Warm Oatmeal for Cold Chickens

[Wyorp Rock]

My "Church Birds" have one Barred Rock, three EEs, three Black Stars. The two youngest are Douglas' Maine's (EE mix). The two oldest are Silkie mixes. I call them Church Birds because they grew up in a coop that kind of looked like a church. This coop also has a cross on top. Because this coop looks like a church it is called the Church.
The Church Birds are not in this coop rate now for it wouldn't be warm enough for them so they are actually in a pallet hay barn that has been turned into a two sided chicken coop. As soon as the snow melts away the Church Birds should be moving back into the Church.

Great story! Do you have any photos

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Great story! Do you have any photos

Pictures of the Church Birds or the Church?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

On my YouTube channel Lacy Duckwing I have a video with a couple of the Church Birds which is Cave and Bailey and a couple of videos of snow which has the Church. @Wyorp Rock

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I've tried warm oatmeal and warming other foods, but by the time I get out there and put it in their run it's cooled considerably especially in the frigid temps we've been having. So, honestly I don't see that it does any good to warm it up. I would have to have a microwave out in the shed to keep their food warm enough to be even considered warm by the time they ate it. Lol

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I've tried warm oatmeal and warming other foods, but by the time I get out there and put it in their run it's cooled considerably especially in the frigid temps we've been having. So, honestly I don't see that it does any good to warm it up. I would have to have a microwave out in the shed to keep their food warm enough to be even considered warm by the time they ate it. Lol

Maybe you should take a cover and put it over their food while you bring it out so that it will hold it's temperature better.

 

[Farmgirl217]

I agree with @Lacy Duckwing !! I took oatmeal out to my girls yesterday and by the time I gave it to them it was barely warm! I then set the bowl down and it froze to ground within minutes!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Maybe you should take a cover and put it over their food while you bring it out so that it will hold it's temperature better.

That would take extra time. Lol. Maybe it's not worth the effort? I do not know what temp chickens can handle. However, I had some leftovers this morning and heated those up for 30 seconds. It's better than getting cold straight out of the fridge food.
Also, with the set up I have, I have to set the dish on the ground to unlock the doors of the run, so it would cool from the bottom up as well.
However, they ate it quick enough that it didn't have time to freeze.

 

[tigger19687]

I did the oatmeal last week, before it was This frigid out but let it cool down to warm before I fed it. They liked it and it took 2 days for them to finish. I gave them a lot for 4 hens.
Now they don't want to eat their feed.... They have done this before to me, little sh*ts.
Tried to give them warm feed mash... nope they didn't want it. Froze solid.
They peck all day but I don't think their crop is full.
I will try the white rice AND oatmeal today, warm not hot. Just because I am afraid they are not eating enough.
They ate all the sprouts yesterday after letting it sit for 4 days and not touching it.

Silly hens

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I did the oatmeal last week, before it was This frigid out but let it cool down to warm before I fed it. They liked it and it took 2 days for them to finish. I gave them a lot for 4 hens.
Now they don't want to eat their feed.... They have done this before to me, little sh*ts.
Tried to give them warm feed mash... nope they didn't want it. Froze solid.
They peck all day but I don't think their crop is full.
I will try the white rice AND oatmeal today, warm not hot. Just because I am afraid they are not eating enough.
They ate all the sprouts yesterday after letting it sit for 4 days and not touching it.

Silly hens

Sounds like you spoiled them. I wouldn't give them any treats unless they are eating their food. I have gone days with no extras just to make sure they are eating their feed which is what they really need. Animals won't starve to death as long as there is access to food (as long as there isn't any illness).

 

[Fairview01]

Has anybody else thought of this?
It has been very cold the past few days and my chickens has been getting cold. So every morning I've been bringing hot oatmeal straight from the stove to my flocks. I have about three different coops of chickens. One is the Main Flock, one is the Bantams, and then there is the latest flock, the Church Birds. I boil four cups of water then add three cups of oatmeal with no salt. Salt is bad for chickens, so I don't give them any. The chickens like their oatmeal a little thick, but not so thick that it is all clumped together. I have three different bowls for each flock. The Bantams get the smallest amount of hot oatmeal. The Main Flock and the Church Birds split the rest with the Church Birds getting a little bit more than the Main Flock. There is eleven Church Birds, ten of the Main Flock, and five Bantams.
The warm oatmeal really warms up the chickens and has been known to help them lay more eggs than they would on a cold day. If you want to make your chickens hot oatmeal boil one cup more of water than oatmeal. Figure out how much your chickens are going to eat of it before it freezes. When the oatmeal is cooked, which it should be cooked on a stove not a microwave, try to bring it out to them as fast as possible. Don't worry about trying to cool it off some, because it will cool off some once it hit the cold air. Sometimes I bring the oatmeal out to the flocks twice a day. Once in the morning after it gets light out and in the early afternoon.
Oatmeal is a really nice warm thing for the chickens that warms their cold bodies up and it is something that they enjoy.

If it makes you feel happy, I think you should do it. On the other hand anything ingested by a war blooded animal is almost immediately brought to the normal body temperature. If your chickens are that cold they are suffering from hypothermia and need to be brought into some sort of warming box. If you truly want to give your chickens something that will generate more body heat, feed crimped oats over corn. Oats have more fiber than corn and will actually raise the chickens body temp during digestion. Read this. Oatmeal isn't the same since it doesn't include the hulls.

It takes a chicken roughly 25-26 hours to lay an egg. Feeding anything warm will not help them lay more eggs that day.