All 3 chickens stopped laying today

[chelsea]

I have got a heat lamp I could put on inthe kennel but dont know if it is safe for chiooks, puppies cant jump up to the ceiling..... hens can

 

We are investing in a heat lamp - and will put on in the very cold weather. We are going to put ours higher up in the run. Am sure the hens wont jump up at it....

[sandyhas3chucks]

i KNOW your girls will appreciate it, mine like nothing better than to come indorrs & look for the sun that comes out of the wall(Gas fire)

[blackgold]

I hung the min/max thermometer in the kennel last night. Head height near the roof. I can stand up in there.... Anyway the minimum temperature was 5 degrees and the maximum was 10 degrees. This was centigrade. So the reading of 15 in the eglu was probably correct and not the result of a hen sitting on it....lolI will try it in the eglu again but do not shut the hatch at night so although the kennel is dark because i have closed the wooden shutters .There is a small amount of light that filters through where the dogs have trimmed the doors edges.lol The kennel measures 6 foot by 4 foot by 6 foot high. It has stable doors.... the kennel backs onto my utility room and on the other side of it there is another kennel so it is not too exposed.

[chelsea]

mine like nothing better than to come indorrs & look for the sun that comes out of the wall(Gas fire)

 

Awww, how sweet!

[sandyhas3chucks]

blackgold, I shouldn't think youi have anything to worry about with a n Eglu inside a kennel, sounds toaty warm to me.

just a worrying thought though, if the dogs have trimmed the edges of the door, a fox could get in!!!!!!

they won't be secure if not door not shut.

Am paranoid about Mr Fox!

[sandyhas3chucks]

mine like nothing better than to come indorrs & look for the sun that comes out of the wall(Gas fire)

 

Awww, how sweet!

 

It sure is then they stretch out there wing one at a time! gives me sooo much pleasure especially as we know they couldn't stretch at all in those dreadful cages.

As I type our biggest, featheryest , top chook, ex bat that hasn't laid we don't think since Oct is stood in front of it, eyes closed. I think she MAY have a softee on the way, she didn't want to get up this morn, has mucky bum and there have been a few suspisious softee egg looking poohs about. they seem to take great comfort in that fire

[blackgold]

Dont worry, Me Fox cannot get in because the kennel is in a dog run. It has a roof and the bars are steel and designed so no dog can climb up them. The door to the run is always closed and we have 8 foot high fencing around the dog yard.... There is a picture of where they live on my collie talk spaces link from Boxing day i think..... Sue xxx

[sandyhas3chucks]

oh good ,

got enough to worry about with mine without other peoples to

[BarbaraJ]

Surely if chickens choose to sleep in trees which i know i've heard people on here say they do, they are going to be fine tucked up with others in a house of any sort?

mine are always lovely and warm in the morning i hope that won't change when i get my cube

[Valkyrie]

Do you think my cube is faulty because when I cleaned the cube out this morning all the poos had frozen to the bars in solid lumps. Took forever to s"Ooops, word censored!"e off. Also below the bars everything was frozen. The carpet draped over the top was also frozen solid - yet it didn't seem that cold to me. I only hope the frozen interior happens when the door is open and thaws out when they go inside.

No sympathy from OH - "at least they get more protection than wild birds". Now I am a bit worried. They were having a right old whinge this morning when I let them out. But their feet must be fairly hot because there are lots of chicken footprints all over the grass.

[sandyhas3chucks]

did you read this thread from the beginning? I brought my 2 Eglu girls in way befdore it got this cold! I watched the thermometer in the eglu get lower & lower & by 3am it was freezing.

The thermometer was not on the pooh try in was in a nesting bowl with no chicken in it.

Last night the temperature OUTSIDE the Eglu on the table 12 ft from the house, next to a fence and under the carport reached -6.5 inside the Empy closed Eglu with a petnap heat pad I am testing it reached -3.5 this was in the same place as before. the temp ON the heatpad at it's lowest was +2.3 and max 10 this was with no chicken, & using the yellow pages to simulate cat/dog as suggested bt petnaps website.

 

So I rekon that with normal roosting bars it is pretty darn cold.

