What have you done for your chickens today?

[Right On Reds]

It's been really cold here so every night somewhere between 9-12 pm I go outside with some freshly made hot oatmeal. They hear me coming and start to sing happy songs and come jumping down from their roosts as soon as the lights come on. They eat a whole bunch of hot oatmeal, drink water and go back to their roosts (they are high shelves) which are deeply bedded in alfalfa hay. I fluff up the hay for extra deepness and they seem very happy. While they are eating I go and pick up any poos in the hay so everything is nice and clean again when they return. Plus, this mid-night cleaning makes things a breeze in the morning when I'm rushing out to work.

Has anyone else noticed that chickens really like to live more luxuriously than we ever could have imagined? Mine won't even lay on soiled hay anymore and I keep their shed so clean, they don't have to.

 

[shellybean40]

I cleaned poopy build up off of my large fuzzy butt hens. EW

 

[MissJenny]

We installed heat. (Yea!!!) It's been nudging the single digits for over a week and what I've been doing, twice a day, is heating three bricks in my oven, wrapping them in a towel and laying them in the bedding. Not only does this raise the temperature of the coop by about 10 degrees, it also gives them a cozy spot to sit. They are not even a little bit interested in going outside. I open the pop door and they look at me like I am nuts.

Well, clearly it plans to be a long long winter -- and I live in fear of dropping one of these bricks on the glass window of my oven door, so I picked up a really cool space heater. It has a setting where it comes on at a temperature below freezing and when it reaches the freezing mark of 32 it shuts off. We suspended it from the ceiling the cord runs tightly across the ceiling beam, so there is little chance that they can play with it. I have a temperature sensor in the coop which is maintaining a nice steady 31.5 degrees. I feel a lot better that they aren't stuck out there in a 12 degree coop.

Oh, yeah, I also shredded cabbage and broccoli for them.

Jenny

 

[draye]

Mine all recieved some table scraps, they seem to love these they now can tell when I'm bringing them something besides their feed, since I do not use my regualr feed bucket for the table scraps.

 

[Moabite]

Mine are doing fine. Two of them are becoming much more friendly lately. I named the Silver Laced wyandotts Gladys and Gertrude. I'm waiting for a name to give the "Araucana mutt". She lays blue eggs fairly regulary, but she is kinda stupid, and not people friendly. She has grey tufts that kinda look like she has a beard.

I diced up the skins from a pineapple and gave it to them, they must have liked it. I got 5 eggs today! (5 from 6).

 

[Beekissed]

Fed them? Gave water?

 

[vmdanielsen]

swept and shoveled snow so they can get out. Gave them some kefir I made and gave them extra scratch.

 

[erthymom2]

caused a stampeed in the coop when i accidentally pushed the laser light button instead of the flash light button !! they were all heading inside to their favorite roost for the night and i was checking for varmits (we had a racoon inside a few nights ago) but the laser light flash sent them all heads and tails over each other trying to get the heck out of there...LOL
it looked like a three lane pile-up on the thruway. I went back out later and gave them some treats and they have started to slowly settle back inside, all the while I'm sure giving me the stink eye .

 

[Heartlandrabbitry]

I let them free range all day today, gave them fresh water, more food, they got peanuts, a clean coop, gave them fresh hay and took our new babies outside to play they also got their new coop setup!! Busy day

 

[TigerLilly]

Mine got an extra bit of boss & un-cooked oatmeal (they love it); they also got some un-cooked collards (didn't love it). They got to free range longer than normal, too.