Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Kildare49]

Not a fan of the commish.....but he will not allow playoff games to be blacked out.

I doubt we will have any Al Gore sightings in WI for the next week.
Coops empty until late spring. Just have to keep work equipment operating.
Tough on the wives coffee kiosk. So far no freeze ups......will see how sun - wed. goes.....

 

[mxmarg]

LOVE your outfit Terri. Really rather spectacular, that!

I just made scrambled eggs for my chickens. I brought them out still hot. I hope noone burned themselves. How are those chickies doing it?

I'm going to read up on Jim's heating notes... I want to know how Jim keeps things hot in his life.

BigZ, I WILL send the knitting pattern!
scanner, computer, this and that, blahblahblah, you know when you leave the room waiting for something to download cuz it's taking so durn long and then well, ferget about it? I'm going to take a 3rd stab at getting it to you and we all know 3rd times a charm!

 

[Huntress78]

I think I'm gonna break down and put heat in both coops this weekend. The big roo did not look good this morning and the other coop has the hen that's molting. Any tips for me? I've never heated before.

Jim, are you still having a problem with bulbs burning out? I was thinking yesterday about heat tape or gutter cable. More expensive but if they last longer might be worth it.

 

[jvls1942]

hi again.. I did a real bright thing this AM>. there was a little ice in each of the red pans on the waterers.. why wait until it thawed a little , eh ? not me,, bump them on the frozen ground to break the ice loose.. break is the keyword here,, I cracked both trays.. NOW I cannot find the can with the JB Weld tubes in it.. the trays seem to be holding water, so I put them into the coops.. we will see how that goes..

Huntress, I have a small milk house heater in each coop.. I plug them into a thermo cube.. it turns the heater on at 34* F and it turns off at 45* F .. just put the setting on the heater itself at full throttle,, the thermo cube handles it from there..

You can get the thermo cubes at Menard's in their plumbing section.. and milk house heaters are on sale at Fleet & Farm starting today for about $18.oo..

I have not had any more trouble with bulbs burning out.. but now that I mentioned it, it will happen,,

I want to make another heater base for the waterers.. but I have cut the electrical cords off of just about everything out in the shop.. I know I have a box full of cheapy cords somewhere,, too cold to look for them..

I have the ribs all par boiled,, now I have them mixed with the BBQ sauce and they are in the oven.. In about 15 minutes I have to put the potatoes in to bake..

MMarge, us old folks keep things hot in our life just like you young folks do..

.......jiminwisc........

 

[babylady4]

I am starting to think we should have put that wood stove in the house after looking at the forecast....... brrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What really stinks is I have an interview on Monday!!!! I guess I will show up looking like the stay-puft marshmallow man....... if my car starts!

Really boring day here...... just hanging with the cats and the dogs and trying to stay warm.

 

[jvls1942]

I am back.. the food is all ready and nobody has showed up yet.. I had to come down here to get away from the garlic smell.. I am so hungry I could eat the North end out of a South bound skunk..

I have been up since 6 AM and I have not had any breakfast .. just one cuppa after another..

.....jiminwiscsayingcomeonpeople............

 

[UNCLaur]

Hi All,

Fairly new (not much of a thread poster, first winter with our 4 girls!) to the thread, and hoping you can offer advice. I have 2 Australorps and 2 Red Sex-Links, all laying pretty well still.

I tried going without a heat lamp in our coop since I'd seen a lot of talk about how it's more dangerous that they'll die from shock going from warm to cold than just withstanding the cold. But, our girls got frostbite on their combs (all but 1, how the heck did that happen? haha) and we broke down and put one in. Barely puts off much heat but just enough to take the bite out. We have good ventilation on the coop, the run is wrapped in plastic to shield from the wind and snow but the door is uncovered so plenty of air there. I scoop their poo every other day.

Anywho, I'm getting really nervous about how cold it's going to be (I moved here from NC late 2012). Is there any point I need to bring the girls inside? Or do anything more to keep them warmer? Also, now that we have the lamp in, they won't put themselves to bed on time, and the automatic coop door is shutting them out. My guess is the light makes them think it's not bedtime, but now I have to put them to bed each night when I get home. And, if I run errands or do something after work I worry since they're outside even longer. Any suggestions? Or reassurance that they'll be ok outside this week?

