Raising Chickens...Info/Advice/Help
- freetown fred
- Member
- Posts: 30293
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Location: Freetown,NY 13803
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
Hmmmmm, colder then a witches tit???????????????????????????
- SWPaDon
- Member
- Posts: 9857
- Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 12:05 pm
- Location: Southwest Pa.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
- Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
- Other Heating: Oil furnace
My hens were fine at a few days of -10. This site says -20:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/chickens-and-cold-weather-zb0z10zblon
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/chickens-and-cold-weather-zb0z10zblon
- coaledsweat
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 13763
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
- Location: Guilford, Connecticut
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
- Coal Size/Type: Pea
Chicks need heat when it gets cold, adults, not so much.
- lsayre
- Member
- Posts: 21781
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
- Location: Ohio
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
- Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
- Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75
That's how I've always looked at it. But then the coldest it ever gets around here is about -25, and thats a once in a few decades event. In reality -20 is about as low as it gets here. I believe Rob sees as low as -50.coaledsweat wrote:Chicks need heat when it gets cold, adults, not so much.
FWIW, the all time recorded low temperature in Ohio was -39 degrees in Milligan, OH on February 10th, 1899. By my guess about 110 miles due south of my location.
- SWPaDon
- Member
- Posts: 9857
- Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 12:05 pm
- Location: Southwest Pa.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
- Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
- Other Heating: Oil furnace
Just remember when adding heat, be careful how much you add. A person just wants to take the 'dangerous' chill out of the air, too much heat will mess them up.
- windyhill4.2
- Member
- Posts: 6072
- Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
- Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
- Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both
I built my chicken house without a floor. Any liquid can seep down thru the ground,the chickens can scratch in the dirt & take dust baths,the dirt floor is not as cold as an uninsulated floor would be. With no floor there is no worry about rats living between the floor & the ground. 8x14 filled with 35 chickens keeps them comfy thru the cold weather.
RATS.... Don't have feed available overnite,keep the extra feed in a metal garbage can,rats generally feed at nite.
No food available little worry of rats.
RATS.... Don't have feed available overnite,keep the extra feed in a metal garbage can,rats generally feed at nite.
No food available little worry of rats.
- SWPaDon
- Member
- Posts: 9857
- Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 12:05 pm
- Location: Southwest Pa.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
- Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
- Other Heating: Oil furnace
A little tip for cooking old hens. Use a slow cooker, set the temperature at about 150 degrees for 12 hours. If the water boils, the meat will be tough.
Never tried that, thanks for the tip. We would grind the cooked meat and make chicken nuggets or patties. Similar to fish cakes or crab cakes.SWPaDon wrote:A little tip for cooking old hens. Use a slow cooker, set the temperature at about 150 degrees for 12 hours. If the water boils, the meat will be tough.
Lots of good advice already on this thread, here is what we did.
About cold weather, choose a breed suitable for your area and they won't need or want heat unless it gets abnormally cold. They do need to be out of the wind, and you may have problems with their feet freezing when they roost. I built my coop from the back of a cube van. 14' long, 8' high, 8' wide, hardwood floor and a roll up door on the back. I only closed the door in cold weather. I put a raised platform in the nose, a sheet of 4x8 plywood, with a small hole in the side for the chicken access. On the side facing the door I put sliding gates I built from an old wrought iron railing. The birds can't get out, but it provides good airflow in hot weather and easy access to gather eggs. Sort of looked like a jail cell, three solid walls and one wall with bars. Hence, I called my chickens Jailbirds. I put straw bedding on top of the platform and no perches. In cold weather they just lined up in one corner and seemed very comfortable plus their feet stayed warm. In hot weather they would sometimes roost outside in the enclosed run. On the hottest days I put a plastic pool in the run and filled it with fresh water each morning. During the hottest part of the day they would get in there and cool off. The run was 10' x 25' and half was covered, I had an old table and other stuff in there that they sat on. Inside I put an Igloo type dog house for a nest box, but they never used it. They just went behind it and made their own nest in the straw. The round top of the igloo kept them from roosting there. I kept extra bales of straw under the platform which kept it warm in winter. I let the birds free range in the pasture during the day, locked them into the run at night. The straw bedding stayed surprisingly clean and odor free. The birds didn't seem to crap all over everything like they do when on a perch. BTW, we usually kept 12 birds. For the OP, I suggest you start with no more than four to six hens. Four hens that are kept comfortable and well fed will supply most families with plenty of eggs.
- windyhill4.2
- Member
- Posts: 6072
- Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
- Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
- Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both
4 hens = 4 eggs per day,i eat 4-6 eggs for breakfast myself,only 4 would mean rationing them so everyone could taste them. Might as well have a dozen chickens or more,eat as many eggs for breakfast as you need & have eggs to use for cooking.
- coaledsweat
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 13763
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
- Location: Guilford, Connecticut
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
- Coal Size/Type: Pea
As a hen ages, her eggs get bigger. The old birds are making the jumbos.
- johnjoseph
- Member
- Posts: 9299
- Joined: Mon. Sep. 15, 2014 6:05 pm
- Location: Aroostook County, Maine
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
- Other Heating: pellet stove, oil boiler
Outstanding! I'm at 4 dozen a day! They love apples for sure....and potatoes!
- SWPaDon
- Member
- Posts: 9857
- Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 12:05 pm
- Location: Southwest Pa.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
- Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
- Other Heating: Oil furnace
Please be careful with green potato skins. They are toxic.
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/04/7-things-you-shouldnt-feed-your-chickens.html
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/04/7-things-you-shouldnt-feed-your-chickens.html