[Ag-eq] Chickens in the cold

[Zach Mason]

Probably shouldn't be saying anything, but I can say from experience a feral
variety of chickens, one that bred purely through natural selection,
propagated on my farm without being fed or housed through all climate
extremes of northern New Hampshire. It all started when a loan rooster
escaped from a cattle dealer's trailer. Dick said when he went to roost at
night we could catch him easily enough and he'd be back again next week.
Well, that rooster roosted, 20 feet high in our barn rafters. Jasper, as we
decided to name him, ended up surviving the winter, which in January dips
below -30 degrees, and in the spring Dick dropped off four additional black
hens because my dad had to complain the rooster was "chasing the pidgins." 

Those five original birds propagated a hearty population of feral chickens.
>From time to time we would come across a clutch of eggs or abandoned chicks
and incubate or give them to neighbors. At one time we probably had around
70 birds. Supposedly they were good for fly control. Now we have one loan
rooster. A former employee asked if he could take the chickens to start a
flock of his own. As the birds weren't providing us with any income and were
actually having a deleterious effect rusting the stalls whenever they
defecated from on high, we gladly allowed him to catch up the flock. All but
one. Once again we have a loan rooster who I call Jasper Junior. 

Now I'm not recommending a true "cage free" or "free range" system, because
as I've hinted already we never collected a single egg from our birds. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ag-eq [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jewel
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 10:09 PM
To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Chickens in the cold

    If birds can survive out in the wild through a north American winter,
and a good percentage of
them do, I wouldn't be too concerned about chooks which, usually, have a
shed of sorts in which to
take shelter.  Insulate the shed as much as you can, feed them extra adding
a  warm mash, and keep 
their drinking water from freezing by packing  a mixture of straw, sawdust
and chook droppings
around the water container.  You know how warm the inside of a compost heap
gets!

      Jewel --------------------------------------------------
From: "Susan Roe" <dogwoodfarm at verizon.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 8:46 AM
To: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>; "Agricultural and Equestrean
Division List"
<ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Chickens in the cold

Hi Tracy,

No, coops don't have heaters, but there are cold hardy chickens.  In the
chick catalogs, they are marked with a snowflake.  I just make sure their
water doesn't stay frozen, dumping ice and putting warm water back in so it
takes a little while before it freezes again.  I keep their windows shut in
winter and open with screens in the summer.  If it is really wet, then we
have a long board that can be either put in their coop or just out in their
yard for their scratch.  My husband likes to use the board out in their run
area when there is snow and ice on the ground.  As long as they have good
shelter out of the wind, wet and snow, they do alright.

Watch their feeding and their multing because they will need a bit more
protein during that time.  Our chickens always seemed to mult in November
and December.  Unfortunately, we now have no more chickens thanks to the
farel cats and a pair of foxes.  We are going to take this down time to
totally strip the coops and reinforce problem areas.  I am even thinking
about getting some turkeys.

Susan
dogwoodfarm at verizon.net
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: "Agricultural and Equestrean Division List" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 17, 2014 6:16 AM
Subject: [Ag-eq] Chickens in the cold


> I've been wondering, how does one keep chickens alive and healthy when
> it's really cold?  Does their coop have a heater?
> Tracy
>
>
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