Winter Tips for Chooks....

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TeaPots

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #60 on: November 18, 2010, 16:03 »
Very tempting!! but Im afraid it would make me lazy. I take their fresh water out to each pen every morning, and say hello to them all (alert to any not charging eagerly out to their breakfast), then do the corn treat and egg collecting late afternoon if I am home, Then at night, I empty each drinker (its easier to fill than to defrost every morning) and carry them to the tap. I close up the coops, and top up any feeders that are low. All done, ready for the morning. I like to check they are in bed, not in a tree etc! 

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joyfull

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #61 on: November 18, 2010, 18:31 »
Like TP I let mine out every morning and love to see them come rushing out rapidly chased by the cockerels  :lol:
Staffies are softer than you think.

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neil9797

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #62 on: November 27, 2010, 23:53 »
I've read previously that one should rub some vaseline onto the comb and wattle to protect them from frost. But how much and how often? Just a smear seems too little but chunks of it will get very dirty, very quickly!

Thanks, N

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penninehillbilly

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #63 on: November 28, 2010, 01:20 »
just been re-reading this thread, some very useful tips I must make notes of,
My tip is, when it's freezing, to use plastic Christmas pudding bowls for water, if they do freeze they don't split with the pressure and it's easy to get the ice out because of the shape.
The most important thing is not to forget to water at least twice a day. Apparently a local farmer lost most of his flock when he didn't realise their water supply had frozen (many years ago).
I like the hand warmer idea-will try that, and the duck boards for when it thaws.

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compostqueen

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #64 on: November 30, 2010, 13:38 »
I replaced the straw bale shelter in the hen run at the weekend.  The run has an Onduline roof and most of it is covered with tarps to protect them from icy blasts. The straw bales give further protection from cold wind if they need it.  The sit on the top of it quite a lot too  :)

I smeared some Vaseline on their combs last week but I did rub it in very gently so there was no excess. They quite enjoyed it I think. You have to be very gentle though
RUN.jpg

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Aunt Sally

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #65 on: November 30, 2010, 16:42 »
That looks very cozy CQ.  I'll bet they love their straw igloo as much as their eglu  :D

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farmerGiles

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #66 on: December 02, 2010, 16:35 »
  • Warm (but not hot) water
  • Porridge mid-morning, and also before bedtime when it's going to be a very cold night like tonight
  • For coop insulation I've put some straw on the coop roof and covered it with snow and woven strands of straw into the door grill.

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TeaPots

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #67 on: December 02, 2010, 22:05 »
Layers MASH, mixed with hot water to bread crumb consistency, and a spoonful of malt extract given warm and fresh for when they get up for breakfast. layers pellets ad lib, then Last thing before bed, mixed corn. The corn takes longer to digest, so keeps them going through the long nights. It is also believed to be  'warming food' but I dont really know about that.

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hillfooter

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #68 on: December 03, 2010, 05:08 »
Layers MASH, mixed with hot water to bread crumb consistency, and a spoonful of malt extract given warm and fresh for when they get up for breakfast. layers pellets ad lib, then Last thing before bed, mixed corn. The corn takes longer to digest, so keeps them going through the long nights. It is also believed to be  'warming food' but I dont really know about that.

Sounds like a good regime Teapots.

I think the idea that corn is warming is a bit of a myth popularised by the Scots Porridge Oats ads.  However grain and cereals generally contain lots of fibre so aren't as quickly digested as refined food so in theory should give slow (but low) energy release.  Although chickens store food in their crops anyway so naturally slow down digestion so it's not clear to me that grain actually provides much additional benefit in providing longer energy release.

HF
« Last Edit: December 03, 2010, 05:12 by hillfooter »
Truth through science.

