Violet's only companion died today - and it's freezing

[deacons]

Yes, @KayTee , that works well for me with food bowls too. I don't like to give them large open bowls of water because my girls seem to be "splashers" and in this really cold weather I worry about frostbite on combs and wattles if they're playing around in an open bowl. The smaller surface area of small plastic water bases seems to be ok, even though they still do make a bit of a mess and certainly do at times get water dribbled down their wattles and necks.

Some people swear by the nipple water system, and I know there are tons of threads on it here. In my very cursory research, it seems like it can be hard to keep unfrozen in winter, and that you have to train the chickens to use it.

 

[Acornewell]

I REALLY want to try the nipple watering system.

When my birds are kenneled I usually put one of the dog kennel feeders.

http://www.chewy.com/dog/midwest-st...st&utm_term=&gclid=CMyxn-7r1cMCFQiHaQodMRMAVw

I like the flower pot idea too!

 

[yogamebird]

We have one of those huge waterers that are plastic jugs submerged into the watering tray. IT definitely won't tip over, but did take your advice and raise it up - but only about an inch. We should probably raise it 3-4"

I tied the feed bowls to the side of the cage but down on the floor - I didn't think to raise them up!! What a great idea!! That will be my next project.

Such good advice - I love this forum!

 

[Acornewell]

We all have had the same issues! And creative we are!

 

[yogamebird]

The plot thickens - things are in a bad state...

Last I posted, the girls were put in the garage due to an impending blizzard and very cold temps. I bought pine shavings and spent quite a bit of time trying to make them comfortable. And I got sicker and sicker every day leading up to my trade show. My husband figured it out: I am deathly allergic to the pine shavings! This wasn't just any old allergy - it was severe. And I had to leave for NYC. So we had to leave the chicken care solely up to my husband who, I will say, is not as tenderhearted towards them as I am.

We ran out of layer feed. The girls were pooping in their food which now is just cracked corn. (Layer feed is on mail order.) And then, Violet started eating Tilly's eggs! (I saw with my own eyes while holding my breath.) That's problem number one. What do we do to discourage this behavior going forward? And number two, how do we acclimate the girls back to their coop? We wanted to wait until tomorrow (Sunday) because for the first time in months the evening temp will not be in the single digits (but it will be in the teens several days in the next ten days.) I thought maybe we could start by taking the dog crate outside and putting it in the sun. It's 27 outside but the sun is bright.

The coop itself has a mild heating system set up - a light bulb encased in a large metal canister, and a heated water dispenser. We have thick clear plastic material over the chicken wire in the coop, but it's not tightly sealed - there are leaks. The sun does shine directly into the coop for hours every day, but it must get quite cold at night.

Please help!

We hope to get some pullets in the spring but my nightmare is the Violet eats all their eggs....what a mess!

 

[KayTee]

It's always the same - things always seem to happen at exactly the moment you don't need them!

You have several issues going on here, as I am sure you are aware.

Firstly, a diet of cracked corn and nothing else is most definitely not good for your girls - it is high calorie, low nutrition food. It is therefore probably not a surprise that Violet is eating eggs - she is looking for the nutrition that is lacking in her diet. (It can also cause chickens to pick and eat feathers.) It is a very bad habit to get in to, so you need to start giving them better feed asap.

If you are going to have to wait for the chicken feed to arrive, then give them some other type of food. One very good thing would be scrambled or boiled eggs - as long as they aren't raw, it won't encourage egg eating. At least one egg per bird per day, two if you have enough. You can also give them porridge oats - made into a warm mash with hot milk or water - yogurt, cottage cheese (or other higher fat cheeses but in small quantities), and virtually all vegetable peelings (boiled for a couple of minutes to cook them through) and other kitchen scraps, leftovers from meals etc. You can give your chickens almost anything you would eat yourself, as long as it isn't too high in sugar or salt. You can also give them meat trimmings (cooked and cut into very small pieces), and cat or dog food (if it's dry then moisten it with hot water). Neither of these last two are long term suggestions, but for a few days it will help to give them a more balanced diet until your layer feed arrives.

Once you sort out the feed situation you may well find that Violet stops eating eggs. However, until then you need to try and remove eggs as soon after they are laid as you can, to remove the temptation as quickly as possible.

You also need to try and raise the feed bowls somehow - fixed to the wire of the cage, or on top of flowerpots - something to keep the poop out of them.

