"Winter Survival "

[Egg Snatcher]

What about whole corn? Should I feed them that? It can get done to -20. I gave them corn through the winter last year and started to give it to them now to get them ready for winter. Is that a good idea?

 

[Minister Marc C]

View attachment 2897235Will our chickens survive the winter. . .?

(Brace yourselves) --- it turns out ~ They CAN -and- They WILL !!


Despite our efforts and desire to control everything,
“chickens” are able to survive the winter months.
Truth is, chickens are VERY well equipped to keep themselves warm
(because), after all, they (are) “woodland birds”.

Chickens have downy under feathers (fluff), trapping warm air against
their body. The outer feathers keep the cold air from penetrating.
If the chickens are on a perch, they will cover their feet with the belly feathers.

Do not add heat lamps ! It’s simply not necessary.
A Chickens average body-Temp is 106 F. (41.1 C) --

Also, don’t feed them “oatmeal”. (Some people do this…)
Oats contain some types of fiber that chickens can’t digest which can
cause the contents of the digestive tract to thicken. This leads to a
reduction in the bird’s ability to digest and absorb nutrients.
Greens through the winter are also unnecessary.
Hens may pick at hay and spread it around, but they are not going to eat it.

What about the comb and wattles?
Won’t they be exposed and possibly have frostbite?
Not if the coop is well built, has ventilation at the top and is relatively
draft free. (The coop should not be air tight).
In fact that would definitely lead to frost bite. The coop needs ventilation
to carry the warm moist air up and out of the coop. Otherwise the moist air
will lie on the surface of the combs, leading to frost bite.
Frost bite looks like black blemishes on the chicken’s comb.

Our coop consists mainly of 2 parts:
A nesting box where they lay eggs, which sits on top of a 6 ft. long,
metal frame, wooden top folding table, with lean-to style sides on 4 sides -
a ramp going up to the top of the table, and a gap for them to access
underneath. This gives em a place to go when it rains or when its
very windy / blustery. There is a food tray in there, and a layer of wood
shavings, dried grass / hay - and places to perch.
And when it's windy, wet or blustery cold, they are in there !

If you are wondering ‘why’ you have less eggs in the fall & winter --
It's just part of their seasonal-cycle.
Chickens lay less in the fall and winter for a reason.
Starting in late summer, as the days begin to shorten,
your chickens lose feathers in the annual molting process.
If the chickens have eaten enough ‘insects’ or other protein sources,
the feathers will be almost fully regrown.

Adding extra lights and so forth disrupts their natural cycle.
Artificial lighting holds the chickens back from getting a natural break.
Your hens (may) still be recovering from the “big-molt” ~ (rebuilding the feathers).
Even though they may look smooth and glossy on the outside,
the annual molt can take a toll on the inside.
This is why egg production is still off. Left to their own time table,
and with good nutrition, your hens will gradually regain the protein
and calcium reserves that they need to produce eggs.

Unless they are ill, egg production will naturally pick up again.
You will notice this generally (after) the Winter solstice.
The amount of daylight is a determining factor, don’t misunderstand.
They take notice of everything and they (will) take notice of the natural sun light
shining. When hens will notice the gradual increase in daylight,
egg production will increase again.

Make SURE you check their “WATER”(especially) in the winter!!
Water is a necessary nutrient all year long. Check it EVERYDAY.
Especially if you live where the winter months are extra-cold,
and below freezing.

Make sure that your flock has a source of fresh water through out
the day. This can be a little challenging, especially when temperatures
drop well below freezing. There are a number of founts designed to keep
the water above freezing. Submersible water heaters,
heated bases for metal waterers and electric heated bowls are all helpful,
“if” you have electric power in the coop. (And we don’t).

We generally just keep an eye on their water.
At night they are hunkered down and asleep. Come day-break,
they get fresh water. During the winter our outside hose is in storage.
When it’s below freezing (even below zero), we tote water from the house
out to the pen /coop.

Remember: They ARE feathered, “woodland Birds” -
well equipped by a “competent designer” (GOD).
They’ve lived a long time year after year,
generation after generation - without interference (from us) -
without “us” putting “shoes” and “sweaters” on them -
without us tying little knit “hats” on their little feathery heads !
They simply DON’T REQUIRE that sort of interference from “us” !

FOOD ~ WATER ~ SHELTER. Easy peasy, 1,2,3.
Feed and water birds more often when it’s below freezing.
Energy needs increase in winter. Animals expend a considerable
amount of energy to stay warm and will eat more feed.

