Surviving Minnesota!

[holm25]

Morning.
I will have buff Orpington cockerels looking for a home they are just about 4 weeks old now.

Where’d they come from?

 

[jerryse]

Heavy rain here again . River bottoms are flooded so no shrooming there .

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Cloudy day with a high of 50. There’s a surprise.

Pearl my 3 year old lavender Ameraucana jumped in a nesting box this morning. She must understand my typing sounds from the house.

 

[duluthralphie]

Good morning - dense fog north of the banana belt.

Cleaning things up for inspection next Friday. I am finding a lack of cats is increasing my work load. May have to consider a cat that doesn’t break into pieces and is not needy! No free handouts find your own food!

I might just have a free cat that fits the bill!

 

[duluthralphie]

Morning.
I will have buff Orpington cockerels looking for a home they are just about 4 weeks old now.

Nice freezer birds?

 

[Phage]

We have at least 6” of snow, but I’ve been outside for around an hour and a half and didn’t measure when I came back in. Still snowing. It’s 29 degrees, so there’s that. The cows’ water was only slushy so I didn’t need the mallet...

I am SO over winter.

View attachment 1759253View attachment 1759254View attachment 1759253

I can’t even imagine snow now in May

 

[MNchickaroo]

Hello fellow Minnesotans...I've been on another thread, and wondering what your opinions are on insulated coops? Most have been saying don't do it, humidity and mice become a problem. Is it a waste of time, or do any of you do this?
Sorry if this is beating a dead horse and it's been discussed a billion times, I did type in the search "Insulated Coops", but I guess I'd really like to hear from people who live in this state. Thanks for any info, or any direction to articles about this!

 

[duluthralphie]

I do not have insulated coops.

I do not have supplemental heat.


I do have some frozen toes and combs. I also get a ton of frozen eggs.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Hello fellow Minnesotans...I've been on another thread, and wondering what your opinions are on insulated coops? Most have been saying don't do it, humidity and mice become a problem. Is it a waste of time, or do any of you do this?
Sorry if this is beating a dead horse and it's been discussed a billion times, I did type in the search "Insulated Coops", but I guess I'd really like to hear from people who live in this state. Thanks for any info, or any direction to articles about this!

I've put batting in my roof. It's about a 15-20 degree difference. Instantly. Watched it happen on the thermometer. I think also it keeps condensation from dripping back down on the birds. I pull it out every other year and redo it because there are mousey poops, downy feathers and acorn shards hanging out the edges. I found for my walls REFLECTIX. It's a silvery bubble wrap. Rather unattractive but I think it also makes a bit of a difference. -25 for weeks straight and the Polar Vortexes are cruel business. I'm a proponent for insulation in Minnesota. That being said some of these weather patterns make my efforts seem like putting peanut butter on an open wound. About worthless. I did not insulate between the floor joists of my coop. I think maybe that was my biggest error.
My humble opinion only. Plus I don't usually buy the right breeds. LOL. Large combs seem to find their way in my coop. View attachment 1760797

 

[duluthralphie]

I the Great Chicken Wrangler of the banana belt made an error Tuesday ...


I have had less than stellar hatches again this year. I have had poor fertility or no eggs in the breeds I want. The hatches have been poor with too many failure to thrive chicks.

I have had too many heat shrink wrap in the shells. In addition I am not getting good SS... I think my SS are too inbred. I might need to buy a good rooster somewhere.. road trip ahead!

My humidity is a tad low in the hatcher I would guess with the shrink wrapping.. I really need new sponges but being cheap and never prepared I have not ordered any.

When I disinfected the hatcher the sponges disintegrated. I had one slightly used one and found 2 smaller natural sponges at Wally’s World.

It was still running a tad low. 50%...I had the door open for a while when putting new eggs in...so I put a rag on the water and hung it over the edge to wick some moisture out and into the air.


I have done this before flawlessly...

The rag must have high wicking ability..as the humidity last night was 95%.

I think I killed this hatch off now.