The Old Folks Home

[CapricornFarm]

Hello friends!

I’ve been here for months and I’m a good learner. I know about the size and gauge of HW cloth, the square footage required for coop and run, and the need to minimize treats.

And I know that chickens can survive the cold! They have excellent ventilation, and they’re huddled together in their roost, laying aside pecking order disputes for the night. But it’s supposed to go down to 5* F tonight, and it was only a few short months ago that these girls were little chickies, and then silly adolescents. How can I leave them there on such a night?


Now, I am trying to let my inner grownup run this show.

But, I can’t stop thinking about being a poor little chicken outside in the cold.

They have down jackets on, they will be ok!

 

[getaclue]

Is anyone here in Ohio, or have a Buckeye tree? I need some buckeyes (seeds) to be used as worry stones.

 

[drumstick diva]

yes, but the chickens don't have down hoods.

 

[microchick]

Long day here. Got up at 5, laid back down after letting dogs out,letting dogs in,throwing wood on fire. Wanted to get up at 6....got up at 7. Had to have Ben at the vets to be parted company with his testosterone producers no later than 8AM. Made it by 7 minutes...don't know how we did it. We stayed with him until he was sedated. High tailed it to Hyvee where I bought 2 months of perishables in 45 minutes out the door. I was truckin it! DH had a doc's appointment at 10 that took 2 hours of suffering...mainly hurrying up and waiting....until 12:15. From there to Orschelns where they had scratch grain and all flock on sale...yay!! Back to town to pick up poor little Ben who was still groggy, then home to unload and put groceries away. Just checked on Benny. Poor baby rolled over on his back to show me his belly....ummm...only lower and the look on his face was 'Look at what they did to me, Mommy!' I just wanted to cry for the little guy. Didn't have the heart to tell him I signed the surgical permit.

Varn is the last one to be neutered. Next month.I think this has been harder on us than it has the pups.

 

[microchick]

Hey, @trumpeting_angel! How'd those 'babies' survive their first cold night on their own?!?

 

[bruceha2000]

They probably all died Micro

But it’s supposed to go down to 5* F tonight, and it was only a few short months ago that these girls were little chickies, and then silly adolescents. How can I leave them there on such a night?


Now, I am trying to let my inner grownup run this show.

But, I can’t stop thinking about being a poor little chicken outside in the cold.

If it helps, EVERY FRIGGING NIGHT I have to move a quantity of chickens into the coop. The EE pullets, one of the Astra White pullets and a few of the older girls think that for some reason they should sleep in the "feed room" or on the alpaca stand. Now that would be fine except the barn isn't predator proof. Far from it, the alpacas have a 24x7 open door. So I move the girls into the "Fort Knox" coop. Even though it was 7° when I moved them tonight (and they are ALL in their own space, not huddling together) I noticed that while some of the girls up on the roosts were side by side, others were alone. Clearly 7°F isn't cold enough for some of them to get real friendly with another hen.

Your chickens will be fine

 

[microchick]

You are BAD! @bruceha2000.

I don't have any trouble getting mine into the coop now that I have one coop. The few stragglers that are brave enough to go out and plod around in the snow, namely the Fayoumis know what last call is. Plus I have two broodies that are still sleeping with their chicks. Betty, my super broody who stays with her chicks until they are bigger than she is and my little bantam whose chick is BIGGER than she is is still cuddling up together in a nest box at night. One of my little cockerels was orphaned and been on his own since he was 8 weeks. He has teamed up with two birds from an earlier hatch during the day but sleeps by himself at night. Can't convince him to sit on the roost bar or cuddle up with a willing buddy. He has to sleep on top of the plywood roof of the original nesting boxes. I tried stuffing him into an unused nesting bucket one night but he popped right back out again. You can only do so much.

 

[bruceha2000]

You can only do so much.

And trust that they naturally know what to do ... except for predators and safety from same. I guess as far as they are concerned high is safe. But it isn't safe from owl and coons. Neither is 4' off the ground in a barn with an open door.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

You will all be astounded to learn that the girls survived the night! I even forgot to close the pop door (to their Fort Knox run from their Fort Knox coop), letting a bit more breeze in. This realization awakened me at midnight, but I decided to be a rational, courageous chicken keeper and stay in bed.

I did give them a bit of warm scrambled eggs at bedtime.

They even braved the crust on a little snow in the yard. Well, they were unwilling to jump down onto it, but when coaxed to come to the sunny hill, about 8 feet away, they decided to “fly.” What a sight! Skidding on the icy runway, they took turns except for two, who took off at the same time and more or less collided on landing. The last one, a Buffy, did her usual flying performance, shrieking on takeoff and having a hard landing that would have shaken less brave birds. But no, they milled around for a bit admiring the brown grasses and wildflowers, then headed up the hill for scratching and sunbathing.

Thank you, Old Folks for your support through a bitterly cold November night. It’s rarely this cold here in November, but clearly they are ready!

 

[ronott1]

You will all be astounded to learn that the girls survived the night! I even forgot to close the pop door (to their Fort Knox run from their Fort Knox coop), letting a bit more breeze in. This awakened me at midnight, but I decided to be a rational, courageous chicken keeper.

I did give them a bit of warm scrambled eggs at bedtime.

They even braved the crust on a little snow in the yard. Well, they were unwilling to jump down onto it, but when coaxed to come to the sunny hill, about 8 feet away, they decided to “fly.” What a sight! Skidding on the icy runway, they took turns except for two, who more or less collided on landing. The last one, a Buffy, did her usual, shrieking on takeoff and having a hard landing that would have shaken less brave birds. But no, they milled around for a bit admiring the brown grasses and wildflowers, then headed up the hill for scratching and sunbathing.

Thank you, Old Folks for your support through a bitterly cold November night. It’s rarely this cold here in November, but clearly they are ready!

Many of us have OCD

And some would have run out into the snow in the middle of the night to close that door!