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

[LiLChicken]

Everyone has different circumstances...& different problems with their chickens ..sometimes we just need to cry / complain a little . LOL
I am a Lady ...Mine are pets / food source - eggs at this point . We have no dog .. I want one for the safety of my flock ..My husband doesnt want one ..So we dont have one .So We got a Rooster for some protection for our girls .
I guess I worry more because I have seen the fox come in our yard during the day to get our chickens ..( it succeeded twice ) & I do hear him / her hunting at night near our house . they are more vulnerable during the day when they are out free ranging .If they are locked in the coop they are safe . ( surrounded by wood ) not much ventilation though . So I keep my ears listening when they are still in the run area at night for some air before I totally close them up ..

Does that mean it's ok for me to complain....LOL Now have you tried the red LED blinking lights ? I have heard they work but I have never tried it my self now also a guy I met told me he leaves a radio on a talk radio station out by his animals now who knows if it will work.

 

[LiLChicken]

Sorry I don't know how it double posted

 

[Gramma Chick]

I think you already did..LOL " never under stood why people get all freaked out by the Cold, Heat, Fox's, Hawks and so on ..."
I havent tried red lights (There is a Predator System like that you can buy . ) but I do have a flood light on the coop at night until I lock them in ..It is on while i am up ..I turn it off when I go to bed coz.. I lock them in ..they are surround by plywood ..so they are safe then .
The foxes havent come on my property since I shot at them ...in the summer ( that I know of ) . it just makes me nervous when I hear them hunting ..as I know they are out there . ..hungry ..
I havent heard them in a about a week ...since that one night ..when they were right on the camp road near us ..I turned on all the outside lights ..grabbed my flashlight ..& shined it at them ( I could see their eyes through the trees ) and yelled at them till they left . I heard them the next night a couple of barks ..I turned on the outside light & opened the door..they shut right up ...& probably left .
Once in a while at night in the summer ( before we had chickens ) I would hear them barking ..sometimes they where chasing my cat ..I would do the same thing go out & yell at them & shine the flash light on them ..it freaks them out some ..& they leave .

I think the human voice might work also with a radio playing ..I would feel alot better with a dog ..For now I guess I am their guard LOL

 

[LiLChicken]

well if hubby won't go for a dog what about getting some mean geese ? and you can have a goose dinner now and then

Also in your motion lights you could put one of those buzzers in that might help it will also help you to know when the motion sensor is tripped so you can get some more target practice

 

[Rooster Rules]

I think you already did..LOL " never under stood why people get all freaked out by the Cold, Heat, Fox's, Hawks and so on ..."
I havent tried red lights (There is a Predator System like that you can buy . ) but I do have a flood light on the coop at night until I lock them in ..It is on while i am up ..I turn it off when I go to bed coz.. I lock them in ..they are surround by plywood ..so they are safe then .
The foxes havent come on my property since I shot at them ...in the summer ( that I know of ) . it just makes me nervous when I hear them hunting ..as I know they are out there . ..hungry ..
I havent heard them in a about a week ...since that one night ..when they were right on the camp road near us ..I turned on all the outside lights ..grabbed my flashlight ..& shined it at them ( I could see their eyes through the trees ) and yelled at them till they left . I heard them the next night a couple of barks ..I turned on the outside light & opened the door..they shut right up ...& probably left .
Once in a while at night in the summer ( before we had chickens ) I would hear them barking ..sometimes they where chasing my cat ..I would do the same thing go out & yell at them & shine the flash light on them ..it freaks them out some ..& they leave .

I think the human voice might work also with a radio playing ..I would feel alot better with a dog ..For now I guess I am their guard LOL

I figure the farther "South", the more freaked out about "cold" folks get. As the south for the most part does not experience any real nasty cold winter type weather.
look at t Superbowl 2011 week in Dallas, ice, snow and very cold for them. Funny it was warmer here, at 1400 miles directly north of Dallas.
We have all the "predators" here, foxes, coyotes, wolves, weasles,mink,skunks, badgers, you name it. So my birds will stay in at night, and have a run for non attended daylight use.
I will try and run my 'hen house" without heat, if I can get away with it, I do have my very insulated garage,thats heated for a "sick bay" to keep those that might get frosted.
I still can't get over how those little Chickadees,Jays, and Magpies, do not have frozen feet, here on -30 days.....

