Keeping hens and ducks chat.

edwink · 8 December 2017 at 6:02PM

Great idea Pyxis for the wind shelter for Orangecrushes girls.:A

Orangecrush your little hen is now at peace and no longer suffering bless her little heart (((HUGS)))

I suppose even a windbreaker that people use on beaches would also do the trick if you have one of those Orangecrush. Maybe ask friends and family if they have something you could use/borrow to help. Just a couple of polls with some fabric pulled across would keep some if not all the wind off of them. I would try anything this year as the chilly weather is well on its way now. Then sometime next year you can sort something as a more permanent wind breaker that you just easily clip on in some way.

Our girls hotel now has Polystyrene around the back and on one exposed side. We fix it in place with bungee straps every year just before the weather starts to turn chilly for them. Their hotel is covered in chicken wire all over including the roof so that way we can attach the bungee straps easily each time. The only reason their hotel is covered in chicken wire is that it is not actually inside their caged area but to the side. We back on to woods so we have to do everything we can here to keep our girls safe and stop any foxes from getting in at night.

Edwink x

edwink · 8 December 2017 at 6:24PM

orangecrush wrote: »

They look so funny when they are windswept, but I don't think they enjoy it!

You are so right Orangecrush hens really do not like the windy weather in fact they absolutely hate it. They will stay in their hut or just mope about huddled up all day.

How about a bit of hen exercise for them. You know a bit of hen boogieing. That would help to keep them warm wouldn't it ??????

Not sure what this dance is called but it certainly looks like it is exercising every muscle for this funny looking hen.

Right off to see if I can find something else that is totally mind bogglingly silly. All in aid of keeping hens warm you understand.

Edwink

edwink · 8 December 2017 at 6:52PM

This little hen looks like she is going for gold to keep warm

Edwink

Pyxis · 8 December 2017 at 7:39PM

edwink · 10 December 2017 at 10:33PM

What a day here for my elderly girls. None of them would venture out of their hotel until lunchtime and then only 3 of them came out and perched in their outdoor hut.:D

We scrape the floor of their hotel every morning but couldn't do it today because of all the little bodies in there. I was concerned that they wouldn't get enough food so we put their feeding trough in their hotel for them. As soon as we did that they launched themselves at the pellets and porridge we gave them.:cool:

Out ducks came out of their hut only to just sit underneath it all day. They didn't even venture out for some treat food so we had to put their treats in a bowl and give it to them under their hut.:o

I think we had about a least 6 inches of snow here today and it is blooming freezing outside. When our hens went to bed tonight the Cockerel and 3 hens were huddled up in the large nesting box and the other 5 hens were all cosy together on the perches.:dance:

Did anyone have the same sort of day that my feathered friends had or did yours brave the elements and venture out ?:)

Edwink

edwink · 11 December 2017 at 9:37PM

It was a much better day here for my girls today. Although it was still really cold out they did venture out of their coop today. :j The temperature down here is due to hit -5 or so from midnight so today we managed to collect the hens and the Cockerel up to cover their combs in Vaseline as this sensitive part can actually freeze due to the soft tissue. So that was a good job done today and much easier than other years as we have so many less hens than in previous years.

Because we are due a huge drop in temperature tonight we have pinned an old duvet to the inside walls of their hotel to help try and keep them warmer. Some of them including the Cockerel are snuggling up in the nesting box so there are less bodies and heat up on the perching bars.

We have also tucked another old duvet around and on top the long nesting box to help those keep warm that are choosing to sleep in there. :j

At the moment it is actually -3 here so we hope that our efforts today will give them a much better night.

How is every one else getting on with their girls and this rather chilly weather?

Edwink

Pyxis · 12 December 2017 at 6:19AM

Would using bubble-wrap be any good?

StarShapedPeg · 12 December 2017 at 10:11AM

It’s so cold!
Mine will not venture out of the barn, they all bundled out this morning from the coop, but they’re now all huddled up looking outside at the ice. The door to the barn was frozen shut this morning so it took a while to get unstuck.

I drape and tuck covers over the coop and pack it full of straw and newspapers to keep their feet warm. I think I’ll start hot water bottles again before I go to bed, that seemed to help last year.

The other thing that I’ll have to do today is fix the door to the coop. It’s not latching properly, I noticed last night when I was closing them up but it was pitch black and freezing so I couldn’t do anything to fix it.

One good thing is that the temperature seems to have stopped them moulting and they all look better for it. Their duvets have grown back.

Poor little hens.

edwink · 12 December 2017 at 12:15PM

Pyxis wrote: »

Would using bubble-wrap be any good?

Yes bubble wrap would also do the trick. That's a good suggestion Pyxis.

Luckily the temperature is going to rise today.

Edwink

edwink · 12 December 2017 at 12:24PM

StarShapedPeg wrote: »

I drape and tuck covers over the coop and pack it full of straw and newspapers to keep their feet warm. I think I’ll start hot water bottles again before I go to bed, that seemed to help last year.

The other thing that I’ll have to do today is fix the door to the coop. It’s not latching properly, I noticed last night when I was closing them up but it was pitch black and freezing so I couldn’t do anything to fix it.

Not sure where you are in the country StarShapedPeg but you may not need the hot water bottles tonight as the temperatures are due to rise today. If you are in one of the worst hit areas with inches and inches of snow they still may be useful though.

The door may not be latching properly because it is so frozen. Maybe when it defrosts a bit it will latch again. Hope you manage to get it sorted today.

Our girls hotel door has a wooden latch at the top and at the bottom and that took a while to move this morning. My husband had to knock both with something really hard as they were both so frozen and stuck.

Edwink

Keeping hens and ducks chat.

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