can drink out of and still keep their wattles dry.

Great idea!