Winter Tips for Chooks....

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penninehillbilly

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #75 on: December 08, 2010, 11:48 »
I let mine out, it's up to them whether they want to play out, for the ducks I put old hay down for them to sit on, maybe the same idea could be used for hens (old carpet or something? as long as they don't peck bits off it :unsure:)

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alandbailey

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #76 on: December 14, 2010, 16:05 »
 As my ducks like sitting next to the farm hedge, which is now only naked and sparse branches, I erected next to the hedge a cheap & cheerful multicoloured beach windbreak, bought from Lidl some years ago. This has cut down the prevailing NW wind a lot.

If their straw bedding is not too mucky, I spread it over the frozen earth.

For the chicken run, I put up a 12' x 18' tarpaulin draped up and over the fence and also over the coop. Luckily I suffer from ducks disease else the restraining ropes could do me a mischief. :D They now have ample room to shelter from the snow & sleet.

Merry Christmas,

Alan
« Last Edit: December 14, 2010, 16:07 by alandbailey »

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CDave

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #77 on: December 26, 2010, 23:08 »
Watch out for balls of mud and straw forming on the end of chooks toes. Spent an hour catching half a dozen of mine today. Each had mud balls - that had hardened like bell metal - on the ends of one or more toes. Various sizes - but one was like a marble. Took ages to gently loosen with a bowl of warm water and pick off when soft. Did they appreciate it - not by the noise they made. You'd think I was pulling out their toe-nails. At least they have nice clean feet - until tomorrow  ;) .

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falcieri

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #78 on: January 10, 2011, 18:58 »
Luckily I have a couple of outhouses at the back of my house, so I moved my three Bantams in to one when the weather turned bad and made them a coop and a nest box. There's a window so they had light. Once the snow started they refused to leave the building anyway and they were quite snuggly in there for a few weeks until the snow had gone. I just fed them plenty of anything they wanted and deiced the water every morning and they're still quite round. It must have done the trick as two have already started laying already.

:)

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gladis

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #79 on: January 22, 2011, 18:23 »
when will my rhodenisland reds start laying again

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joyfull

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #80 on: January 22, 2011, 18:26 »
when they are ready  ;), some of mine have come back into lay now but others are still holding on for longer brighter days  :).
Hello and welcome by the way, why not nip over to the welcome section and introduce yourself to everybody  :)
Staffies are softer than you think.

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Abacus

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #81 on: January 23, 2011, 15:52 »
when will my rhodenisland reds start laying again

Mine never gave up - mind you fully-enclosed roofed run, central heating. insulation... I was strongly tempted to move in myself.
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joyfull

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #82 on: January 23, 2011, 17:46 »
it depends on their age, some will lay through their first couple of winters and then stop in their third. If you have them laying all the time they use their egg supplies up quicker (this is done by using artificial lighting and heating - like is used in battery hens).

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sussexchook

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #83 on: October 17, 2011, 17:52 »
i have a coop with a  run and a area of my garden wich is all fenced in
 i have 5 chickens well 4 and a cock and i just wanted to no what is the best thing for the floor in the garden area as with the rain  it is just becomeing a mess it was all stoned  but with my ladies looking for food and digging holes it is just a mudy mess  the run i have made has a plastic roof so thay do have a clean dry area to go and i do have places where thay sit outside  off the floor so thay are not sitting in the mud  thay do like digging and looking for food but when its  all wet thay get covered in mud and take it in to the house
 we have started keeping them in the run when it rains but i do like to let them out when it stops

if anyone can tell me the best thing to use or do that would be good :)

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kopperdrake

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #84 on: October 30, 2011, 23:02 »
Personally, if they're in the same place and it's turned to mud with no option of you turning it back to grass (by moving them somewhere else), I'd slab the area and put down wood chips (not bark chips as they can get affected by stuff in the bark). That way the wood chips will soak up their litter and you can replace it as when you need to, they can scratch in it so keeping them happy, but you can properly clean the slabs every now and then (Jeyes Fluid?) to keep any bug build-up at bay. Not sure what others think?