Thanks,
Lauren

 

[jvls1942]

Hi All,

Fairly new (not much of a thread poster, first winter with our 4 girls!) to the thread, and hoping you can offer advice. I have 2 Australorps and 2 Red Sex-Links, all laying pretty well still.

I tried going without a heat lamp in our coop since I'd seen a lot of talk about how it's more dangerous that they'll die from shock going from warm to cold than just withstanding the cold. But, our girls got frostbite on their combs (all but 1, how the heck did that happen? haha) and we broke down and put one in. Barely puts off much heat but just enough to take the bite out. We have good ventilation on the coop, the run is wrapped in plastic to shield from the wind and snow but the door is uncovered so plenty of air there. I scoop their poo every other day.

Anywho, I'm getting really nervous about how cold it's going to be (I moved here from NC late 2012). Is there any point I need to bring the girls inside? Or do anything more to keep them warmer? Also, now that we have the lamp in, they won't put themselves to bed on time, and the automatic coop door is shutting them out. My guess is the light makes them think it's not bedtime, but now I have to put them to bed each night when I get home. And, if I run errands or do something after work I worry since they're outside even longer. Any suggestions? Or reassurance that they'll be ok outside this week?

Thanks,
Lauren

for these few days, don't let them go outside.. they prolly will choose to stay inside anyway..
frostbite comes easier with cold moist air..

I never heard about the shock of going from warm to cold.. I suppose that would ring true if they were going from 90* to freezing , but from just a slightly warmer coop to cold, I don't see the danger ..

I keep my coops just above freezing, and even then, If I leave the door open for a short time, the chickens stay inside.. once the outside temp is equal or above the temp of the coop, the birds go out..

 

[bigzio]

Afternoon All...Thanks mxmarg...these stupid electric boxes of bolts are more aggravation at times than they are worth. Hope we can figure it out.

If the season ticket holders bought their tickets (that they don't have to because it's a playoff game) then it would be a non-issue. If they want to sit on tickets all year, then they should be held to tickets for a playoff game.....and the radio announcers are hands down better than the TV crap folks listen to during the game on the tube (they are on our side).....so we will see what happens...but the radio works for me! Bring the 9ers on, I say!

This is gonna be a Winter to remember for young kids.....they will be telling stories about how cold it was when they were kids...LOL

Stay Warm and Safe..bigz

 

[delisha]

Hi All,

Fairly new (not much of a thread poster, first winter with our 4 girls!) to the thread, and hoping you can offer advice. I have 2 Australorps and 2 Red Sex-Links, all laying pretty well still.

I tried going without a heat lamp in our coop since I'd seen a lot of talk about how it's more dangerous that they'll die from shock going from warm to cold than just withstanding the cold. But, our girls got frostbite on their combs (all but 1, how the heck did that happen? haha) and we broke down and put one in. Barely puts off much heat but just enough to take the bite out. We have good ventilation on the coop, the run is wrapped in plastic to shield from the wind and snow but the door is uncovered so plenty of air there. I scoop their poo every other day.

Anywho, I'm getting really nervous about how cold it's going to be (I moved here from NC late 2012). Is there any point I need to bring the girls inside? Or do anything more to keep them warmer? Also, now that we have the lamp in, they won't put themselves to bed on time, and the automatic coop door is shutting them out. My guess is the light makes them think it's not bedtime, but now I have to put them to bed each night when I get home. And, if I run errands or do something after work I worry since they're outside even longer. Any suggestions? Or reassurance that they'll be ok outside this week?

Thanks,
Lauren

Hello Lauren..welcome to the group!!

It sounds like you are taking good care of your birds..if they were too cold they would not go outside at all..The sun and the quest for water makes my birds go outdoors too no matter the weather. I took these today.



I do not heat my coops but many people do. I deep litter and it helps with containing some heat. All those chirping chickadees and birds outdoors seem to do just fine so I do not worry too much. It is ruff on the baby's and the old ones. My mommy chicken kicked her chicks to the curb today and I do worry about them. It sounds like you are doing what makes you comfortable. We are experiencing some pretty cold temp swings and it is a concern for many. I would follow Jims advise and lock them up when you are not home or disengaging the auto pop door and shutting it manually nightly. They are comfortable and healthy enough that they are outside..Nice to see a new face!