Chicken bald back

[gavclojak]

Good evening, do you have any tips for what I can do to ensure my girls stay safe in the cold. There is a noticeable chill in the London air as I write this and it's my girls first winter out of the commercial barn, want to make sure they stay healthy and chill free

[Plum]

Just make sure they have access to water when it's freezing. Give extra wheat in the afternoons for them to burn overnight, a tonic when moulting and shelter from the eastern winds.

[Egluntyne]

There is a link at the top of this section to an article about this. Click

[gavclojak]

Thank you so much. I have just ordered snugglesafe and a winter coat for the cube. There are some good ideas in that link so thanks again x

[Olly]

I don't do anything different for my hens in the winter, other than bring the drinker in at night to stop it freezing. I don't even close the Eglu door unless its snowing heavily - at the moment, three of them are choosing to sleep outside the Eglu anyway.

[PoachedPlease]

I'm with Olly on this. I leave my coop door open all through the winter, snow and all. Their feathers are great insulators and wild birds do fine even without an eglu! As much as I love eglu products, I think some accessories are superfluous and are there to entice us!

 

Xx

[Chickabee]

I'm glad other omlettiers leave their doors open. Mine have been open sice the spring. I normally close them when the nights draw in, won't feel bad if I forget to close them

[Sandychick]

Freezing water is the only big thing to think about. Can be difficult if it's really cold and you are out at work all day.

 

I've only shut the eglu door at night twice - that was a couple of years ago when it was -18c.

If you have to collect the eggs after dark, and put your hand in the middle of a heap of snoozing chickens, you realise how toasty warm they actually are

[redsunset]

That's good to know as snow was my biggest fear. Might rig up some kind of shelter in case of snow as up here if we do get it, it may be driving down at an angle and get in the girls door. I could also drop the doors down to half mast I suppose with help of a string on the hooks? We seldom go below - 5 and as I come home every lunchtime can change the water then if a freeze is threatening. Never shut the door last winter at all but then again we had no snow. I guess wearing a duvet on your back has to count for something, eh?

[gavclojak]

Does anyone think the cube jackets are worth investing in? I have a £50.00 credit with Omlet at the moment and was waiting to use it wisely. I was going to purchase the jacket but am not sure now?

[Olly]

Personally, I wouldn't bother - the Eglu/Cube is supposed to be insulated anyway by virtue of the way it is constructed, and as mentioned above, if you stick your hand inside it's usually toasty warm. I have never bothered with any sort of covering - if you live in a very exposed Northern area you might take a different view. As you can tell, I'm a fairly hard-boiled chicken keeper, mine don't get any special treatment but they seem healthy enough!

[gavclojak]

Thank you, may put the £50.00 credit to better use...I am in the suburban oasis that is Bromley so doesn't ever get ridiculously cold...

[Egluntyne]

The hardest part about winter care for as far as I am concerned is the knocking of an overnight fall of snow off the roof of the WIR.

 

I don't close my hens in at night either.

[gavclojak]

I have a 35 Square foot enclosure they roam in during the day and the roof area is covered with a fruit net the galvanised steel. I am thinking of removing the roof completely and just placing eclectic fencing around the top of the 6 foot fence for that very reason. How fox proof would that be? I don't have a huge fox problem but I guess I only need one to be a problem! the roof seemed like a good idea at the time but leaves etc. keep getting stuck on it. I guess all this knowledge comes with experience.

[PoachedPlease]

I'd be worried the birds would fly out. If they have perches (which they love) it's an easy hop up to the top. Can you ignore the leaves?

 

Xx

[AlisonH]

Think you need to be careful you don't wrap them up too warmly or you make them soft and more susceptible to illness. I do shut the door as I only have 2 chooks but unless it's extremely cold you don't need to use the snuggle safe etc. we went down to -12 last winter and my girls were fine.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Mine sleep outdoors (within the WIR) in all weathers, including that horrendous winter 2 years ago. Feet of snow and blizzards and still they slept outside . I did put perspex/acrylic panels round all sides though, which sheltered them from the worst of the wind and driving snow.

[gavclojak]

Yes good call, although mine have not got more than two foot off the ground yet! Lazy ladies. I am happy to ignore the leaves but am worried the accumulation will make the fruit net collapse:((