A prelude of things to come this winter?

[897tgigvib]

Sure glad your Chickens are well and in good hands Monty.

Do you have alternative plans predevised for in case it gets more seriously cold?

 

[digitS']

I will weigh in on the subject of chickens in the cold. There may be geographical differences since that seems to be true with a human's cold tolerance but I don't even know about that . . .

So, this is just anecdotal (spell chequer: chek that). Anyway, the 1st real cold weather that I can remember putting my flock thru (rather than flying them off to Florida), the high temperature was a -10f that day. A few days before, the chickens had decided to migrate from their coop to the barn. I didn't really know what to think about this since the coop was closed up fairly tight at night and my little barn was not.

I soon realized that they were interested in staying down in the loose hay on the floor. They might fly up on the fence between the stalls during the day. In fact, I found a Cochin hen hanging upside down from some baling twine that I'd left up there! I don't think it was that -10 day but it was during that time. I don't know how long she was there, got her down, she seemed to walk okay but died that night.

It was obviously difficult for the chickens in that cold of weather. I am not one who believes in just any cold is okay. Witness the fact that I left my coop light on 24hrs each day during the depth of winter during later years. I was not going to allow them to be both cold AND hungry and sitting in the dark for 16 hours out of 24. I really do think that a full crop is the best protection against the cold.

Still . . . surplus nutrition could be going to egg production. If the hen is just using it to stay warm -- don't expect her to produce eggs.

Steve

 

[baymule]

Bay, i have an Aunt who lives in Houston. She emailed a pic of her granddaughter drinking cocoa yesterday, and mentioned that it was "so cold, 45 degrees!" Which of course is cold for her! But i had to let her know that our lows have been in the single digits...to which she answers "Single digits like 0 through 9??" yup...this is my Aunt, the teacher and advanced math tutor!!

It sure looks like a long cold winter for the whole country :/ on one positive note, we've had catastrophic tree deaths all over the west due to insect pests like bark borers of various kinds. I've heard a variety of theories about why the epidemic has been so bad recently, including climate change, less forest fire activity since we started fighting them in the early 1900s, and of course much milder winters. Particularly winters without weeks of temps below freezing. Apparently the bugs can survive some below freezing, what particularly does them in is the sustained cold. So...maybe we'll make a dent in them this winter. That would be nice for my poor birch right outside the front door with birch bark borers!

Oh, and i couldnt let our world tour go by without a stop in Montana! Let's make it a short stopover, and head somewhere warmer next!!!

I can identify with your Aunt, but I know what single digits are! Several years ago we were in the worst drought in over 50 years and I watched trees dying off. What took 75 years to grow, died off in a summer. It was heartbreaking. Grass comes back in a season, but trees that were dying will not be restored in my lifetime. I hope the cold helps freeze off the borers so that the trees have a fighting chance.

 

[journey11]

Just what you need to stay warm, Monty...chicken slippers. You hear that Dew, that's what Monty needs for Christmas!