Winter is Coming! Checklists, tips, advice for a newbie

[LadyCluck77]

This thread has moved along quickly so thought I'd post my questions again. Sorry for the repetition!


I have one hen (Greenie) that has been kept by herself due to an attack and I've not been able to integrate her back into the flock. Not sure how she'll fair as she doesn't have anyone to roost with or cuddle with when she gets cold.

Do you think she'll be OK by herself? Glad for any suggestions or comments.

Oh, one more question - lots of my hens have no feathers on their backs and they dont' seem to be growing back in. If it was from a previous mean/rough rooster or mites or pecking amongst themselves, I don't know, but we've had them since April and they are still pretty bare-backed. Will this affect their ability to stay warm?

Appreciate any comments or suggestions!

On another thread, someone swore by NuStock, a salve to put on that will help rid them of any mites and help re-grow feathers. There are special feeds to promote feather growth as well- mostly very high in protein and amino acids. I think "Feather Builder" is the brand of one. They are usually used to quicken molt recovery. Both of these things should be available at a local feed store.

As for Greenie- she is probably fine for a while at least. If she's still alone in late November, do you have any extremely gentle hens you can put in with her? (Or can you borrow one or two from a neighbor) Someone who she can cuddle with but who won't hurt her? Bantam silkies come to mind, they tend to be very docile. Other than that, lots of bedding should be suffice for now- we still have at least a month before the really nasty cold hits. If she's still very badly injured, you could keep her in a basement in a dog crate for a while.

Good luck!

 

[Sunbergjo]

Howdy guys, I'm still new to this and have grown my flock within the last month to over 40 birds and made 5 different pens (6th is underway) and I have tons of straw/hay bales. We were thinking for insulation that we could put bales around each pen in the barn. Would this be a good way to keep them warm? I'm not super worried about the warmth! I'm worried about the water freezing for them. What should I do about that? Heated electric waters be the best? Another question, I have most of my breeds separated and I'm not sure I should mix them or not.

 

[LittleBits]

Quote:

As for Greenie- she is probably fine for a while at least. If she's still alone in late November, do you have any extremely gentle hens you can put in with her? (Or can you borrow one or two from a neighbor) Someone who she can cuddle with but who won't hurt her? Bantam silkies come to mind, they tend to be very docile. Other than that, lots of bedding should be suffice for now- we still have at least a month before the really nasty cold hits. If she's still very badly injured, you could keep her in a basement in a dog crate for a while.

Good luck!
Thank you both! I will check out what they have at our local farm stores next time I go. They really aren't fully-equipped places but maybe will have something available.

I tried putting another hen in w/ Greenie and SHE pecked on it. I'm not sure how long to let them at it. She's getting braver when I take her in the big pen but is always looking to see if I'm close by. She has healed up very well from what I though was a sure case of homicide, but is very skittish and wary. She keeps an eye on all of the others through the wire which separates the pens and has taken to walking back and forth along its length. One bossy lady tried pecking her through the holes. But then they had a stare-down, so I'm not sure what they decided! Right now she stays completely outside. I put in a big wastebasket with pine shavings and have the top and side blocked w/ plastic. But come cold weather, this sure won't be enough. I may try another hen or 2 and see what happens. I'm not sure what would happen to her (or them!!) if I would leave the run and leave her by herself w/ them. They all know I'm there and have pretty much left her alone and the roo doesn't even come NEAR her at all. He's downright scared of me! I just have to point my finger at him and he has a fit. I am not kidding about that.

When we get the addition done, I plan on filling it with LOTS of hay or straw and a few bales sitting around so they have something to do, too, in case they don't want to be outside. I actually won't have to worry about them not having enough inside space 'cause I think they'll have plenty!

Winter will be here before we know it. May everyone's chickens be warm and happy and the same to all BYC members! Those who live in warmer climates - may you be happy!

You're already warm!

 

[LittleBits]

Howdy guys, I'm still new to this and have grown my flock within the last month to over 40 birds and made 5 different pens (6th is underway) and I have tons of straw/hay bales. We were thinking for insulation that we could put bales around each pen in the barn. Would this be a good way to keep them warm? I'm not super worried about the warmth! I'm worried about the water freezing for them. What should I do about that? Heated electric waters be the best? Another question, I have most of my breeds separated and I'm not sure I should mix them or not.

Congratulations on your flock and ambitious building! I do know that hay is a good insulator and also blocks the wind. The water - I don't know much about how to keep it from freezing, but others on here have had some great ideas if you have electric in your coop/barn. There's lots of those ideas right in this thread. I haven't read anywhere that you need to separate the different breeds. We have a white breed (not sure what, specifically), but there's 7 of them and 3 Golden Comets, plus a roo of another breed all together and they all get on fine. Just don't overcrowd any one pen as they all like space! Good luck!

