Okay now it is too cold, My barred Rock Roo is in the house too:>)

[FarmerChick]

you did the right thing...your weather is brutal....not fit for man nor beast.

heat lamp is fine. it won't warm it up too much...but it could mean the diff. between surviving and not....so yes, I would use a heat lamp also.

when people use heat lamps the minute it hits 32 deg. then I wonder...lol....but into -20 or -30 and they LOOK cold...yea do what is necessary!

 

[patandchickens]

so I did what I said I would NEVER do, and hung a heat lamp over thier roosts I am just hoping it doesn't make them sick to do that, but I don't think it will if it is just for a day or two, will it?

Of course not. You're just taking the chill off, not giving them an Swedish steambath Sounds COMPLETELY reasonable to me.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Beekissed]

Did you mention if you have electricity to your coop, Morel? If so, could you give them a little ceramic electric space heater secured to a wall, where they couldn't tip it or scuff bedding up on it?

Believe it or not, my ancient old coop has a hole through the roof where they used to have wood heat in it. I still have the little stove they used! Must have been colder back then.

Morel, are you going to stick to cold hardy breeds after your silkies are gone?

I only have one frostbit roo and its not bad, but the rest of my crew are doing great with the negative temps. I tried to choose cold hardy breeds with rose or pea combs so I wouldn't run into trouble, but my roos all have the fleshy big combs and wattles, unfortunately.

 

[MorelCabin]

Did you mention if you have electricity to your coop, Morel? If so, could you give them a little ceramic electric space heater secured to a wall, where they couldn't tip it or scuff bedding up on it?

Believe it or not, my ancient old coop has a hole through the roof where they used to have wood heat in it. I still have the little stove they used! Must have been colder back then.

Morel, are you going to stick to cold hardy breeds after your silkies are gone?

I only have one frostbit roo and its not bad, but the rest of my crew are doing great with the negative temps. I tried to choose cold hardy breeds with rose or pea combs so I wouldn't run into trouble, but my roos all have the fleshy big combs and wattles, unfortunately.

Wow a woodstove in a chicken coop? Never heard of that before! I will always have silkies I think. I really love that breed, I'm just going to have to do a couple of things for next year to make it a little easier on them. It doesn't usually get -40 here though...every five years or so we get a cold snap likt this, and my birds were doing fine until about -32 so it isn't all bad:>)
I think for a large breed however I am going into chanteclers. I love my barred rocks but the roos have huge combs that don't suit the weather very well. My one is very badly frostbitten now, but he's going to have to deal with it. I am not bringing him in the house...and 2am we will be jarred out of bed by his crowing...he is absolutely huge, that one. Believe it or not my smaller barred rock roo is doing alot better in the cold than he is. Who would have thought?
Next year I will have a few rabbits in there too so it might help with heat a little

 

[patandchickens]

I think for a large breed however I am going into chanteclers.

If you wanna come pick 'em up you are welcome to my trio of buff chanteclers (I will warn you that the pullets have still not started laying yet, at 8 months, though).

Pat

 

[MorelCabin]

You're not impressed with them Pat? 8 months is getting kind of old not to be laying though, that's strange. How far away from me are you...I dread travel in the winter:>)

 

[patandchickens]

Yeah, I don't know what's up with them. Mind, I don't supplement light. But still. OTOH the roo only started crowing regularly and mating the girls in early Dec or so, so it is possible it is just a late-maturing line.

They are interesting, happy, friendly birds, I like 'em well enough, it's just that I only got them "to try out" and given that I'm sticking with Sussexes I do not really think I need another sizeable dual-purpose type around. I'd like to find another home for these and get a good-laying line of EEs or Ameraucanas in the spring.

Assuming they start laying, I would be putting them up for sale in the spring, but you are totally welcome to them (even if they start to lay) gratis if you'd like 'em. I probably won't actually TRY to $ell them until March or so, so you don't necessarily ahve to decide right this moment <g>

I'm not quite an hour N of Toronto. North side of Uxbridge.


Pat

 

[MorelCabin]

Well thanks Pat, I am really going to give that some thought, and I would be happy to pay you for them if I decide to got with it. Three would be a great number to try them because if I order from performance I have to buy 25 chicks to have them mailed, and I really don't have enough room for that many.
March would probably be a pretty good time, the highways won't be snowcovered:>)
Thanks again for the offer:>)

 

[MorelCabin]

Well we have yet another houseguest for the night...you guessed it, my big ol barred rock roo. I went out to check on everyone tonight before turning in and he just doesn't look very good, and he is sooo cold. So I have yet another dog crate in my sewing room...that's 5 chickens in the house now for me...the clean freak who hates the smell of chicken poop...Boy am I gonna clean this place Sunday after everybodies back in the coop!

And I sure hope he doesn't take to crowing in the night...his room is right next to ours...and I can hear ppl whisper from that room:>)
Dh is such a sweetie, he's the one that ultimately convinced me to bring them in.

 

[patandchickens]

You know Morel if you wanted anything *else* from Performance, like other color chanteclers or anything else, I am probably going to get some EEs from him myself from his first hatch at the beginning of May, so we could go in together on an order and I could pick them up and get them started for you (no responsibility for deaths, mind you ) and you could drive down and pick them up when it's convenient.

Not trying to talk you into anything of course, just saying, if that'd simplify your life I'd be happy to do it.

Pat