Single hen

[skye]

I'm so worried our chooks are freezing and miserable out there tonight ... just checked the weather forecast and it's going to be down to zero again... they're still laying, and I know technically they say chickens are ok in the cold... i just really worry about them when it's as cold as this. When I went to close the eglu door this evening Layla was all turned around facing the opposite way inside, and standing up instead of her usual roost... do you think it might be because she can't get comfy because of the cold?

 

Does anybody else feel like this, or is it just me being daft? I'm scared one morning we'll go down and one of them will have died of the cold overnight

 

Sorry for pouring my heart out, I just feel like I need to hear how other people feel about this

skye x

[xChicken04x]

Try not to worry!

 

Remember, chickens have natural instincts to roost in trees, they dont have the warmth of a double skinned eglu.

 

If it makes you feel any better some people wrap a hot water bottle in a towel and put it in the poo trays to keep them warmer.

 

xx

[Chicken Licken]

You have to remember they have a built in down jacket - also I reckon their house is far better insulated than my turn of the century house!! I always cheer mine up with a nice bowl of hot porrige on a cold morning that they burble over.

[Egluntyne]

You don't need to worry until the temperature drops well into the minuses..

[KateP]

I feel the same! I've been really worried about my two and wanted to bring them inside in a box but my husband says I'm being over-protective of them This morning I went out at 7 to open the eglu door and it was -1 but they seemed fine. I gave them some porridge to warm them up

[Madchook]

Gosh...i must be really mean I can honestly say I haven't worried about them... I may have a pet-like attachment to them, but I still see them as livestock really, I'm not intending on providing hot water bottles The first night it froze here they actually spent in the hedge and were fine! (Long story involving escaping and me being caught in traffic so they went to roost before I got home -cue night in tears think old foxyloxy had got them!)

[jomaxsmith]

I'm with Madchook on this one. I'm sure poultry centres really wouldn't sell hens that couldn't cope with an english winter and in their eglu our's are probably much warmer than in a traditional wooden ark.

 

I'm sure the shock of being brought into a brightly lit centrally heated house at night would probably be more of a danger than being out in the cold.

 

As to hot water bottles - I really wouldn't want handle one that had spent a night in the poo tray

 

Jo

[Guest]

You have to remember that chickens will fluff out their feathers to trap body heat, and snuggle tight close together at night to keep cosy - they'll be fine - honest! Some of our fellow Omleteers over on the other side of the Atlantic have far lower temperatures to worry about than anything we suffer here, and the eglu seems to do the job over there as well!

[Snowy]

If you are worried, just try opening the egg port a fraction after they've gone to roost. It the eglu door has been shut, you'll be able to feel the warmth that they generate!

[Daywalker]

I'm with Madchook on this one. I'm sure poultry centres really wouldn't sell hens that couldn't cope with an english winter and in their eglu our's are probably much warmer than in a traditional wooden ark.

 

I'm sure the shock of being brought into a brightly lit centrally heated house at night would probably be more of a danger than being out in the cold.

 

As to hot water bottles - I really wouldn't want handle one that had spent a night in the poo tray

 

Jo

 

Not just a poo trey... A HEATED POO TRAY

[skye]

thanks guys for your words of support, i know i'm being daft! And Madchook, your tale of chickens roosting in your hedge made me giggle... must have been HORRID at the time, but classic example of we humans worrying ourselves sick whilst the chooks are oblivious and perfectly fine, nice to know we're not the only omleteers who've had night time chicken-related antics! I remember one time trying to lure layla to the eglu, blind as a bat as night had fallen, with raisins lit by torchlight so she could see them!! Yolko was just pressed up against the fence bless er and refused to move... we managed to pick them both up in the end... last time we move the eglu just before bedtime!

 

Skye xx

[Chickaboo]

I worry too!! But I think its best not to get them used to hot water bottles etc, because I think they may get used to it, and not be as tough as they should be. Mine had nice hot toast this morning

[skye]

hot toast great, they love it don't they! Mine had shredded wheat with warm water, raisins, corn and grit.

 

Skye xx

[nicki9]

mine had layers pellets - now I feel really mean

 

[Rabbieboy]

The girls will be fine at night in the eglu/cube even in sub-zero tempatures, it's colder for them when they are out in a windy winters day as the draft gets under their feathers and chills them. As long as they have shelter from the wind they will be ok.