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

[Alaskan]

I do give them suppliemental light... But just with Christmas lights.

Good reminder, I need to go check them again.

I check my smallest and scrawniest chicken every couple of weeks for proper weight ( just by feel)

 

[bigmrg74]

Cluck its cold!!

 

[aart]

Cluck its cold!!

 

[Minflick]

That's my hay bale and I'm sitting on it! Snow? Pshaw!

 

[the poppster]

I make suet balls....or cones for my flock in the winter...give them a little extra calories to help keep warm....and they have to work at it to get it..along with a good flake of alfalfa hay....and their regular feed they come thru in good shape....the suet balls are made of scratch feed and rendered beef fat...I put a rope with short kindling pieces tied every couple inches....embedded in the cone....when it freezes....I can hang it in the run for them to peck at.

 

[Shabana]

Hey
Can I ask yknow those bags of alfalfa that they sell at equestrian places with added vits and whatnots ?
Well would that be good for my chickens during the winter months when there's no greenery in their pens?
They have a good quality layers pellet, mixed corn, and grit and shell. I up their protein with fishy cat food periodically, meal worms etc.
I have 40+ birds so I'd like to provide some greens but I don't wanna break the bank.

Shabana x

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Are you talking about the compressed alfalfa cubes?

 

[centrarchid]

Hey
Can I ask yknow those bags of alfalfa that they sell at equestrian places with added vits and whatnots ?
Well would that be good for my chickens during the winter months when there's no greenery in their pens?
They have a good quality layers pellet, mixed corn, and grit and shell. I up their protein with fishy cat food periodically, meal worms etc.
I have 40+ birds so I'd like to provide some greens but I don't wanna break the bank.

Shabana x

The can make use of small amounts of alfalfa as you describe. With the alfalfa sources I have their appears to be a palatability issue. Birds with such are slow to consume the alfalfa but when released for free-range time they consume large amounts of white clover and will dig through snow to get it,

 

[KikiM]

So is Alfalfa bad? just curious I'm a newbie thank you

 

[bigmrg74]

That's my hay bale and I'm sitting on it! Snow? Pshaw!

Actually that's straw bales that are around the coop.

Hey
Can I ask yknow those bags of alfalfa that they sell at equestrian places with added vits and whatnots ?
Well would that be good for my chickens during the winter months when there's no greenery in their pens?
They have a good quality layers pellet, mixed corn, and grit and shell. I up their protein with fishy cat food periodically, meal worms etc.
I have 40+ birds so I'd like to provide some greens but I don't wanna break the bank.

Shabana x

All I did last winter was just take the occasional flake of hay out to the coop to let the girls have at it. I might have dumped some assorted treats like sunflower seeds, corn, and meal worms on it. they seemed to go thru it pretty well, though we tend to get more of a grassy mix of hay for our horses.