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

[usmcmp]

thank you very much

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
You are welcome.

And thank YOU. My husband is a Marine.

 

[vtgirls]

My chickens all jumped out of the coop and ran to see me at 0 degrees this morning. They seem completely unfazed by the cold! Happy to scratch the frozen stiff ground - we'll see after the big NorEaser predicted this Sunday ;-)

However (I have posted this elsewhere but not getting much for response) I have a sweet little 7 month old bantam cochin who has decided NOW is a great time to be broody. She's in the main coop (small 4x4) and has claimed the girls favorite nesting box. A couple hens are climbing on top of her to lay! I tried moving her under the cover of night to a very nice nesting home (big tub with box, potty room, food, etc) but she abandoned the eggs and just squaked. Upon returning her to the coop she took over the box again. Do I try to move her again? Give her golf balls at first so I am not wasting the eggs I've collected? (its tough to get the eggs before they are near frozen as they lay at all different times!) Will the eggs freeze if she gets up to eat? Should I just let her keep some eggs and leave her in the coop? (My concern is the other hens will NOT stop laying under/over her - I think I wil have all different dated eggs, all under her!)
Being TOO COLD is only half my troubles! - ADVICE PLEASE!!!!!!

 

[Jim from Cincinnati]

THANK YOU ALL....for the input...I needed to hear it...ALL

 

[Sissy]

whoa.... with all the temps Im seeing here
the 27 degree weather we have here is warm

so this year no heat for my flock,
it will save $$ as this electric bill came in at 450.00.

More hay to keep them warm, and wood shavings

to make them more comfy. in their nest box.

 

[featherz]

My birds were a-ok yesterday and it was 2 degrees outside. My leghorns don't appear to have any frostbite (how long does it take to show up?) and they all laid nice big eggs. No heat, no insulation in the coop, lots of vents. All under a year old.

 

[MSBG]

THANK YOU so much for this post. I have worried so about the cold and how it effects my small flock. My motel 6 is now going out of the business of "leaving the light on" to add warmth. I will get the warming dishes so I don't have to go out before I leave for work at 0400, that is a real pain.

QUESTION:
And for those who don't want to go into the house at night, do I just leave them out? I've been taking them in if they are still out there when I check.

My hens are so mean to each other, will they ever stop bickering and picking at each other? This is the second winter for them, they have always been together. I had to remove one hen she was being picked to bleeding, so she is currently in a pen inside the hen house, I think she has a cold coming on, I have to find out how to treat that.

I did have to get rid of 2 of my roosters as my 8 hens were being over serviced. I did get four new chicks from the flock, one roo was killed by the adult roo's and the other three have never really been accepted and two are roos who I have discovered just recently they are not getting along (they use to be just fine together, I guess that's waht comes from trying to rule the roost), so I guess I will have to rehome them for their own good.

ANY help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[sharol]

How about marking the eggs that she gets to keep so you can keep track of the dates?

Quote:

 

[eggbuster]

Quote:
I don't have an answer yet. I gave up and gave my broody 2 eggs. Someone else laid eggs in there while she was out eating and she now has 4. I have since managed to MARK those 4 and remove any new ones. The other hens laying while the broody is out just keeps the eggs warm. The first 2 were cold when I got them from another nest and put them in (she was brooding a plastic egg and a golf ball ) I managed to catch a time when she was out of the nest and kept checking the egg temp until she got back. It was -14C but the eggs never got cold to the touch before she got back. My coop consists of a horse stall with chicken wire around the top bars so it is pretty open but no drafts. I am not sure how its going to work out if the eggs hatch? and as they are in with the other chickens; putting food out for the chicks only will be difficult. I think I will mix game bird starter in with the whole grain adult food and see if they will pick out what they need as well as putting out a chick feeder. I have decided that the answer will be in finding out the hard way. The chickens free range during the day so they aren't in there bugging her all day either and I have a few inches of bedding in the barn alley in case its too nasty for chickens to go outside but they always do. Chickens are much tougher then we give them credit for. They will by-pass water in a heated bowl and peck the ice to make a hole in a frozen water pan. They can put a hole through a 1/4" of ice no problem and enjoy milkcycles.

 

[western edge]

it was 0 degrees at noon but kinda nice on the sunny side.

note the long shadows at noon.