The recent cold snap ravaged my animals

[ChickieBooBoo]

Today was finally a warm day, for the past week or two its been -22F to -31F everyday without the windchill.

 

[newfoundland]

We had minus twelve temperatures here which is pretty cold for us. I don't know what was the real temperature when you factor in wind chill, but I believe in some parts it was as low as minus 25! All animals well, but I will bubble wrap all hutches, hen/duck houses and surround with straw!

 

[Kansaseq]

Some of the boys have frostbite, even one of my Ameraucana boys has a little bit, but other than that, we are ok. So sorry for your loss.

 

[Susan Mc]

I'm so sorry for your losses. We don't get very cold weather here in Ireland either, but in the month before xmas it went down well below freezing for over a week on 2 occasions. I lost 3 birds myself.
Throw tons of straw into your rabbit hutches, they can burrow into it and huddle together.
Make sure all indoor areas are dry and draft-free.
Put a layer of vaseline on the combs of birds with large single combs, this will help protect against frostbite. If you do it at bedtime they won't complain or struggle much.
Feed them something warm a hour before bedtime. Some people make oatmeal for their chickens. I just put mixed grains in a dish and poured a bit of warm water over it.
To help keep waterers from freezing over so quickly, try using a metal dish, placing it over a square of bricks, place a lit tealight in the centre of the brick square.
Put some extra vitamins in the water too, it won't hurt.
All the best to you during the rest of the wintry weather.

 

[88Haywood88]

There's been another fatality here due to the cold. My muscovy drake also froze last night. it wasn't as cold, but still enough to kill him. I don't know what I'll do with the suzie, i guess sell her and get some other kind of waterfowl. are mallard ducks good mothers? or should i get chinese geese?

 

[dewey]

That's so sad. Do the livestock have shelter from the wind?

 

[mamawolf544]

Poor Nanny.

I have lost my ugly little frizzle, one of my beautiful Blue Slate hens and to my shock everyone else has survived including my Boer kid's.
But almost everybody is sleeping in the barn.

 

[88Haywood88]

They all have shelter from the wind, but the sheer cold killed them.

 

[pbjmaker]

I think it is what someone else said - they are not acclimated to that type of weather. Mine have survived those kinds of temps all winter just fine, but I overcrowd my coop a bit in the winter and sell of the extras in the spring and that is annoying but not abnormal temps during the winter here. In fact it got to 33 today and they were all out sunbathing

 

[dewey]

I'm so sorry for your losses.

I had a heater on in my rabbit barn to take the edge off for the babies because there was about a 60 degree change in temps from highs to lows within a very short time (from around 78 high to 18 with chill factor in about 48 hours). The low temps wouldn't normally be a concern if they were acclimated, but I don't know what would have happened with the drastic change if not for the heater. Sometimes up north there'd always be cow/calf losses with early calving in -30 if they weren't found in time and brought into the barns. I'm so sorry.