Morning chicken care routine for those that are interested in such things. Overnight temps were -8 or so. We DO NOT heat our coop. They are fine. Draft free coop with deep litter in it, and 10 birds in down coats on the roost stayed around 0-5*F. We fight the water freezing by using a stock tank heater, in a pan of wet sand. Waterer sit on this. This normally works. Water in in plastic wrapped enclosed wire run area. Cold was deep enough last night that it froze there water. So, traded out with spare, adding some ACV and electrolytes to the water to help deal with the cold. Nine hens and one rooster. Everyone is doing well, only some tiny touches of frostbite on some comb tips. No eggs at all, for now, but we dont supplement lighting either. I prepped some hot mash for them. Hot water in a bucket of feed and scratch, like a chicken oatmeal. We have one girl in nursery care. She was torn a bit on the back of the neck by the rooster, which the other hens pecked at till she was scalped up her neck. So she is in a shed with a oil radiator, just to keep the chill off and no shock from cold. So gave her some mash and checked her over. Also started some fermented feed to warm up for those mashes in the winter. That is, a 3 gal bucket, filled with about a 2-1 ratio of feed and scratch grains. This is filled with water within a inch of the top and allowed to ferment. Smells like sourdough when it gets started and has bubbles in 12 hrs or so. Very good for the chickens. I will dip out a scoop with a kitchen strainer and heat that up in the microwave to take out on cold mornings, or straight most of the time.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 19:23:57 +0000
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