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TeaPots

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #69 on: December 03, 2010, 09:37 »
I think maybe the only advantage of the corn then, is that they love it so much they top up their crop  :lol:  Thanks for that info HF  :D

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penninehillbilly

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #70 on: December 03, 2010, 21:45 »
some years ago I was at the corn merchants buying feed and couldn't decide between split corn and mixed corn, the man who works there keeps poultry and said unless I wanted it to improve the yolk colour it was better to feed split corn in winter as a heating feed (or similar phrase :unsure:)

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hillfooter

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #71 on: December 05, 2010, 00:39 »
some years ago I was at the corn merchants buying feed and couldn't decide between split corn and mixed corn, the man who works there keeps poultry and said unless I wanted it to improve the yolk colour it was better to feed split corn in winter as a heating feed (or similar phrase :unsure:)

This all a little theoretical but it depends what you want from a feed and what is meant by warming feed. 

Refined feed and in particular food scraps such as pasta, is quickly and easily absorbed so producing rapid energy release, so would be more "warming" than a slow release feed containing fibre.  It might therefore be beneficial as a morning feed however it is by no means a balenced feed so should not be overdone.  Your chx staple feed needs to be a layers mash or pellet fed adlib during the day.

Split corn would be more readily absorbed that whole corn and often contains greater variety of grains so would be more "warming" but by no means as "warming" as a refined feed or a pellet or mash.

People often feed whole grain corn in the evening as they believe a slower energy release is preferable than a rapid release.  Certainly since corn is readily eaten it will help stock up their crops overnight.  Some grains such as maize needs to be split or flaked to be absorbed easily so I'd prefer a poultry corn containing flaked maize.  I'm not sure why your feed merchant would say whole grain is more beneficial for egg yolk colour than split grain unless that particular grain brand also contained a natural yolk colour enhancer like primrose oil which wasn't present in the split grain which may have included pulses like split peas, lentels etc.
HF

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penninehillbilly

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #72 on: December 05, 2010, 02:18 »
some years ago I was at the corn merchants buying feed and couldn't decide between split corn and mixed corn, the man who works there keeps poultry and said unless I wanted it to improve the yolk colour it was better to feed split corn in winter as a heating feed (or similar phrase :unsure:)

This all a little theoretical but it depends what you want from a feed and what is meant by warming feed.  

Refined feed and in particular food scraps such as pasta, is quickly and easily absorbed so producing rapid energy release, so would be more "warming" than a slow release feed containing fibre.  It might therefore be beneficial as a morning feed however it is by no means a balenced feed so should not be overdone.  Your chx staple feed needs to be a layers mash or pellet fed adlib during the day.

Split corn would be more readily absorbed that whole corn and often contains greater variety of grains so would be more "warming" but by no means as "warming" as a refined feed or a pellet or mash.

People often feed whole grain corn in the evening as they believe a slower energy release is preferable than a rapid release.  Certainly since corn is readily eaten it will help stock up their crops overnight.  Some grains such as maize needs to be split or flaked to be absorbed easily so I'd prefer a poultry corn containing flaked maize.  I'm not sure why your feed merchant would say whole grain is more beneficial for egg yolk colour than split grain unless that particular grain brand also contained a natural yolk colour enhancer like primrose oil which wasn't present in the split grain which may have included pulses like split peas, lentels etc.
HF
By split corn I suppose it's more like maize very coarsely ground, so I presume its the yellow from the maize which helps colour the egg yolk, much the same as with my white call ducks, if fed maize when they are moulting their feathers have a yellowish tinge.
The chap is an 'old timer' who has given me plenty of useful advice over the years so I have no reason to disbelieve him.
I used to feed flaked maize or mixed flake, but all the merchants round here have changed suppliers and none of my lot will touch it now. :(
« Last Edit: December 05, 2010, 03:06 by penninehillbilly »

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joyfull

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #73 on: December 05, 2010, 10:47 »
watch out for icy areas, your chickens can slip and break their limbs  :(

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feelingbroody

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Re: Winter Tips for Chooks....
« Reply #74 on: December 08, 2010, 11:38 »
Hi all, is it better to keep the girlies in or do they like the snow, I feel sorry for their toes in this cold icy snap,  8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

broody
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