I read on the wesite that they are tested to -10 but doesn't say how or the relevance.

Someone told me that at a show she overherard a saleman telling someone that the Cube was too cold for 4 birds, so don't know if that helps answer your question. If you only have a few I would fill some of the space with a cardboard box filled with shredded newspaper. that would fill the air space & ensure all hens are snuggled up together keeping warm.

One of my 2 is still underweight & not fully feathered still from the battery.(despite all sorts)

I think I would feel dfferently if there were 3 or 4 fully feathered girls in my Eglu, & maybe used snuggle pads (the petnap was given to me.)

[Valkyrie]

My girls go in the cube run at 3.30, but won't go to bed until much later (The run is covered with corrugated plastic - one side has a wooden fence and the other has a plastic sheet. As soon as we see them go in we are out closing up. Surprisingly the nesting area seems totally different - quite snug and warm to touch, although the eggs chill quickly.

Like the idea of the cardboard box - have had plenty of those recently, so thank you for that idea and as it is coming up to last snacky time for the girls, I will put that in for them too. Fingers crossed.

[Valkyrie]

Had a brainwave outside - have lots of garden fleece, so I have draped that over the cube with the carpet on top to keep it in place. All the holes are covered, but as it is fine, the air can still circulate but without the chill. Tomorrow I shall set up a fleece curtain that can be hung from outside the door so that I can raise it or lower it as required - Austrian blind style! OH thinks I am mollycoddling them. About to set up the box system now to put in while they are still preening.

[Valkyrie]

Just had a grope through the egg port - lots of heat being generated from fluffy girls, so much happier now.

[blackgold]

I am saving up for a cube but i think it will have to just be summer quarters. I dont think i could sleep at night if i was worrying that the chooks were cold. has anybody had any more feedback from omlet to say how the tests down to _10 were carried out? i know my other hen family are still snug but there are 8 adult fully feathered adults in the cube.

Unless of course my numbers go up and all the feathers are back before next winter lol Sue xx

[sandyhas3chucks]

pet safe doing well in it's empty Eglu. Girls are happy in their covered crate with 2 nest boxes to sleep in, hubby made a roosting bar so they have the option, they both choose snuggle for now.(not going to keep moving them about, they arre happy so I am happy An intersting thing though this am. head chook stopped laying about clocks back time. her friend laid lots softees... lots days nothing 3 lovely eggs 3 days in a row & nothing again since, weel head girl laid a little lash last night , I wonder if the warmer nights will see her laying again

[blackgold]

whats a petsafe?

[sandyhas3chucks]

PETNAP

http://www.petnap.co.uk/acatalog/FAQ.html

[blackgold]

Might be a silly questions but why have you got a petnap plugged in an empty eglu?

[sandyhas3chucks]

not silly, yes as I had removed girls BEFORE I was given it. they are happy & warm where they are, they really don't like change and it was 2 days before 1st, with bonfire night here like mortar bombs so decided to leave then be they have all been there at some time. and have been checking how it works temp etc. last thing would want to do is cook them, only wanted to keep it off freezing. AND it is old and second hand.

Very funny in the day. they are NOT going in the EGLU with that snake coming out!

seems to be really great for my set up!

it's a great test really as with no chooks in there it has got really cold/freezing in there.

If it can warm that nicely they will be snug in there.

[blackgold]

The things we do for our chooks........

[helenmb]

Just wanted to add an update from my experiment....

 

When I shut the Cube up last evening the outside temp was -4ºC and inside the Cube (in the nest box part) it was 0.1ºC. This morning when I let them out it was -3ºC outside but the temp inside the cube was 5.8ºC

 

This reading was taken away from where the girls are sleeping so no doubt it will be much warmer near them. As I write this the inside temp is dropping as the door is open and of course all their hot little(ish!) bodies are outside in the freezing cold.

 

Off to make a bit of porridge for them now .

[sandyhas3chucks]

I am sure the secret here is 6/8 fully feathered friends all keeping warm.

I am convinced that one fully featherd & one not in an Eglu is not such a lovely hot house (sorry coop )