Any of the reputable hatcheries will specify which breeds are most suited for cold climates. The gist will normally be to steer clear of the Mediterranean breeds & stick to the American types - particularly those with close-set rose or pea combs rather than the traditional standing combs, which are more prone to frostbite. While comb frostbite won't necessarily kill a chicken, it's understandably very painful, & thus definitely affects egg-laying & general health.

My girls live in an old playhouse that was already in the yard (my kids are too old for that stuff, so it was first turned into the doghouse, then the chicken coop ). It's wood construction with plastic windows - no openings like the plastic houses. I just threw some straw on the floor and hung some milk crates up for nest boxes.

I do run light out to it in the winter, since our days are so short here. Just one of those clamp lights on an extension cord, with a compact florescent bulb. When it gets real cold, I'll throw a heat lamp (150w, not the big ones) out there instead of the CF. I did throw some insulation in the roof of the coop, and I hang a towel over the entrance to keep out the rain and cold. That way the chickens can still come and go, but the weather is kept out as much as possible.

I also found a "freeze-proof" water bowl (intended for use with dogs) that works well. It does need to be plugged in, but I just use the same cord I use for the light. It still needs to be changed regularly as chickens are sheer slobs... but it does keep the water from freezing. I believe it was about $20 at a feed store.

quote:

Originally posted by Mrs. K-og:
You try chickens, and I will try some garlic! deal?

By the way, Jen, I have one of those bowls that nobody else is using at the moment. (Mr. Max is strictly an indoor boy, except for his exercise & certain other essential activities. ) Glad to hear they multi-task!

If you want a good resource on chix breeds, take a look at this.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jh...n/chooks/chooks.html

I have that site bookmarked too.

i'm enjoying this thread so much! id dont even have chickens, and probably wont anytime soon...
i have been poking around that ithaca.edu site for hours, looking at pics and everything! How about those peacock pics! They molt that "train" every year. What do you do w the feathers? Me thinks there's a market for them!

in the raising chicks part, he doesnt mention about kitchen scraps or any of that jazz, not exacly organic this one... oh well

great 'eye candy' for people who enjoy nature at it's finest.

OR - when you say "raising chicks part" - did you/they mean little chicks, or adult chickens?

I've found it best to wait until baby chicks are at least starting to feather out before slowly introducing greens & kitchen scraps, as their intestinal systems are still maturing. As such, too many greens or kitchen scraps can cause serious diarrhea that can actually kill the poor little things.

BG, yes yes, I see. I was commenting on baby chicks. And no, I dont know a thing... was just commenting on the site not being particularly organic with it's suggestions - I guess...

The bird netting also provides a nice sun filter during the heat of the summer.

Great thread--My son and I had talked about chickens just for eggs, but we hadn't checked into the regs--but this thread has gottem me really interested. Another bookmark for me!!!

you can bookmark a thread?

hmm...

Other threads I wanted to keep, I copied and pasted into a Word doc.

I've got a couple of threads bookmarked, but I was talking about the chicken breeds page.

WELL, just for the record, I bookmarked this thread, and indeed i can retrieve it directly.

EXCELLENT!

IF you are considering it, It is lots of fun, there are all different sizes of coops to make, and from what I read a lot of people get just a couple, or three hens.

I have enjoyed them immensely, but I would think that there are only a very few places that one can let them totally free range without predators so you do have to consider some serious fencing. You are probably going to lose some, but it is worth the fiddling around as far as I am concerned.

If you don't have all the stuff, get your chicks a little later if you live in the north, and work with the nicer weather. Just a cheap heat lamp and a thermometer and a box is what you need to get started.

mk

From what I've read, 3 to 6 chickens are enough to furnish eggs for an "average" (3 to5) sized family. I've seen several types of "chicken tractors" which are movable pens that are totally enclosed with wire and can be attached to the chicken coop or not so that the hens can be moved to keep from destroying the grass and can pick bugs from a large area. It seems books and e-books about chickens and their abodes are a new cottage industry!