On the winter theme - I've strung a series of mop heads from a wooden pole that I mount across the top of the coop, so that the mops dangle down at the same height as the chooks. They snuggle up and even bury their heads in them in the winter, like hanging duvets - works a treat.

We also invested in an old ceramic hot water bottle from an antiques place, fill that with hot water and place it in the nest box over night, which radiate some heat into the coop. The coop only houses four hens though, but as we've expanded this year I'll have to rethink the system.

Oh, and they do all get the vaseline'd combs when it gets really cold - bless :)

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silverteen

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #85 on: November 15, 2011, 21:08 »
hi has anyone used hot water bottles before?

i have these mini hot water bottles, about a third of a standard size one i guess, about 6 inches long 4 inches wide. i was wondering if i could put one of these in the coop to war1m the coop/stop the water freezing? i have a woolen cover for it that would stop them burning on it

thanks

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joyfull

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #86 on: November 15, 2011, 21:25 »
They don't need any form of heating inside the coop, outside however I have stood their water drinkers on a hot water bottle to help stop the water freezing.

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ANHBUC

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #87 on: November 15, 2011, 21:30 »
I have just bought a second hand table food warmer, the type that run on small candles.  I am going to put either bricks or quarry tiles on it to absorb the heat and then the drinker on top of that.  Hoping this will stop the water freezing without heating it up too much.
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jacquie1

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #88 on: December 16, 2011, 21:18 »
Hi.  I've accessed this site a few times and found it really useful so decided I should join.  I've been keeping chickens for 3 years and during the really bad winter last year I made them some porridge (just cheap stuff from the supermarket) with water.  They LOVE it!  I daren't give them too much cos I don't want to over feed them.  Don't know if it's something I should or shouldn't be giving them but they all stayed healthy and carried on laying right through.  Must admit think I'm doing something wrong this year cos I've lost 2 young chickens this week.  Both went wobbly and then died within a couple of hours.  The others are fine but then again I isolated the two poorly ones straight away.  I'll be keeping a close eye on them all but if anyone can shed any light on the problem I'd be grateful.  btw - I've not had any eggs for 4 days now but it seems there's not many people getting them unless they're using lights - which I don't want to do as it seems unnatural and you should allow them to use their energy in keeping warm.  thanks for reading.  Cluck!

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hillfooter

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #89 on: December 17, 2011, 01:42 »
Hi.  I've accessed this site a few times and found it really useful so decided I should join.  I've been keeping chickens for 3 years and during the really bad winter last year I made them some porridge (just cheap stuff from the supermarket) with water.  They LOVE it!  I daren't give them too much cos I don't want to over feed them.  Don't know if it's something I should or shouldn't be giving them but they all stayed healthy and carried on laying right through.  Must admit think I'm doing something wrong this year cos I've lost 2 young chickens this week.  Both went wobbly and then died within a couple of hours.  The others are fine but then again I isolated the two poorly ones straight away.  I'll be keeping a close eye on them all but if anyone can shed any light on the problem I'd be grateful.  btw - I've not had any eggs for 4 days now but it seems there's not many people getting them unless they're using lights - which I don't want to do as it seems unnatural and you should allow them to use their energy in keeping warm.  thanks for reading.  Cluck!

Hi Jacquie,
Not many people will see your post here and in fact it's rather off topic for this thread.

If you'd like some advice on your chicks I suggest you post a new thread with a more detailed description of your chx symptoms, details of breed, age, laying history, any history of illness, nutrition, worming, flock size and make up,  and any other information which might be helpful for people trying to suggest things to look out for.

I doubt feeding your chx porridge would cause a problem unless you over fed them to the exclusion of other nutrition or it was too hot, ideally it should be no hotter than just warm say 40 - 45degC.  A Chx body temperature is around 40 - 43degC.

HF
Truth through science.



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