The Ladies are here!
We went early this morning and picked up our 6 new chickens. The farmer we work with (Deer Run Farm) had all the girls ready for us when we arrived. We decided to purchase pullets this time around so they will be laying for us by April hopefully. Allison from Deer Run Farm picked out two beautiful Welsummer, two Copper Maran and two Ameraucana chickens. The Ameraucana ladies are two different colors, one lavender splash, one blue.
We got the ladies installed in what we hope to be coop knox. Their personalities started shining right away! One girl is very adventurous and was exploring immediately, while the others hung back.
They weren’t quite sure about what to do as night fell this evening, so we had to help them out and show them where to sleep. The girls gave us minimal fuss getting into the coop, and we were able to close them in for the night. We wanted to make sure they were safe not only from predators but also the cold tonight. The lows this week range from 5-33 degrees fahrenheit, so its going to be chilly. Hopefully the 6 ladies will be able to keep each other warm.
We did put down a thick layer of pine shavings on the bottom of the coop for extra insulation, and I think I may add more for the coldest nights.
How do you keep your chickens warm on cold nights? Let us know in the comments!
Brittany
I was so concerned with these ladies and the frigid nights with the wind. After all these are just beyond babies and they were used to being with 1,000 chickens. We stacked up straw bales around the coop on the North side as the weather channel said 40 MPH winds. (and there were). They came through just fine. we confined them to the fenced area under their night/laying box instead of letting them out in their run.