Solitary chicken - need advice

[Serama]

Hi ive got 5 serama bantams in an Eglu.

This is their first year outside as they are about 6 months old.

I am thinking to heat my Eglu in some way as a precaution as we are away for three weeks in Jan and bearing in mind these are a very small breed.

 

Would a reptile heat pad/mat be suitable if I install the proper outdoor electrical connections.

Something like these......

http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/reptile-supplies/reptile-heating-equipment-414/heat-mats-450.html

 

 

thanks

[The Dogmother]

I can't see why you'd need to heat it - it has double shell construction, the chooks have a far higher body temperature than ours, they will be fine.

 

I have kept fancy breeds, including japanese and dutch bantams in an eglu through the coldest of winters, they all lived to well over 4 years old.

[MarkBevBen]

I was just going to say that I looked in our Eglu this morning through the 'Eggport' door and I noticed how 'warm' it felt in there

[brambles]

Put your hand between them at night at feel how warm they are! The issue with heating the eglu is that they'll then shed some feathers and be colder during the day, if you see what I mean.

[madchickenlady]

Agree with the others. Tempting though it is to heat the housing (I too have dreamed of radiators! ), it probably does them no good in the long run. Extra bedding to snuggle down in, and maybe a blanket thrown over the top on very cold nights should help

[The Dogmother]

I don't close the door on my cube at night until it gets below zero; they are all fine and thriving.

[Tiggy]

I don't close the door on my cube at night until it gets below zero; they are all fine and thriving.

 

I do this too, my enthusiastic trips down the garden on freezing mornings to let them out of the eglu soon wore off. below zero days they need unfrozen water otherwise they are all fine

[Serama]

thanks for the replies.....

interesting about the igloo door as that was my main worry.

 

as im away on holiday its not viable to have the door closed as "Ooops, word censored!"ody will be here to let them out every morning and close the door every evening. ive got someone to come in and check the food and water every two/three days which i am also worried about although i think thats gonna be ok.

 

a bit off topic but as im going away for 3 weeks i have started to experiment with filling up the feeder to ensure they have enough food for a 3 day stint. what ive noticed is the more i fill it the more food they just flick out onto the floor and i would say 70% of their food is wasted on the floor of the run. does anyone have any tips to combat this. my feeder is a small plastic feeder like this one. a small 1kg feeder.

 

http://www.regencypoultry.com/feeders/plasticfeeders/regency_poultry_feeder.htm

 

thanks again

[Tara.F]

For seramas I'd consider heating

Our boy, now sadly deceased was okay but the door was always closed in the winter nights and he was in with some very snuggly pekins who kept him warm. Five seramas won't take up much space nor generate much heat. They also don't shed feathers the same way as other breeds....their plumage remains constant, they don't moult as such, but lose and replace a couple of feathers every day of the year instead.

 

I really would suggest popping onto the British serama owners forum to check. They are very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and I'm sure they'll know what to do for the best

http://www.seramaforum.com

[The Dogmother]

If you're going away, why not look on the chicken sitters list and see if anyone nearby can take care of them for you.

[OllieNLucys Mum]

Last winter was my chooks first in their cube. As we got further into winter I first of all added lots of straw then put a horse rug over it And closed the door at night. This initially worked well but then one morning Ollies wattles and tips of his comb were frozen solid As he started to defrost it was as if he were bleeding. I felt awful and expected the whole lot to go black and fall off,luckily he only lost the tips and they have grown back.

 

 

Following this I put vaseline on all their combs and each night put 2 pet warming pads on top of the roosting bars. After that they were ok. The weather was exceptionally cold though. It was well below freezing at home but where they are (out in the paddock it didn't go above freezing for over 10 days and was -10 at night brrr.

 

I think in January you will need someone to look after them and shut them in at night unless of course it is mild. I know mine probably would have frozen last winter without quite a lot of extra care.

[Redwing]

I'd get someone to come in daily to check on them, the water may well freeze apart from anything else

 

A local reliable teen would probably do that and open and close the eglu door for a few pounds a day

[chick wiggle]

Hi Serama, whereabouts are you? As Claret suggested, probably the best way is to get someone to check on them everyday as you are away in one of the coldest months. I have a spare eglu too which they could come here and stay in while you are away. If you are anywhere near me i would gladly check on them for you, as im sure other omleteers would be.

Edited October 26, 2010 by Guest

[Egluntyne]

Some advice re caring for hens in winter **here**.

[Serama]

thanks again for the advice.....i am in surrey....i do have someone to come see them every 2/3 days but its obviously not very convenient for someone to get up early to open up the igloo and then go back again at dusk to close it. so i was gonna leave it open and i just thought a bit of heating would be a good thing especially given their size and age.

 

i wonder if I could pay someone to look after them properly. its not the cost its more their safety im concerned about. given the fact its 3 weeks in the coldest time of year, coupled with their age and size doesnt make it an easy decision.

 

im gonna post on the serama forum now im a member, to see if they would recommend any heat.

thanks fellow omleteers.

[The Dogmother]

Most of the chicken sitters on the Omlet list have spare accommodation and you just take your chooks to them.

[daxigirl]

Hi Serama,

 

My yellow leggers have one of those feeders in their run. It hangs from the roof on a bit of string and a clip as I got fed up of all the waste from a dish. They can't s"Ooops, word censored!"e it out. Maybe you could hang yours if you already don't or raise it a bit higher off the ground? If it is already hanging and they're making a mess then I don't know what the answer is. When they all go together I'm gonna get a bigger one for in the cube.

 

I'm wondering about chicken sitting next year, I was thinking of converting my greenhouse into a WIR and adding a coop. If nothing else it would give me a new chicken fix every so often. What do people think, is it needed?

[Serama]

yeah ive been experimenting with hanging the feeder up.

i was mostly failing as i think they were climbing onto the side and tipping it over and spilling the feed out.

 

ive now made it as high as i can whilst still allowing the smallest bird to get to the food. so its mainly about neck height. this seems to be working now.

 

i think a feeder with a smaller "mesh" would surely stop them flicking the food out. im gonna try modifying the feeder so the food compartments are much smaller.

[The Dogmother]

I used to hand them up on unwound wire coat hangers, but recently found that I had a whole load of those double-ended hooks for hanging things in the kitchen - they are adjustable and work a treat. The feeder and drinker will need to be on a level with their backs.

[Chicken deficient]

If you do end up needing a heat source, a sugglesafe might be good - you just heat it in a microwave.