To introduce the girls back to the coop I would be inclined to place their open cage inside the coop (if you have space), or if that isn't possible then next to the open door of the coop, with a makeshift 'corridor' to give them access to it. (I have used pieces of fencing, clothes airers, cardboard etc. in the past!) Then they can decide where they want to be during the day, and in the evening you can see if they choose to sleep in the coop or to go back to the cage. If they are back in the cage, bring them back inside for the night, then let them out again tomorrow. As long as you haven't been heating the garage where you've been keeping them then they should still be quite cold hardy.

It is a shame you are allergic to pine shavings (not an allergy I've come across before!) but there are several equally good alternatives available - if you research bedding online then you may be able to find some suggestions for something within your budget and easily available online or in your area.

 

[yogamebird]

Thank you for all your recommendations, KayTee!

The garage is not heated per se, but it is warmer than outside - maybe 45 or so. My husband checked the coop and the heating system is working. Tomorrow promises to be sunny and just at freezing during the day. My husband had to dig out the door to the coop and we found we do have layer feed in the feeder in the coop that should last until the mail order feed arrives. He brought some cups of it to the garage and they gobbled it up like crazy.

I can't wait to get them out of the filthy dirty dog crate. It has not been cleaned in three weeks and the shavings are pretty much soaked through. It's awful and my hands are tied. I almost cried when I looked at it today. And they tipped over their dishes and ate the layer food right on the floor. I hope they won't get sick from it. All along I've been pretty much the primary caregiver and once they are back in the coop I'll be able to pick up the role again. The coop has straw in the main part and the shavings are only in the nesting area upstairs. Since I can't lift the roof (husband's job) I won't be exposed to them at all. I am going to make them the best hot mash ever once they've moved tomorrow!!

My mother had a sensitivity to pine - we had a realistic looking fake Christmas tree growing up! So I'm not surprised.

Would Brussels sprouts be OK for the girls? I always think of them as being kind of strong tasting.

Thanks so much again for your reply!!

 

[deacons]

@KayTee perfectly summed up everything I would have said. I think she's right on.

So glad the girls will be moving back outside. I think they will be much happier, as will you!

While you're waiting for the big bag of food to arrive, I wonder if you can pick up a smaller bag? If you have an Agway near you, they have small (maybe 5lb?) bags of Purina feeds. In my area, most horse tack shops also carry chicken feed, so that could be a solution. Or Tractor Supply. I do think that getting them some properly balanced chicken feed ASAP is important. Do they still have access to oyster shell? That's also important since they're still laying and not getting the calcium from their feed right now.

My girls do love brussels sprouts. They also love kale, broccoli and cabbage. In fact, one thing you can do as a "boredom buster" is hang up a cabbage or big head of broccoli for them to peck at. I followed the instructions here, which involved a couple of inexpensive hangers from the hardware store: http://www.communitychickens.com/boredom-buster/. I hung it from a wooden rafter out in the run with a piece of metal chain. A thick rope would probably work too. This will give them something to do that does not involve bothering each other.

 

[yogamebird]

Here we go again! Another raging snowstorm has postponed the chicken moving plans!! My husband wants to keep them in the garage until Friday as Thursday night the temp will be in the single digits. Then as far forward as we can see, the temps will at least be in the double digits at night. I feel for them having to stick it out a few more days.

The Agway is about an hour from here - and that's the closest feed store, and it's snowing. The feed shipped last week, so we're expecting it tomorrow. We do have some layer feed that we found once we shoveled out the coop. It will hold us through tomorrow. THIS JUST IN!! My husband is delivering a motorcycle and he is minutes from the Agway! I'm telling him to get meal worms, and oyster shell. Any other quick thoughts should I be lucky enough to have someone read this while he's there?

We also have shrimp shells in the freezer - what about those for the girls? (Thawed of course)

We did try the cabbage thing last summer and neither hen was interested! But now Henrietta is gone and we have Tilly. It could be a different story. There's no room in the dog crate for it now. I may just microwave up some Brussels sprouts. Or is it ok to serve them raw?

Violet has stopped laying. I think her egg laying days are over.

Thanks, Deacons, for getting back to me.....good info as always....

 

[KayTee]

A small bag of feed - (even non-layer if no layer feed is available) - would be a good thing, just in case there's a delay with your online order. Non-layer combined with oyster shell would be fine for them - much better than just cracked corn.