 

[autumn123]

I REALLY like your coop and run. It looks professional yet with very economical materials. Plus it appears to be tall enough to stand in. Did you come up with the design yourself or did you find it somewhere.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

These are some great ideas, thanks. I will be blocking the wind this year so my chicks don't freeze.

 

[write2caroline]

When I know a freeze is coming, Okay from Florida but we get a couple of days under freezing in the winter.....I check the coops and make sure that the coops block direct winds and the airflow is good.

It sounds like you are ready.

To prevent frostbite if you still have humidity you can use some kind of salve on combs and waddles. My chickens did not enjoy it. I used bag balm or vaseline.

The main thing is to have roosts wide enough so that when the chickens roost their feathers cover their toes. They have wonderful under feathers that will fluff up creating warm air pockets and will keep them toasty warm.

They need to be able to get to their water.

You can place a 5 gal lidded bucket filled with hot tap water in the coop and it will radiate heat all night. The lid traps the steam and the water cools much more slowly than hot water with no lid.
It is just simple physics but in a pinch it is a safe way to heat a small area without risk of fire. I would put it near the food and waterer as the chickens can keep themselves warm.

Some people feed chickens warm mash or oatmeal. They love it. You can also feed them red pepper flakes in the winter.

Hope that helps
Caroline

 

[Chickens R Us]

This is my second year with chickens and the one thing I am going to do this year that I didn't last winter is have an outside covered area that they can go into. Last winter my chickens refused to go outside once it snowed and got cabin fever and started feather pecking. I like hoop coops because they are easy to make so I will make one 12'x5' cover it with plastic and leave one end open that I will put up against the pop door. My coop is raised so I will plastic around the outside and attach it to the hoop coop so they will have an additional 16'x8' area to go into that will be protected from the wind and snow. I am also going to put a couple of bales of straw down in these areas.

 

[Alaskan]

Thank you all for posting! I have a chicken tractor, and was wondering if they would be OK in that for the winter. There is no floor covering where the ladder is, (a big hole in the floor). I was thinking I would cover that at night, but will I need to do more? I have an EE and two golden comets.

I would get another piece of roofing, and put that an temporarily, so that the run stays snow free. The way the coop is set up, the snow is going to dump onto the run. (At least i think thatis what it looks like) i wouldn't worry abut closing p the pop door at night, unless it is really super cold (negative) or if with the pop door open there is a breeze over the perch.

 

[Alaskan]

I have had chickens up here for several years now, and it seams like I totally change things every year.

The first year was bad, I couldn't get my chickens to go outside when the cold, the wind and the snow started to get bad. So they started to eat each other. Also, since I had no sheltered place outside of the coop, I had to keep the water inside, and I definitely got frostbite. I also have high humidity. *sigh*

I now have much more covered area for the chickens to play in. I now keep the water outside. Much better. I do try to give them stuff to play with as much as possible too. my chickens end up being totally locked up for maybe six months, so they need help. I give them piles of wood ash to play in, and I try to give them some scratch and some treats of whatever kind at least once, but often two or three times a day.

As to frozen eggs....ah...there we are.

I try to gather them as often as possible...

The frozen eggs i do one of two things
1. Wash off very well, and put in a cup on the counter to use THAT SAME DAY. Actually, it is really funny frying them up. You put them into the pan as an egg ice cube and then they slowly melt down into a fried egg shape. Taste fine.
2. If I am not going to use them right away I put them in the freezer until I want them.

Keeping the water from freezing drives me nuts. I have lots of power outages, so the things that works for lots of other people simply can't work for me. I have to use the rubber pans (horse feed pans) and a water trough de-icer (powerful enough to thaw itself out of a frozen block of ice)

Must haves in my book are
- wide perches! Perches need to be 4 inches wide on top!
- NO MOVEMENT of air over the perches (vents are important, but put them someplace else)
- water OUTSIDE! never have water in the coop!
- lots and lots and lots of snow free places for the girls to play in ...do it anyway you want, but make sure they have space

And I just insulated my coop for the first time this summer (before only the roof was insulated), I LOVE the insulated coop since it is so very much warmer! Before my coop was drafty, the insulation with plywood ontop has made the coop very comfortable and draft free. It does have two windows, two pop doors, and a small vent at the top of the wall. In the winter the South window has to be completely closed, the north window can be cracked at most, but the pop doors and upper vent stay open.

I do not use heat.