There are certain types of "rolled oat" fibers (high fibers)
that chickens simply cannot digest. It cause the contents of
the digestive tract to thicken. This leads to a
(reduction) in the bird’s ability to digest and absorb nutrients.
Rolled Oat fibers contain "Beta-glucons" which bind with water...
It (can) lead to death by obstruction. Whole oats are about 2.3 - 8.5%
Beta-glucan. Oat bran is an even higher concentration.
When "oats" are made into oatmeal, water is added. It's more bulk with less
the nutrition volume. It can be fed as a treat, but not a supplement - and certainly
not in place of.

 

[Minister Marc C]

Rolled oats are the same as whole oats, except they get rolled. So if whole oats are fine for chickens, so are rolled oats.


Do you have a source for that?

(And "the chicken chick" is not a good source. She has footnotes/links to articles that do not actually say what she claims they say.)

A source for what? Ask a vet familiar with glucan-fiber / nutrition as it pertains to chickens.
Been raising chickens for many, many years. A little research goes a long ways.
Beyond that -- stop reading online nonsense and contact:

University of Minnesota Extension for starters..​

 

[Minister Marc C]

oh, and much of the beta glucans and immune response studies are coming out of Korea and China, where most of the (loosely) weight gain/condition studies are older, and originate in the EU. Generally over the last 20-25 years or so, for both. Full text is rarely available for free, but the summaries are often decent enough to give you an idea of the general findings and the study size.

$208.00 + per bushel for oats.
$5.00 + per bushel for corn.
You wanna feed em oats? Go for it !
People sure do like to argue.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Most of it does line up with what I've experienced. I'm more confused why certain words are in quotations thpugh? That's kind of confusing

 

[Apis mellifera]

Funny that someone who touts ventilation keeps their birds in this:

Toss some woodland frizzles in that and let us know how it works out

 

[NaperLix]

Many vets on several sites,not this one,have said that oats are too sharp for safe consumption.

 

[Bella Dominique]

There’s so much conflicting info on feeding chickens oats I just don’t bother. Sometimes I think if you’re going to raise chickens to eventually butcher for food it’s probably less of a problem then if you’re planning on keeping them as long term pets.

 

[James Atlanta]

Beta Glucans are found in all cereal grains, generally concentrated in the bran, and generally higher in oats, barley, and rye (I believe in that order, but don't quote me, I didn't double check sources). In humans, they are considered "good" (to a point), in that they slow digestion, giving our bodies more time to extract nutrients from our feed. One of the cholesterol lowering fibers, its claimed.

In poultry, they are considered "bad" (after a point). One of the (many) reasons you don't generally see a chicken feed based primarily on oats, or barley, as opposed to wheat, corn, or soy, and instead see oats and barley used as adjuncts in combination with soy, wheat, and corn in areas where other cereal grains are abundant. Typically with a recommend that they not exceed 15% or 20% of the complete diet. Honestly, given their protein/fiber/fat makeup, and the amino acid profiles of the proteins present, its hard to make a complete feed based on them anyways.

That said, barley is abundant in Europe, more so than wheat, and it (or the byproducts of it) is frequently used in the EU as both animal feed and poultry feed. The EU, of course, tends to use lower protein feeds than we do, supplimented by synthetic amino acids. Additionally, they've researched significantly the use of enzymes to assist their birds in breaking down beta glucans into more digestible forms, and have had much success with it.

There are also numerous sources and studies (many I consider questionable) touting the value of beta glucans in bird's immune systems, or enzyme-assisted higher beta-glucan diets as avian feed with purported beneficial effect in avian immune responses. [edit: its certainly plausible that higher beta glucan diets in poultry sufficiently alter conditions in their gut that they are no longer hospitible to various bacteria, etc which have adapted themselves to colonizing our chicken's bodies, much as altering your body's Ph can have a very negative impact on pathogen's in you, while also making your own body operate less efficiently in some fashions. The question, as always, "is the cure worse than the disease?" /edit]

In this case, I'm sticking with the old adage, "the dosage is the poison" - yes, too much oat, barley, rye, or other beta glucan sources can be a problem for your poultry - but so can too much corn, wheat, soy, calcium (carbonate, citrate, diphosphate), salt, etc... I don't consider the observation to be particularly insightful, nor the warning particularly useful here in the US, as its unlikely your nutritionally complete commercial feed has a high oat or barley component, and if it does, it almost certainly has the enzymes added to assist in breaking those beta glucans down into more accessible nutritional sources.

all correct and well-said. don't overdue the corn or cracked corn, and don't overdue the oats. the scratch grains are a very good start. add a few oats, and in the winter, maybe add a bit more cracked corn. the ladies can handle that blend just fine.

 

[James Atlanta]

all correct and well-said. don't overdue the corn or cracked corn, and don't overdue the oats. the scratch grains are a very good start. add a few oats, and in the winter, maybe add a bit more cracked corn. the ladies can handle that blend just fine.