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Post by aoconnor on Jan 4, 2018 17:48:21 GMT
I have never lost birds to the weather before, but for some reason this year I am. I have lost my best game rooster, he was 5 years old and such a sweet little guy. He threw beautiful chicks and was always chasing my feet for feed when I cam down the hill to the coop.
I lost a couple of other roos lately, they were dead when I checked the coop. No visible signs of trauma, and they weren't that old. I also lost a Frizzle hen yesterday. She was on the floor in the coop when I looked in yesterday afternoon. Alive and freezing, so I brought her in overnight but she didn't make it.
So frustrating, I don't know if it's the warmer winters we had for a couple of years and then this freezing we have been hit with, or if my coop is just aging and needs some work. I am hoping it's the cold snap we've had and not my coop! I don't want to do much to it right now, we are getting ready to move the whole thing this spring!
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Post by grannyg on Jan 4, 2018 18:02:46 GMT
Can you put a light bulb in your coop....low to the ground where they can get under it....I have used a square cement piece and let the light shine on it where it would have some warmth...a lamp like a heat lamp cover over the bulb....
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Post by Woodpecker on Jan 4, 2018 18:06:01 GMT
Sorry 😕 aoconnor , this winter is extremely cold here too. I have a small coop for Loretta & she's all alone. I have a 110 ceramic light hanging from the ceiling. It's 22 now, & I just came in from her coop, her water wasn't frozen. My heart goes out to you...I'm always afraid Loretta's gonna freeze. Sorry again for your loss & prayers for you and all your other critters. |
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Post by mzgarden on Jan 4, 2018 18:54:02 GMT
This cold is just hanging on. We added some insulation type material to the horse stall that is our coop. Plenty of ventilation still, but just trying to give them a bit more protection. We lost one hen - not sure why she passed.
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Post by aoconnor on Jan 5, 2018 13:35:14 GMT
I have a light in the coop, but am concerned about adding a heat lamp because I don't want to burn my coop down! I might try hanging one up high, then it won't be as close to the floor and shavings.
Our cold snap has eased some, but the nights are still down in the 20's and that is cold for here!
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Jan 5, 2018 15:33:44 GMT
I have a light in the coop, but am concerned about adding a heat lamp because I don't want to burn my coop down! I might try hanging one up high, then it won't be as close to the floor and shavings. Our cold snap has eased some, but the nights are still down in the 20's and that is cold for here! I don't think you'll burn your coop down... The majority of my heat lamps are close to the ceiling. They are hanging from metal hooks AND are wired onto them. I also place chicken wire on the front of them as well. I tell ya - they really do the trick - especially when it is in the teens and twenties. Now when it got below 0 degrees - I did have some waterers that had iced up - but weren't frozen solid. Sure hope you don't lose anymore! ~Mari ETA - I usually give them a little scratch in the late afternoon as well... |
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Post by Woodpecker on Jan 5, 2018 16:04:26 GMT
Like I said in my above post...I have the heat lamp, with a ceramic bulb hanging from the ceiling. It doesn't feel hot even, to the touch, to be able to catch fire. I hope and pray all the rest stay stay well!
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Post by Maura on Jan 5, 2018 16:44:41 GMT
When we had chickens they roosted over a bale of straw, picky side up. The bird droppings fell to the straw where the fermentation process created more heat and acted as a low level furnace.
One winter I discovered that one of the girls would not come out into the snow so she wasn't eating. I realized this when I picked up her dead body and she weighed almost nothing. After that, I threw grain into the coop for the feint of heart.
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Post by countrymom22 on Jan 6, 2018 0:42:06 GMT
I bed really deeply with straw in this extremely cold weather. Having a draft free place is super important around here. Not air tight but draft free. And I've moved the feed and water inside as some of the flock wasn't coming outside, or at least not long enough to eat and drink what they really need to. I also feed cracked corn about an hour before dark along with fresh, warm water. I know it's an old wives tale, but it really does seem to make a difference!
Sorry for your losses and hope everyone else survives!
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2018 0:57:48 GMT
I am a pro at birds and minus 49temps
Make a pot if rice and beans serve warm and wet.
Warm belly &extra water!
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Post by aoconnor on Jan 6, 2018 3:13:35 GMT
Hmm, warm water and a nice warm mash of some sort might just be a good thing for my birds. They will much appreciate it I'm sure!
Thankfully our cold snap left and now temps are back where they should be this time of year. I am so hopeful we don't get that cold again, but if we do I will be trying few recipes to help my birds survive the cold.
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Post by themotherhen on Jan 6, 2018 17:30:53 GMT
I used to make a "soup" for my birds out of vegetable peels and a handful of oatmeal or grain during cold weather, it really seemed to help the birds.
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