# Rough Day for Chickens!



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The blizzard is on full force here on Long Island. It is in the 20s F and the wind is howling away at over 20 mph with lots of gusting. The snow is drifting up in their run.

My girls don't want to come out of their roosting coop at all. I don't think I blame them, but they do have to eat and drink to stay safe. I made them a big bowl of very loose watery oatmeal and dumped a generous amount of freeze dried mealworms into it. I put it in the coop for them and they ate a good amount of it. I will refresh the oatmeal throughout the day and offer them as much calorie dense stuff as I can, but I am going to be worrying about them until this storm ends.

Keep them in your thoughts please!


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## marialydia (Nov 23, 2013)

Good luck chickens! If they eat some of this great food while the storm is at full force, they will get through the day! 

I am sure you have looked into this, but is there any way to block the snow?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Last year I had put some sheet insulation around their coop and run, but they decided to eat the foam beads off the edges which I clearly thought wasn't a very good idea, so I didn't put it up this year. I should be able to sweep it out to give them some room to move around later, but right now I think they are being as sensible as chickens can be by staying together inside!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Thinking of the girls in the storm!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

So far so good!


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Oooohhhh chickies, eat up and run back to cuddle up together to stay as warm as you can! Good luck, I've been thinking about everyone in the blizzard zone.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I just gave them a freshened up bowl of oatmeal with their regular food mixed in. They are staying in the coop and one of them even gave me an egg! So far so good, again.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think I would have them in the kitchen or bathroom by now!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Brrrrrr! Stay warm chickies!!!!!!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I wish I had a way to bring them in, but Peeves and Javelin would just be too crazy if they even knew they were upstairs. All of them are from cold hardy breeds.

I just took them another round of good high calorie food. Hopefully they will fill their crops quickly and cuddle up to sleep with each other very soon. They aren't too happy but they are doing okay.


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## Michelle (Nov 16, 2009)

Our girls must be used to it. They still come out of the coop into their fenced area to scratch around (although there is nothing to find under the snow! lol).

Hope your girls stay comfortable during the storm!


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

your chickens are going to be trained to call for room service!


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

I share your worry for your girls!!

Here are our four season tractors! We covered them in clear plastic so it's a greenhouse effect, so even tho here's no sun today it's a nice 35 degrees in the coops. It's 24 degrees now. 

We measured 22" outside!! We are in northern va. 

Do you have a heated waterer? That makes me feel happy they can have a warm drink when it's so cold out.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Shamrockmommy yes they have a heated waterer and the coop must be reasonably warm since the oatmeal didn't freeze between times of refreshing it!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Shamrockmommy said:


> ...a nice 35 degrees in the coops.


That sounds like an oxymoron LOL How cold a temperature can they tolerate?


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

People keep chickens in Canada, and don't have any problems there. They are pretty tough. 
I don't feel too bad for them, especially when I see little wrens and sparrows flitting around in the snow ?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

zooeysmom you have to be careful about choosing breeds that will be hardy for your climate conditions. Mine are all cold hardy in part because they have single combs that are less prone to frostbite than more elaborate combs that can have ice form and be trapped in between the folds.

shamrockmommy you are so right about not feeling so bad for chickens compared to the little wrens and sparrows. At least they have a better surface area to volume ratio to allow them to hold body heat. I had some small birds get in the chickens' run over the weekend. Most of them flew out when I opened the gate, but I had to catch a couple to send them out. I picked up a song sparrow and it felt like nothing in my hand.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I am happy to say that before I left for work I saw a couple of my little ladies take a venture out of the coop to where their regular food and water are located. They think things are looking up I guess.


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## marialydia (Nov 23, 2013)

Thank goodness! You took great care of them in the blizzard and they seem to know it.


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## Critterluvr (Jul 28, 2014)

Shamrockmommy said:


> People keep chickens in Canada, and don't have any problems there. They are pretty tough.
> I don't feel too bad for them, especially when I see little wrens and sparrows flitting around in the snow ?



Had to chuckle at this......we honestly don't live in igloos here!!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

We had a hiccup on Tuesday, with a happy ending.

I got home around 7 PM and brought in some groceries and let the dogs out. then I went to shovel some of the slush off the deck in places I wanted to get to. I noticed Peeves hanging by the coop (which I hadn't closed for the night yet). He wouldn't leave and seemed concerned. I turned on the flashlight app on my phone and found that Sarah (my darkest blue ameraucana) was out in the run. She must have stayed out until it was too dark for her to find her way back.

I was able to reach her fairly easily. On checking she was wet on the belly, but not down to skin. Her feet were very cold too. I put her in the coop with the others. I had a long day at work yesterday so I didn't get to keep too close of an eye on her, but am happy to report that I looked her over this morning and she looks and acts fine.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

All's well that ends well! How good that Peeves understood that something was "not right" and alerted you to that fact! If I recall, that is not th first time that Peeves has proven to be an able guardian of the chickens! Good boy, Peeves!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

nifty said:


> All's well that ends well! How good that Peeves understood that something was "not right" and alerted you to that fact! If I recall, that is not th first time that Peeves has proven to be an able guardian of the chickens! Good boy, Peeves!


nifty you are right, Peeves definitely regards taking care of the chickens as his job. He has alerted us about cats trying to get to them any number of times. I think he really likes them, but I don't leave him loose in the yard with them unless BF and I are both out with them. He can end up getting too excited when he tries to herd them since chickens don't respond to that pressure the way sheep, ducks or geese do. They scatter and then anything could happen.


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## Critterluvr (Jul 28, 2014)

I think the americauna's are a heritage breed aren't they? I love the heritage breeds, are all your chickens a heritage breed?


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## spindledreams (Aug 7, 2012)

nope they are not the Araucana that they came from is and is a rather odd chicken as it is tailless which affects their fertility can't remember but I think it is something to do with the genetics not an inability to breed successfully.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Ameracaunas aren't tailless and they do breed successfully. I had plenty of fertile eggs when the rooster was here. My flock is small with just 3 ameracaunas ( a rare breed) and one buff orpington.


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## seminolewind (Mar 11, 2016)

Hey, I'm from LI NY too. Moved to Florida 10 years ago. Here I got into chickens in 2007 and now have over 30 pet chickens! I'm waiting for my first poodle and I'm so nervous.

On LI I only had one rooster that adopted me and the horses. On really cold nights, he would sleep on the wall between 2 horses.

Here in Fla. I have the opposite problem. The heat. During the summer I put ice in the water, and hang fans blowing towards the nests so they don't die of overheating when laying. Sometimes I run the hose on the ground and they stand in the water.


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