Oh, no, snow!

[ilovehens]

My poor chickens are just sitting in the coop looking miserable

They didn't even venture outside to eat their rice and sweetcorn.

My cochin is moulting and my orpington is absolutely terrified of the snow - it's her first year, so she hasn't been through a winter before.

How are your chickens coping with this weather?

I have found that some warm ready brek or porridge cheers them up. Add some cheap mixed fruit for flavour.

Eek. I bet he's quite scary. I hope you have leather gauntlets The landlord really should trim his spurs. He'll do damage to the girls if he's very rampant.

LOL Chickens, when I told my dh people were giving their hens Ready Brek he said 'I hope it's the cheap generic version not the real one.'
Mine have just been given a big bowl of porridge and raisins. Made up with leftover baby formula which I hope is ok.

It won't do any harm, seth, but I usually use hot water for my girls. I don't give them any dairy products mainly because, well, they're not mammals so aren't geared up for digesting it. Some people swear by yoghurt though, for some reason.

Mine have porridge oats mixed with warm water and toped off with mealworms and poultry spice at bedtime. I caught my son putting raspberries on top yesterday!

I have roofed the eglu cube run with clear plastic so they are sheltered and they have a plastic sheet on part of one side that keeps the wind out.

They are toasty at night, I put my hand between two the other night and they were so warm.

My Cochin has started laying again in the last few days following her moult! The others are in various stages. Th run is nice and dry so that on wet days I know that she won't get wet foot feathers.

I go down with a kettle in the mornings, but am interested to hear about the thawed water - mine like the water from the fountain in the garden too, which is definitely not fresh daily. I do pop a bit of acv or avipro in the water to boost their systems.

I gave mine a bowl or ready brek with dried apricots and raisins this morning, inside their house because they refuse to come out now. They nearly took my hand off . I used to always make "mash" for my hens and ducks by boiling peelings and adding oats, I think I may start again.
Happy hens here

Ought to add, I make it with water, not milk.

will make with water next time then.
Still around minus 8 here. Lots of trips into garden with fresh water because it's freezing in no time.

I have been worried about my hens in the cold too. It was -4 here last night!

I have read to keep them cleaned out well as poo will freeze and make them colder and the damp is a real problem. So I am poo picking the house out every day at the moment. Apprently you can also put vasaline on their wattles to protect them.

I make mine a mash with layers pellets and warm water and add some poultry spice. I've also been giving them extra corn as that is meant to help keep them warm.

I am going to buy a snugglesafe too so I can pop that in every night to keep them toasty.

I forgot to get the eggs yesterday. Just got them this morning and went to crack one in the frying pan and it is a frozen lump. Chucked it in the bin.

Will the others be ok afetr they thaw or should I bin them?

Chooks look pissed off.

My chooks haven't laid since september

Have you got pure breed chilckens rather than utility? I think they tend to stop laying in winter. One of mine hasn't laid an egg for over a year and is only 2 years old. I keep giving it the death stare to no avail.

You Have pekins don't you Chickens ? They don't seem to be great layers though the late autumn/winter. But they are great personalities

Mine had pasta, boiled eggs and cod-liver oil this morning after their pellets.

My silkies lay all year steadily although not prolifically. But they are poncetastic.

I do indeed have pekins. Lazy, pampered madams. On the plus side, they do crap all over the patio and eat all my plants They do generally start laying again in early january, so not too bad

DD wants a couple of pekins. Are their eggs very tiny?

About half the size of a normal egg, I'd say. But they are mostly yolk and great for cooking with. Temperamental buggers, though. I wouldn't keep pekins if the eggs are very important to you, IYSWIM. My girls are pets first, and egg production is a benefit. Sometimes.

We are lucky to be getting 2-3 eggs still most days. We have seven hens, but one, the araucana, isn't laying yet and won't till next year now I expect and one's a cochin, so she doesn't count. Our light sussex hybrid lays almost every day and so does one of our Buff Sussex purebred girls. Not sure which of the others is laying, but the Bluebell I suspect as the other suspects are in moult or near to it.

We were over-run with eggs in the summer and are just about getting enough now.

I'm getting 1-2 from my 3 hens (2 hybrids and a light Sussex).
One of the hybrids lays practically every day but I don't know who lays the other eggs.

My ex-batts are still laying (well done girls) but my poncestastic brahmas and orpies are on strike. So I have nine girls and 2 eggs a day . I am just waiting for dh to make one of his cost benefit analysis statements....

I've got 7 chickens, one cream legbar, one suffolk, the other 5 are hybrids. Only getting one egg a day. Am going to have to buy some today I think, first time in 5 years.

I think I am lucky in that mine have all moulted at different times, hence still getting an OK amount of eggs.

One has laid already this morning, (I think it was the bluebell as she made a proper announcement when I let them out this morning!) which is unheard of, they don't like early mornings and rarely lay before 10.30am.

I feel so sorry for them today, there is so much snow on the ground and my feet were freezing just being outside to rig up an extra shelter for them. Hopefully it'll warm up a bit later.

Vivalebeaver, I am envious of your Cream Legbar. I tired for ages to get one, eventually getting a year old girl. Loretta. She was fabulous and laid almost every single day. Sadly, she suddenly died and we presume it was a heart problem. She was so friendly and such a character and I really miss her.

If I had space, I'd get some bog standard red hybrids for egg production. Alas, until I get my smallholding it is not to be. I am very fond of my cowbag pekins. They have spirit

And pekins are pretty [shallow]