 

[Gramma Chick]

well if hubby won't go for a dog what about getting some mean geese ? and you can have a goose dinner now and then

Also in your motion lights you could put one of those buzzers in that might help it will also help you to know when the motion sensor is tripped so you can get some more target practice

I did think about geese ..but decided that I couldnt take them ..too noisy & more to clean up after ..goose dinner does sound good though .
no motion light ..just a light shining on the coop ..so far it has kept animals away . I am up most of the night usually until about 3;00 so I am also listening for sounds .
Buzzers ...that would probably keep me away . LOL
We will be moving them into a small old trailer before winter .. so I will probably worry less about them then . We are trying to finish our shed first .
We have to gut most of the trailer for them ..as it has counter , cabinets closets , Etc


My hubby fell off a ladder in the summer & spent most of the summer in a wheel chair ..so we are behind on doing everything ..He is back walking now ...so the shed
is finally getting worked on again ..

 

[Gramma Chick]

Sorry I don't know how it double posted

no problem !

 

[Gramma Chick]

I figure the farther "South", the more freaked out about "cold" folks get. As the south for the most part does not experience any real nasty cold winter type weather.
look at t Superbowl 2011 week in Dallas, ice, snow and very cold for them. Funny it was warmer here, at 1400 miles directly north of Dallas.
We have all the "predators" here, foxes, coyotes, wolves, weasles,mink,skunks, badgers, you name it. So my birds will stay in at night, and have a run for non attended daylight use.
I will try and run my 'hen house" without heat, if I can get away with it, I do have my very insulated garage,thats heated for a "sick bay" to keep those that might get frosted.
I still can't get over how those little Chickadees,Jays, and Magpies, do not have frozen feet, here on -30 days.....
Are you in Canada ? Last year was pretty warm..I am hoping for another warmer winter ..
I know I wonder about the chicadees too . They must roost like chickens do ..

 

[frostbite]

The chickadees and other wild birds get by with down coats and an ability to survive on the available foods, and by eating a LOT of it! When it's 20 below you can see them on the feeder, all puffed up, looking like fluff balls with a beak sticking out one end and a tail sticking out the other. The most like chickens of the wild birds here are the spruce hens and ptarmigans. It's no wonder to me that chickens do just fine in the cold. Naturally, the wild birds suffer more significant mortality in the winter, from predation, from not being able to forage for enough food, from exposure if the weather is too harsh and they aren't in peak condition. But the chickens aren't subject to any of that. They're food is served on a galvanized steel platter, they have shelter from the wind, they have protection from predation, and they still have their downy coats.

 

[Rooster Rules]

The chickadees and other wild birds get by with down coats and an ability to survive on the available foods, and by eating a LOT of it! When it's 20 below you can see them on the feeder, all puffed up, looking like fluff balls with a beak sticking out one end and a tail sticking out the other. The most like chickens of the wild birds here are the spruce hens and ptarmigans. It's no wonder to me that chickens do just fine in the cold. Naturally, the wild birds suffer more significant mortality in the winter, from predation, from not being able to forage for enough food, from exposure if the weather is too harsh and they aren't in peak condition. But the chickens aren't subject to any of that. They're food is served on a galvanized steel platter, they have shelter from the wind, they have protection from predation, and they still have their downy coats.

We have, spruce hens, sharp tailed grouse, ruffled grouse, hungarian partridges, feral ring neck pheasants and wild turkeys, I find the spruce hens to be the least smart, or at least not afraid of humans.
There are 1000s of Canada Geese, Snows, and Ducks hanging around, this is the Mississippi flyway.
I believe our winter temps can and are as harsh or harsher than parts of Alaska, but our summers are hot and humid.....