Think it's too cold for your chickens? Think again...

[Triplell]

The concrete jungle is never fun. I can remember in Cali when it got to 106 F. At 100 you can fry an egg on the concrete not to mention the tar!!! For us up here we do get the 4 seasons but some of them are very short. Winter is 4 months, Spring is 2 months, Summer 3 months, Fall around one month. Of course each year is different. Last year we had 6 months of spring and summer. But really we joke about only having 2 seasons snow and road construction. If I could get my husband to move to northern California I sure would. I miss the sun and the heat. I have a hard time with the humidity and the extremely cold. I wont swim in the lakes but give me the ocean anytime!!!

 

[jaybanana]

The concrete jungle is never fun. I can remember in Cali when it got to 106 F. At 100 you can fry an egg on the concrete not to mention the tar!!! For us up here we do get the 4 seasons but some of them are very short. Winter is 4 months, Spring is 2 months, Summer 3 months, Fall around one month. Of course each year is different. Last year we had 6 months of spring and summer. But really we joke about only having 2 seasons snow and road construction. If I could get my husband to move to northern California I sure would. I miss the sun and the heat. I have a hard time with the humidity and the extremely cold. I wont swim in the lakes but give me the ocean anytime!!!

My sister in law is from Wisconsin, and the first time she saw the ocean she was in her 20's! And it was in Australia! I couldn't believe it!! I don't do humidity well either, but don't mind the dry heat

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yah, I know it's expensive stuff! LOL. I'll come up with something... I know it's not that cold here, just, you know... figure my chickens have thin blood like the rest of us in the warmer areas, LOL. But was really worried about drafts. Thanks again!!!

2X4 sheet of Lexan for $15 http://www.ebay.com/itm/360431555533?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Check out their store on ebay 'lowcostmetals' . They have lots of cool stuff and ship all over the world.

 

[cluck-cluck]

2X4 sheet of Lexan for $15 http://www.ebay.com/itm/360431555533?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Check out their store on ebay 'lowcostmetals' . They have lots of cool stuff and ship all over the world.

Cool! Is that hard to cut? Is there a trick? Thanks!

 

[frostbite]

Those of you deep in snow right now, please remember, those of us in the warmer climates boil as if in the fires of Hades in the summer! You can turn on the heater, put on lots of warm clothes and get by in the cold, but when it's so hot you can't breath naiked, there's no more for you to do! Plus it's so beautiful to have 4 real seasons! And most of you are living in the countryside with trees and fields of green! How lovely that sounds to me!

I agree completely. Cold is so much easier to deal with than Hot! I feel blessed to live where the wilderness is 10 minutes away from my house, where you can see the biggest mountain clearly across the valley even though it's 150 miles away, where the population pressure hasn't taken away so much of my personal freedom, and where no one spits at you if you wear fur to keep warm.

I will say, we don't have four seasons, we have five, and some of them are pretty short. Spring is called "break-up" and it's mostly grey, brown, muddy, drippy, and slushy. That's followed by "green-up" where it goes from brown to green in one week. Honestly, it's amazing how the naked trees suddenly put their clothes on! Then we have summer for about 2.5 months (in the interior it can get up into the eighties), followed by a glorious fall; even on the treeless tundra, the colors are amazing. Then we go back to our 6 month winter, and get to brag about how tough we are, and describe any degree above zero as "balmy", whereupon visiting relatives ask us if we are talking about the weather or about ourselves!

It's a balmy 10 degrees above today, predicted to get to a scorching 20 above, whereupon we won't be able to wear our parkas without sweating! Time to go up to the ranch and ride my ponies!

 

[cluck-cluck]

Love it frostbite!

I only landed in Anchorage Alaska on my way to Europe the summer before last, and it was GORGEOUS! I went outside the airport to bask in the 70 degree breeze, OMG, it was beautiful! Since we're a bunch of no good gamers in my family, we wouldn't mind hunkering down 6 months of the year, playing World of Warcraft, anything on Steam or Minecraft, the time would fly, ROFL. As long as there was plenty of hot coco and cakes and cookies! Wouldn't that be nice! (I know, ya'all have to work, so do we, LOL). Still nice dream.... I'd love it but my hubby won't go for it

 

[frostbite]

Hah! Usually it's the other way 'round. The guy wants to go to the wilderness, but the woman says NO WAY!

See if you can convince him to come up for a vacation. It's a very well kept secret what living in Alaska is really like, especially how bad it isn't!

 

[SD Bird Lady]

I have been lurking for awhile but, since the topic of heat came up. I have LF Brahmas and last summer lost 2 pullets to heat when it hit 103 for about a week straight but its been 10 four about 2 weeks here is good ol South Dakota and they were still out scratching until this weird white stuff showed up (we are also is the middle of a bad drought).

 

[cluck-cluck]

LOL, we haven't had money for a vacation in many years. When we do go somewhere, it's to visit his family. But yes, Life has to get better one of these days! (he did manage to stop the leak in the roof, so I'm already feeling way better this winter! LOL)

oh yes, I understand the Dakotas, Montana... many of the Canadian and boarder states can have 100 degree drops/ climbs in temperature in a single day! That's just wild! Or is that hearsay, LOL?

 

[tropicaljo]

I live in Arkansas and we deal with 100+ degree days in the summer and down to the teens or less in the winters... Just a quick suggestion about dealing with summer heat and keeping the chickens a bit more comfortable... I freeze 20 oz soda pop bottles and drop them in the coop and toss them in the truck. I've also frozen a couple of 2 liter bottles and put them in a 5 gallon bucket with a couple of gallons of water, put the lid on it and it will radiate a cool spot for several hours. The girls seem content to cozy up to them in the heat of the day.